Remember the movie Brewster’s Millions? It’s an old tale, told many times throughout the years, always involving a wealthy eccentric relative and a set of conditions that must be met to receive an inheritance. Our scenario today isn’t quite the same, but it’s kinda-sorta close. I’ll explain in a minute.
Yesterday, you had to choose a car to drive cross-country – and, more importantly, resell – in order to win a bet. I feel confident in saying that both choices could make such a drive, but only one would really be of any interest to anyone once you got there. Nobody is clamoring for a Mercury Sable with the worst landau top in history, but a beat-up Nissan Altima will always find a home.
But could you actually make money on it? I think you could. That sage-green color isn’t that uncommon for those Altimas, so you could probably find a nice matching hood for it if you check enough junkyards, and the rest of it looks pretty good. Give it a good wash and polish, play up the fact that it’s a Western car with no rust, and I bet you could sell it in the Midwest for two or three grand.
Now then: You’re sitting in a paneled conference room in the law offices of Dewey, Cheetham, & Howe, along with the rest of your family, for the reading of your Uncle Howard’s last will and testament. Uncle Howard was filthy, stinking rich, but didn’t really like anyone in the family very much, so you aren’t sure how this is going to go.
As it turns out, everyone’s inheritance is sizeable, generous even, but they all have strings attached. Uncle Howard knew you were a gearhead, so your strings come in the form of a car. On the table in front of you, the lawyer places two sets of keys, each corresponding to a car parked outside. You must leave in one of them, and drive it exclusively for a year. You cannot drive any other car during that time, or you get nothing. Oh, and the purchase price does matter; whichever one you choose, its cost comes out of your inheritance.
Fortunately for you, Uncle Howard thought that manual transmissions were for poor people, so both choices are stickshifts. It’s a small consolation. As you weigh your choices, you feel grateful that you’re not a foodie like your cousin Iris; she has to live on nothing but Fruity Pebbles, Lunchables, and Chef Boyardee for a month straight.
2009 Kia Spectra EX – $1,850
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Madison, WI
Odometer reading: 120,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Some of you probably forgot the Kia Spectra even existed, didn’t you? I think its only function was to upsell customers from the truly dreadful Rio. “Not bad by comparison” is about all it can claim. I can’t imagine who would choose this over a Toyota Corolla or a Mazda 3, but someone did, and they kept it in remarkably good condition over the years.
Power for the Spectra comes from Hyundai/Kia’s 2.0 liter Beta II engine, driving the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox. The manual is probably pretty rare; I don’t remember seeing many manuals on the lot when I test-drove one of these new in 2002. This one runs and drives very well, according to the seller, and with only 120,000 miles on the odometer, it should have some life left in it. All you need is a year.
It’s in good condition inside, and since it’s an EX model, it has a bunch of power stuff, as well as a CD player. Dig in the closet and find your Maroon 5 and Pete Yorn CDs; you’ll be needing them. I don’t see an auxiliary input. The seller does say that the air conditioning works fine, so you won’t have to sweat your way through a summer.
It’s a little banged-up outside. Both the driver and passenger side have some dents, and the bumpers are scuffed up. Things sometimes happen to cars in cities, especially college towns, but it does make it seem like the owner was careless. Were they as careless with the maintenance as they were with parking?
2009 Chevrolet Cobalt LS – $2,400
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2 liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Hickory Hills, IL
Odometer reading: 119,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
In 2005, General Motors finally retired the J platform after more than two decades, and replaced it with the Delta platform. Only two J-cars were left by that time: the Chevy Cavalier and the Pontiac Sunfire. The Cavalier became the Cobalt, and the Sunfire became the G5. The Cobalt was a lot nicer and more refined than the Cavalier, but it was fraught with reliability problems and recalls. This one seems to have weathered those storms well enough, but it’s worth checking to make sure all those recalls were actually done.
Under the Cobalt’s hood is GM’s twin-cam Ecotec 2.2 liter four cylinder, which also appeared in the Cavalier late in its life. It’s more refined and more powerful than the old pushrod Cavalier engine was. This one has a five-speed stick, which not only makes it more fun to drive but also takes away all the maintenance and durability issues that can come with automatics. It runs and drives “like a champ,” according to the seller, and doesn’t need anything.
The Cobalt was a big step up from the Cavalier in interior appointments, but it’s still General Motors. There’s a lot of hard plastic in here. It’s all in good condition, though, and the air conditioning works in this one, too.
It looks good outside at first glance, but I have a couple of reservations. The seller says it doesn’t have any rust, but there’s something not quite right about the rocker panels. They look droopy. Is that rust below the surface? Or some other form of damage? It’s worth sticking your head underneath to see. Apart from that, it just has some cataracts on the headlights that need polishing, or replacing.
I’m pretty sure you could get a year out of either one of these, so it comes down to the details. To me, one feels more honest, but maybe less trustworthy, and the other might be a tiny bit more desirable, but I have more questions about it. I’m sure the lawyer would let you check them both out before you choose, but choose you must. So what are you driving for the next year?
Having been driven around the streets of Lagos Nigeria for almost a year in a Kia of this vintage I know they can take a beating so Kia for me.
That doesn’t surprise me. I clouted a curb pretty hard in Australia in a Hyundai i45 (Sonata in the US) and it shrugged it off like it was no big deal. I did something similar years ago in a Datsun 510 and the steering wheel was immediately about 30 degrees out of kilter until I got it realigned. Nothing was broken, but it definitely needed some TLC.
Cobalt for me. I’m a coupe fan and I didn’t even drive 5000 miles last year anyway.
As an owner of a 2012 elantra touring which has the same beta II engine and 5 speed, this was tough. the engine is rev happy but makes zero torque at low speeds, so the guy in the other lane is always annoyed with you when taking off from lights cause he thinks you want to race. And if it has the same gear ratios, 70 on the freeway is over 3500 rpm.
On the other hand, they are SUPER reliable, but at 120k miles and with no service history, change that timing belt stat! 60k is its maintenance interval.
KN car for me from back when they were Killed In Action.
Seriously, though. I can’t understand a two door car unless it’s a “fun” car like a Jeep or Miata or Porsche, etc. a two door economy car? Why? Even a classic VW Golf/Rabbit with two doors was genuinely fun. This Cobalt is….not.
The Kia has less underbody rust. It’s also an Elantra wearing a Kia badge. By 2009 those were okay little runabouts. The 5 speed will bring that car to life. Change the transmission fluid and bleed the brakes/clutch to make shifting worlds better. Elan, er, Spectra for me.
Kia. They are both resolutely An Car, but the blue is a nicer colour.
I would take the Colbalt then after the year is over take the inheritance and use it as a donor for a Goblin kit car.
My money goes with the Cobalt, but not this one..
My wife’s first car was an 08 Cobalt base. Her parents bought it for her brand new when she turned 16, and it was as utilitarian as it gets minus the automatic transmission. Manual locks and windows. She drove it all the way up until 3 years ago when it finally succumbed to the extreme rust that had been plaguing it for a long time.
My wife’s family does not believe in washing their cars, and we live in right by Lake Michigan, so it’s rather salty here in the winter. By the time I came into the picture, the car was too far gone, so we maintained it and just kept it chugging along until the entire front subframe collapsed while she was backing out of the driveway one morning. Other than that, it was always super reliable and charming.
By the looks of the one above, it’s about to fall apart too. Her Cobalt’s first sign of extreme rust was the rockers sagging just like that. I would stay far away from any of those cars that have existed in the salt belt.
I have to go with the Cobalt. The automation for welding the underbody together was my first major work project out of college. I spent about a year at the factory.
Kia, definitely. Four-door sedans are OK for hauling stuff (I got a Vespa into the back seat of a NUMMI Nova once) and at worst I can take the bus.
Definitely going with the Kia. By 2009 Kias were decent cars, yet still had a reputation for being garbage. As a result, they tend to be great values. This one is a bit rough on the outside, but the inside looks great. Plus, it has a decal from a dealership in Tampa, so at least a portion of this car’s life was spent in a place where road salt isn’t a thing. Overall, I think you would have a hard time finding a better car for under $2,000.
I’ll take the Kia… they’re easier to drive than GM products, and with a little TLC, that beta II engine will easily see 250,000 miles.
At 120k miles that Kia is already on borrowed time. Chevy for me.
I could easily drive either, as I used to willingly daily a 2009 Rio hatchback with a stick. I’m going with the Kia, not out of brand loyalty or anything, but because I want the utility of four doors. I actually like the Cobalt, though the droopy rockers is concerning, but I know from painful experience the back seats are mighty hard to climb in and out of for anyone but small kids.
Going KIA all the way. I had a beater 02 Hyundai Accident with a manual and it was a perfectly fine and reliable automobile. Cold AC, Good Heat, 34 mpg and could park it anywhere because IDGAF if it gets dinged up. EZ PZ, gimme the money Uncle Howie!
My first car was a 2003 Spectra, so I have a soft spot for Spectras. I wasn’t a great car but it was a fun one (as long as I wasn’t trying to go up a mountain pass, which is something I have to do sometimes).
This just shows you how out of touch rich people are. Uncle Howard thought this was a punishment but this was the worst he could do? It’s like he’s not even trying. They have AC, under 150k miles, these are chariots compared to some of the crap I’ve driven over the years.
I’d either for a year for a big payout. But I get the feeling the Cobalt would just run and run, whereas the Kia would faceplant.
I hear this critique of once-very-cheap brands all the time, and I’m curious as to what drives it. Why do you think the Kia would faceplant?
They’ve been building cars for a long time now. The company has made significant investment. I remain vastly unimpressed with the Cobalt and its Delta platform-mates.
Oil-system related. Everyone I know who has a H or K has had an engine replacement.
Yikes, really?
It also seems like every automaker has forgotten how to make engines.
Yup, one neighbor, two relatives, and three work acquaintances. The neighbor’s motor grenaded and Kia replaced it; the replacement ALSO grenaded.
the 2.2 Ecotec / Getrag is pretty much bulletproof. It’s got a timing chain and they were more forgiving than other engines with maintenance.
I’m not knocking H/K of this generation from bad castings nor design, though. But they were from an era of rock bottom pricing which made these popular with bad-credit clientele. And these got a timing belt; you bet most owners did not perform their maintenance by the book.
I know cheap brands and vehicles (Cobalt included) have this effect, but when that’s the case you’re looking for the lowest possible points of failure and that’s where the cockroach Cobalt wins
Honestly, until like the last decade, engines from most automakers of any scale seemed to be pretty trouble-free if you at least thought about maintenance once or twice.
(OBVIOUSLY there are exceptions….)
But now it just seems like things they knew how to do reliably 70 years ago have become a lost art.
Anyway – with either of these, the engines aren’t a concern, honestly. And the manuals remove the worry of explod-a-matics that have seemed to plague every automaker in some form cyclically back to the Fluid Drive and Dynaflow era.
No, the problem here is rust. And the Cobalt is just a PRODIGIOUS corroder.
There is something seriously wrong with the rockers on that Cobalt so I picked the Spectra. Its blue and mostly bike to work so I think this should be fine. I pegged Uncle Howard as more perverse, but maybe he was losing his edge.
Much like the voting stands so far, flip a coin for me.
The Kia is better optioned (moonroof!) but IIRC used a timing belt. Seems well maintained but would want proof it’s been done at some point, because I don’t want to have to do it to get through the year.
The Cobalt is fine enough. As a 2000s GM the suspension may sound like bolts in a coffee can, but should run bad just fine in that GM way for the year too.
The Kia for me. Though ideally, I’d like to go and see which one has the least unpleasant interior. I’ve been in a Cobalt and it’s pretty dreadful in there, but have no experience with the Kia.
Unlike the rest of the family I liked Uncle Howard and I will miss him.. And he clearly liked and understood me despite his gruff.
I chose the Kia but either would be fine. Thanks Uncle Howard! Now if you’ll excuse me I’m off to start my new adventure with a broken USB cable. I can’t think of a better way to honor his memory than that.
I know the whole car enthusiast thing is “manual good, automatic bad”, but if you want me to daily drive one of these for a year, the biggest downside *is* the manual. I don’t need to be doing all that extra work every time I drive, especially when I’ve got rotator cuff tendonitis in the shoulder that’s going to be employed to do all the shifting.
I went with the Kia, because it’s blue.
My brother had a Spectra. It was a perfectly cromulent appliance with nothing to recommend it beyond that. This puts it a level or two up from the Cobalt. Spectra it is.
The Kia is just an Elantra wearing dowdier clothes so I went that way. My mother in law had one for many trouble-free years and it was a pleasant enough car.