I try to vary the price range of the cars we look at on here to keep things interesting, but I’m still a cheapskate at heart. I love finding a sub-$2,000 car that still looks like viable transportation, or at least something fun to putter around with. And if it’s something unusual and friendly-looking? Even better. We’re going to look at two such cheerful bargains today.
I fully expected yesterday‘s vote to come down in favor of the Audi, and I was right. That Pontiac is a cool conversation piece, but it’s overpriced, and it needs plenty of work to put it back into regular service. The Audi is ready to go, and it’s still in the prime of its life. I’m not surprised you preferred it.
These both push the nostalgia button for me, because I grew up with a bunch of VW/Audi products, and the mayor of my hometown owned a Pontiac dealership, so they were by far the most common GM vehicles around. I really want to want that 6000 STE, but there are a lot of other late-80s GM vehicles I’d rather have. The Audi A6 is a bit newer than the ones I grew up with, but the spirit is the same. I’m with the majority here.
I’ve never had much luck spending a lot of money on cars. Every time I decide to spend some actual money, in the form of a loan because I never have much cash saved up, I end up either regretting the car or the deal. So these days, I deal strictly in cash, which means I have to go cheap. I’m fine with it; I would rather have something I don’t have to stress out about, or carry collision insurance on. These two are very much in my wheelhouse, and one of them gets bonus points for being a rare car, and the other for being an excellent color. Let’s take a look.
1990 Daihatsu Charade SE – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.0-liter OHC inline 3, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Blackwell, OK
Odometer reading: 70,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, but needs tires
Small, basic cars are all but gone from the US market these days, but in the late 80s and early 90s, it seemed like a new one was popping up every week. The Yugo won the low-price crown, followed closely by the Hyundai Excel. Chevy replaced the long-in-the-tooth Chevette with the Sprint, a captive import built by Suzuki. Ford countered with the Festiva, a badge-engineered Kia Pride. Subaru gave us the Justy. And a Japanese brand nobody in America had ever heard of, Daihatsu, started selling a tiny hatchback called the Charade.
Daihatsu’s dalliance with the American market only lasted four and a half model years, before new corporate boss Toyota pulled the plug, presumably to sell more Tercels. That’s kind of a shame, because the Charade was like a Chevy Sprint or Geo Metro, only more so. It has a fuel-injected three-cylinder engine, a five-speed gearbox, and is allegedly nicer to drive than a Metro. It’s not fast, obviously; it has only 53 horsepower to its name, which means that the 105 MPH speedometer is likely a work of pure fantasy. I mean, I know from experience that a Geo Metro will do 90, but I don’t recommend it. The seller says it runs and drives fine, but the idle fluctuates, meaning there’s probably a vacuum leak somewhere. It also needs new tires, which might be a bit hard to find. The seller says they’re 14 inch, but according to my sources, they’re actually 155/80R13 – which almost nobody stocks anymore.
You don’t go for a car like this expecting luxury, of course. It’s got seats, and a steering wheel, and a shift lever, and that’s about it. It does boast an aftermarket stereo with some big speaker enclosures in the rear hatch, and fuzzy covers over the seats and steering wheel. I like that the seller is honest about the condition of the seats; apparently they’re “not great” under the covers. I imagine they look something like the driver’s side door panel.
If nobody knows your cars, and they kinda look like lots of other cars, you’d better put the model name in big letters in the side so people know what it is, right? That seems to be the thinking here, though Geo did the same thing with the Metro during this period. It’s not a bad looking little car, really, and it looks like it’s in decent condition except for the faded bumpers and some bubbling window tint.
2002 Ford Escort ZX2 – $1,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Loveland, CO
Odometer reading: 182,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Say “Ford Escort” to most people, and they’ll picture the little hatchback or wagon that their aunt drove, a competent way to get around, but hardly a performance car. But a sportier version of the Escort has always been lurking in the options list, on both sides of the Atlantic, if you knew what to ask for. We never got the old rear-wheel-drive Escorts that were the stuff of rally legends, but we did get two ever-improving generations of Escort GT, the cool two-seat EXP, and this little number: the ZX2.
Ford made a big deal out of calling the Escort a “World Car,” but I think that term applies to the ZX2 most of all. It’s based on the Mazda BG platform designed in Japan, it’s powered by a 2.0 liter Zetec inline four designed in Europe, and it was built in Mexico. This thing is from everywhere. The Zetec is a good amount of power for this little car, but unfortunately, this one is shackled to a four-speed automatic transmission. Hey, it’s fifteen hundred bucks; you can’t complain too much. It runs and drives fine, the seller says, and has a new battery, belts, hoses, and valve cover gasket.
Inside, it’s “Ford Interior Gray,” a color you know if you ever owned a Ford product from the 1990s or 2000s. My ’93 Escort was this color inside, as was the ’96 Explorer my wife drove for years. It’s boring, but inoffensive, and it holds up pretty well. This one has a rip in the seat bolster, and it could use a cleaning, but it’s basically intact.
I have to give Ford a lot of credit for its exterior color choices during this time, however. You could get the typical 90s teal and yellow, but there were also several good shades of blue available, as well as fuchsia, purple, and this excellent emerald green. This one has some battle scars, but it isn’t rusty, and it still looks pretty good. I do wish Ford had left that dumb rear spoiler off, though.
The great thing about cars in this price range is that if something happens to them, you can just scrap them and walk away, and you’re not out much. The bad thing about them is if you’re going on a first date, you might want to pick something a bit nicer. But they should both be reliable, more or less, and they’ll both get pretty good gas mileage. Which one seems like a better deal to you?
At least the Daihatsu owner isn’t calling it a “barn find”.
The Daihatsu looks like it spent a decade in the part of the barn where you pile up the manure.
Are you kidding?? This thing is a Holy Grail™!
Ugh! Neither.
Voted Ford.
I’m probably the only one who thinks the front end of that Escort in green actually looks pretty good. As a previous owner of a 93 wagon I have a soft spot (in my head) for them
The weirdest thing about the ZX2 is that the next and final year, ’03, had a revised front fascia with a grill in it. One-year only. I was interested in a 5-spd ’03 back around ’08 when I was used car shopping and just missed it. With the Zetec engine they were sort of fun.
ZX2 was a decent little get around car in the day. I would probably go for that. though I suppose I would kind of think about seeing if I could get Detomasa Charade parts on Ebay Global. it would be maybe fun for a day or two to see the few people that get it. But still.
Tempted though I was to pick the Daihatsu, if only so that I could use the Continental pronunciation of “shah-RAHD'”, we’ll take the ZX2 in The Good Color.
Look we all love a good beater or we wouldn’t be here, but that Daihatsu is too far gone. Gotta be the ZX2.
My now-wife drove a 2001 ZX2 when we met and it had been rode hard and put away wet by family members before her. I definitely have some level of nostalgia for the car, but it was a certified pile when she got rid of it in 2012. By that time, it had:
I don’t fault the car though, it hadn’t really been maintained in any way previously.
So I had a ZX2 in the past and the reason I picked the Charade is I know I can fit in that more comfortably. The roofline is shorter than you would expect and the only way to sit in it would be to get seats from a Lotus Elise or 1st gen miata as they are so low profile.
I’ve paid less for a better ZX2. I’ll take the Charade.
As quirky as the Charade is, the Ford is the far easier choice. They’re not good cars, but there is strength in numbers.
The Zetec-powered ZX2s were SO much better of a car than the SOHC Sedans and wagons that loved to drop valve seats into the engine whenever it felt like it. Went through a period of where these were the staple of our large family beater fleet. Hardly ever broke, but when they did – parts were cheap and easy to find. We did take the drivetrain from one that I wrecked and transplanted it into a sedan – it was 100% plug and play.
The looks arent the greatest, but if you’re considering either one of these – you DGAF.
I had a ’99 wagon and I dreamed of transplanting a Zetec and the wheels from a ZX2 into it, as well as MX-3 seats which I heard fit. Because the wagon’s seats were torture devices. Never got around to any of that, naturally.
2002 Escort ZX2 was the first car I bought on my own. The two cars I had before that had beige-gold interiors, and I was so tired of that color that “Ford interior gray” was a refreshing change. I don’t remember having any problems with it for the 6 or so years I owned it.
The Ford is the better car by any measure but if I had to be seen tooling around in one of these cars it’d be the Charade.
On the surface, I’d rather have the Charade but the ZX2 is the better choice.
In ’97, fresh out of college, I was on a Ford lot looking at either a new ZX2 with a stick, or the slightly more expensive Craptour with the Duratec V6 and a stick.
I bought the Craptour, took it home, and it’s legacy as the worst car I’ve ever owned was cemented in family lore.
Should have bought the ZX2 then, so I will pick it this time!
Just the mention of the V6 Contour brings back PTSD from having to turn wrenches for a living on these. Underhood was the proverbial 10 pounds of $h!t in a 5 pound bag.
Charade. Hands down.
I used to have a Charade GTTi (which was a 100hp version with a 1.0 turbocharged I3), lots of fun to drive once boost kicked in. Still kinda regreting selling it.
53 hp brand new and realistically closer to 40hp now is so slow. I drove one of these in high school and to drive it around in CA traffic I had to decide between a/c or passengers. It was so light but so underpowered. This car brought me to faith because every time I merged I prayed to the Lord that I wouldn’t be killed by some asshole in a hummer doing 77mph in the right lane.
That Charade is a steaming pile, and probably smells similarly inside.
I passed on an RHD Charade (rural postal car) on eBay 23 years ago and I am still kicking myself. It was $1,500 IIRC. I would love the Charade, but at $500 I would be doing the seller a favor.
The ZX2 is nothing but depressing to me.
Aughtstalgia vote for the ZX2. I’ve said before that the industry was pandering to young buyers in my late Gen X to early Millennial age group, taking the same regular cars they were selling to our parents and giving them the old razzle dazzle with body kits and 2 doors instead of 4. You know what I’ve learned since then? Sometimes being pandered to is fun. All I need to do is find my old The Offspring CDs in the basement and I can relive my youth in the little green machine.
Soft spot for the Escort, as I drove a black one for a very short time after my life exploded and I started rebuilding from scratch. Didn’t drive it long, but it did the job.
The Charade wouldn’t be bad if it was in decent shape, but it isn’t.
ZX2 then.
The mileage on that Charade. Nice.
I never liked these ZX2’s at all, thing looks like a fish. Seemed like these were everywhere for a while.
I really want to vote for the Charade, because they come up for sale about as often as the appointment of a new pope, but that one’s a mess. And if you thought finding Yugo parts was too simple this is the car for you. Get ready for a crash education in JDM parts importing. Which probably just got a bit more difficult.
I’ll walk, thanks.
That was my first thought about the Charade, hopefully at least routine service items interchange with one or more common US-spec Toyotas.
The ZX2 at least would be easy to find parts for and would make reasonably cromulent cheap transportation as long as it doesn’t fall into the “sporty 2-door = insurance surcharge entirely inappropriate for the level of performance actually on offer” trap.
I remember* a contemporary Car & Driver comparison test with the Charade, the Metro and the Justy. The Charade places second because, while slower than the others, it was plusher and better equipped. We all know how well the idea of a well made and better-than-nice small car sells here, so it and the Rocky hit the road not long after. Regardless, the Escort wins this matchup, if for no other reason (though there are other reasons) than there should still be parts available at both chain stores and salvage yards.
*Remember, yes, but not arsed enough to find a link.
It’s been probably two decades since I saw a Charade. I swear everyone I’ve ever seen has been that same ugly gold color.
I don’t care about manual transmission enough to pick a car I won’t be able to find parts for, with an interior that looks like it was attached by a rabid badger.
I’ll have the green Escort. It’s an ugly car, but at least is in a nice color.
I don’t understand what’s going on with those Daihatsu seatbelts.
But, as another point of reference of similar vintage/capability, a Ford Festiva/Kia Pride is capable of burying the needle beyond its indicated maximums (iirc 140kmh/85mph) – but only under certain conditions (downhill, wind behind you, no crosswinds, following something larger punching a hole for you, etc…)
I can explain the seatbelts. The annoying power seatbelts are broken, so in order to have a shoulder belt, the buckle was manually pulled to the back part of the track. In order to fasten your belts you have to click the shoulder belt up into the B-pillar, and then the lap belt separately.
I had to do this on a ’93 Legacy wagon I owned 20 years ago.
And your rig up was an improvement I bet. Electric seatbelts are one of the worst, most hateful things ever attached to a car. It’s like they were designed to hit you in the head repeatedly.
I don’t know if it was an improvement, but it got the job done and kept the car on the road. Even then that part was very expensive and hard to get.
I’d rather have the Escort than something only pretending to be a car.
The Daihatsu looks like it’s sat for a while and I bet the tires aren’t the only thing it needs that would be hard to find. I bet it rattles like crazy too. Not sure if a high mileage escort with an automatic beats it, though, even if it is green and a coupe.