Good morning! I’m raiding the Facebook Underappreciated Survivors group again today, and I’ve found two cheap vehicles with manual transmissions for your consideration. They’re both beat-up and ugly, but they both seem to run fine. Just how I like ’em.
Yesterday’s European executive cars ended up in an almost even vote. As of this writing, only one vote separates the two cars, and since the one I prefer is winning by that one vote, I’m going to call it right there. It’s the Audi, by a nose. Not even by its nose, really, more like by its front license plate bracket.
The idea of an ultra-low-mileage Sterling appealed to a lot of you, primarily for the weirdness factor, it sounds like. But for my money, it has to be the Audi. Nostalgia is a big part of it, I have to admit; certain cars are just like comfort food. Sometimes you’re nostalgic for a terrible car that was with you through some good times; in this case it’s a wonderful car that made some terrible times less bad. That Sterling would be fun to show off, it’s true, but so would the Audi, and it means more to me.
I don’t get the Jeep obsession, and I’d never pay thirty grand for an electric BMW, but there is one place in which I am in complete agreement with our fearless Editor-In-Chief: the best inexpensive used cars are “ugly sticks.” Find a car that is a bit cosmetically challenged, either by design or condition, add in a manual transmission to make it more reliable but less desirable, and you can often drive away for a song. The vehicles I’ve found today are both definitely ugly in spots, and they’re getting a little old, but they both still have some miles in them – as long as you are willing and able to drive a stickshift. Let’s check them out.
1989 Plymouth Voyager – $2,150
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual transmission, FWD
Location: Perryville, MO
Odometer reading: 139,000 miles
Operational status: “Drives nice”
Yep, that’s right – for those too young to remember, the first couple of generations of Chrysler minivan came standard with a standard. You didn’t see them too often; most folks checked the box for an A413 Torqueflite automatic, along with a host of other options. But a certain type of buyer, the type who likes their cars lean and mean, ordered vans equipped like this one: crank windows, no rearmost row of seats, and a manual transmission. I’m actually surprised this one has air conditioning.
If you went with a manual, you were limited to a four-cylinder engine, with or without a turbo. I have never seen a turbocharged manual Caravan or Voyager in person; I think they sold about five of them, and they’ve been traded around among Mopar weirdos ever since. This one has a 2.5 liter engine without the turbo, but with balance shafts and throttle-body fuel injection, so it’s a little more refined than the old K-car engine. The seller says this one runs and drives well, and “Comes with a sizeable pile of brand new parts that it doesn’t yet need.”
The driving experience in these isn’t great; the shifter is in an awkward spot, and it’s the same vague, wobbly mess you remember from your buddy’s Omni. But I imagine you get used to it after a while. Like all old Chrysler minivans, though, the seats are comfy, and the outward visibility is superb. It looks like it’s in good condition inside, and the seller says the air conditioner works fine.
It’s a little rough outside. The paint is coming off the hood and roof in sheets, and it looks like there has been some rust repair done here and there, especially on the rear wheel arches. But who cares? It’s cheap, it’s practical, and it’s inexpensive to insure.
1997 Ford Probe SE – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Clermont, FL
Odometer reading: 149,000 miles
Operational status: “Reliable and daily driven”
The second-generation Ford Probe is one of those cars folks tend to forget about. The original is famous for almost being a Mustang, and for its funky interior design, but when anyone remembers the second generation at all, it’s usually the GT model, with its lively 2.5 liter V6. But the lesser models, like this SE, are worthy of our time as well. You lose the ground effects, fat tires, and rear disc brakes, but most people won’t miss them.
You also lose the V6; in its place is Mazda’s “FS” four-cylinder, displacing 2.0 liters. It’s a bit weak-sauce with an automatic, but this one has a five-speed manual, which livens things up a bit. This one is currently being daily-driven, but the seller would prefer an automatic, and is willing to trade this car for the right car so equipped. It does need a little work on the suspension, but they don’t specify exactly what. Ball joints, tie rods, and bushings, I would guess; all inexpensive parts that just take some elbow grease to change out.
Inside, it needs some work; the door panels are off, because the power windows are inoperable and the seller was trying to fix them. The headliner is also shot. But the air conditioning works, and it has a new stereo with Apple CarPlay, so that’s something.
The good news is that it’s in good shape outside. The paint is shiny, in a nice shade of green, and the only damage I see is a little ding in the tailgate. I don’t think the wheels are original; they look like Mustang wheels, somewhat ironic given this model’s history.
Finding a car this cheap, in drivable condition, with working air conditioning is a rare thing. And here you have two to choose from. One needs nothing, but is in ugly shape on the outside, and the other needs some help, but will be an arguably nicer and more fun vehicle once it’s done. Which way are you leaning?
Probe. I remember those vans when they were new and have little nostalgia for them. I also remember when the second gen Probe launched and had a friend with a very similar one to the car above. The V6 was definitely where it was at, but the I4 with the stick was still fun in a “slow car fast” way, which is not something the van can claim. Sure, the van has more utility, but being in Missouri means the underside of the van is Swiss cheese.
this is the most attractive version of the probes. I am going to risk the Florida man interaction and say lets go that route. I am not super interested in a manual minivan. I do like the manual part, just not enough to drive a minivan.
I bought a Caravan new in ’95 with the rare 26T package (3-liter Mitsu V-6 and OD automatic). I loved it for 17 years but had to get rid of it because repairs had to be done on practically a monthly basis. If you get this minivan, you will definitely need those extra parts.
I was about to vote Probe until I saw that interior. So if you need me I’ll be in a van down by the river.
I can’t believe I voted for the K-van over a green, manual, hatchback/coupe, but here we are…
I think it depends what you’re garage is missing. Need a fun second car project? Probe all day.
Need a beater van to haul kids and/or junk around in? Voyager.
I came in to vote Ford but after going back and forth I think I’ve changed my mind. Take the K-Box, practice my wrapping skills with something like bright pink or purple (something I want to learn anyway and big slab sides should make it easy to wrap, right?), drop it 2″, add in some better wheels, go cruising. I’m kind diggin’ this idea the more I think about it.
Maybe find an SRT4 Neon to steal the heart from and swap in?
Check out Tony Angelo’s Stay Tuned channel on Youtube. They are doing just that.
I had to drive one of those Voyagers once, and I swore I would never drive one again. The handling is just to sloppy for me. I’ll take the Probe, swap out all the worn front suspension bits, and get the interior back together. Shouldn’t take much more than 2-3 weekends…
Yeah, 100% choosing the Ford Probe. Love that era of liftback coupes. It may not be the v6, but it’s still something quite nice to look at, and with some pretty good Japanese engineering as well!
The Voyager is infinitely more useful as a beater.
I love how from about 1988 to 1990/91 when the airbag wheel became ubiquitous there’s no telling what steering wheel a Chrysler product is going to have. It’s like they had a bin of leftover steering wheels and just let them rip.
so true. The non-airbag steering wheels were either this basic 2 spoke, the other 2 spoke wheel with triangular centerpiece and there was also a 3 spoke with a pentastar centerpiece. From what I recall all the early airbag steering wheels were 4 spoke, chunky rectangular shape, with separate horn buttons, though
What’s weird is that there were definitely two coexisting airbag wheels too. Our 91 Caravan had that big square 4-spoke one with the side horn buttons, and a 90-91 Shadow had the more modern, smaller airbag 3-spoke. The vans eventually got that wheel too.
It’s even harder to know what you’re getting on a LeBaron around that time, I have literally seen either airbag wheel on the same model year car.
I always thought the 3 spoke steering wheel didn’t have an airbag, until the rounded one from the mid 90s used on the cloud cars and a rounded one from the 3rd gen minivans.
One of my uncles owned a 90 Lebaron coupe and a 91 Caravan. Both had the 4 spoke, though.
Now that I googled there was a 2 spoke version of the same early 90s chunky steering wheel with separate horn buttons. What a mess LOL
If I’m not mistaken back then the minivans and LeBaron were built in St Louis, but the minivans were also made in Windsor, ON (through this day). That might have something to do with the steering wheel, different sources anyone?
Ack, I absolutely meant 2-spoke not 3 when I was talking about the “modern” wheel. The 3-spoke were non-airbag.
Easy choice: I got into rallycross because they had a rental Ford Probe. So much fun to beat up in the dirt, even with an auto. A manual? Oh yeah.
As soon as I saw the headline & the top photos I cast my vote for the stickshift Voyager. The manual transmission helps give that Mopar minivan a certain je ne sais quoi that the Probe just doesn’t have.
Ha, yeah, I’m not a fan of Ford… but I’ve actually driven & ridden in those Probes and found them to be less than perfectly cromulent despite their Australian Mazda origins; in fact one that was only about three years old that I drove was so singularly terrible (partly due to some technical issues and partly due to some ergonomical issues, all of which were attributable to Ford’s reverse-Midas touch, lol) that it simply reinforced my disdain for the Fords of back then even as I always stayed aware of the psychological phenomena of confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance and all that.
I expected to vote for the more fun to drive Probe, but that interior and vague “needs suspension work” tells me no, this isn’t the one. This won’t be reliable, this will be a problem.
The van on the other hand, as ugly as it looks on the outside, is remarkably tidy both in the cabin, and under the hood. That’s a car that will always get you there.
I went with the van. I like ’80s Chrysler minivans. They were unapologetically utilitarian. Modern family oriented vehicles (mostly SUVs at this point) are trying way too hard to be cool. A lumbering family pseudovan doesn’t need fake off road styling features, sport appearances packages, or oversized wheels. They look ridiculous. Just give me an honest van like this. Plus, it has a manual transmission. I love improbable three pedal vehicles. It also doubles as an antitheft device and guarantees few people will ask to borrow your van.
I considered the Probe given it is a Florida car and the Voyager has obvious rust repairs, but the interior negates any condition advantage. The photos above show absent door panels, which is not great. The original ad also shows carpet stains, a torn/stained headliner, and a few absent interior trim bits. I will take my chances with the van.
This is the correct take.
The probe is a legit good car.
I am ready to take a Voyage! The kids are grown and almost gone, but that would still make a good stuff hauler that easily fits in the garage. And under $3k for a not destroyed vehicle with working AC? Gimme!!!
Having owned an 89 Caravan Turbo automatic, I had to go with the Dodge. We had so many great memories in that thing. One my grown sons still talk about was near our house we had a stoplight where the right lane merged into the left right after the light. We would often find ourselves stopped at the head of the left lane where inevitably some impatient driver would pull alongside, figuring they could easily holeshot the dad in the minivan.
We didn’t always win, but we certainly surprised a few of those guys trying to beat us to the choke point. Even when we lost, my kids would openly mock the driver at the next light with such things as “YOU’RE AWESOME – YOU BARELY BEAT A MINIVAN FULL OF KIDS!!!!”
I always wanted to manual trans swap that thing but never could find one in the junkyard. It served us well until 220K when the engine left the chat and I donated it for the tax writeoff. If it wasnt on the other side of the country, it would be in my driveway and I’d be turbocharging it with my sons.
Did that 2.5 turbo require premium? I seem to remember my aunt’s Sundance RS with the same engine did but maybe I’m wrong.
Premium was recommended, but we always ran mid-grade 89 in it.
Reminded of the time as a college student I was in the left lane of such an intersection in my old Volvo 144 when a late-model Fox body Mustang full of be-mulleted teenagers pulled up beside me in the right lane just as the traffic light turned red. It was an especially long light and the teenagers spent the entire time revving the Mustang; I could feel the vibrations. I just rolled my eyes. As soon as the light changed to green of course the teenagers floored it and shot up the road into the left lane. It was all the more obnoxious because the right lane was actually ostensibly a right-turn-only lane but impatient and rude drivers would sometimes try to holeshot into the left lane. Annoying to say the least. Obnoxious for sure!! Oh well.
The next intersection (which had a stop sign rather than a traffic light) was about a quarter of a mile or so away at the top of a long gently rising hill up a straight section of road; there was a bend in the road just after the traffic light and before the straight section. When I rounded the bend I could see up the road and I saw that the teenagers had slammed their Mustang into the rear end of a Cadillac, also a late-model, at the intersection with the stop sign. Once I could see that nobody seemed injured and that everybody had gotten out of their cars and were gesticulating animatedly I was able to drink in the delightful scenario and enjoy the schadenfreude for a good several delicious moments as I drove up the long straight section of road.
When I passed by the wreck I could see that the Mustang was quite mangled with the front wheels completely askew while the Cadillac seemed relatively unscathed, lol.
When the teenagers made eye contact with me, because they recognized my car since it was an old Volvo in a highly distinctive robin’s egg blue color, I could only shrug like so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ since I was already running late and I knew that they would see the pay phone on the opposite side of the intersection (this was before cell phones, lol.)
Such a memorable moment; after all, how often does one get to see karma so swiftly carried out in such a decisive manner?? 🙂
Adding that to this day every time I see a Fox body Mustang I always remember that incident, lol.
They weren’t all that common even when new around here but there were enough of them that I was reminded on the reg. And I still see the occasional Fox body Mustang on the road as well as at Cars & Coffee events…
I would rather get probed today. Mazda 626 foundation is a much newer and better start than the K platform. Plus it looks way cooler.
I’ll take the minivan. Practical and cheap and not a torque converter in sight. Sign me up.
One giant Hello Kitty wrap later, and no one will notice the paint situation. Plus, its window cranks still work… so you’re not using the Probe at the drive-through beer stores in Ohio without opening the door. That’s a NO GO for certain.
Good call on the Hello Kitty wrap. I’m in.
Yeah it’s time to get weird with it!
Yeah, itasha FTW!
https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/the-most-painful-skyline-youll-ever-see-hakosuka-itasha/
I went for the 89 minivan. I owned an 89 grand caravan and it was a find stuff hauler execpt for the 3.0 Mitsubishi that burned oil like a two stroke and a giant blue cloud followed me everywhere. This one is cheap and a better motor and a manual. I would take out the seats and use it and a cargo trailer.
Kind of a neither day as my cheap self feels like both are overpriced. Guess it’s the going rate for running vehicles these days. Reluctant vote for the old voyager. I’d rather have the old Toyota conversion van we had when I was a teen. They took utility versions and upgraded the back like a real conversion van. Front seats were vinyl with no power accessories, 5 speed, and then fancy carpet and seats in the back.
Glad I’m not the only one who had this initial reaction. Both I’d say are over-shooting by $1k. Anyways, I’d go with the Voyager too… I drove a 4 cyl (auto) Caravan in high school and didn’t hate it, just glad to have my own set of wheels!
We sent out a Probe, and centuries later it returned…as V-ger.
I give you a star, but it is begrudgingly. You are thin ice with that one. In the future please limit references to even numbered movies only.
Looks like you did a little too much LDS in the 60’s.
latter-day startrek
Whale do, chief! First post was a fluke; I promise it won’t happen again on porpoise.
As long as you keep the music to a reasonable level in public, you get a pass.
I was trying to figure out how to work that reference in, but just couldn’t make it fit anywhere.
It’s all good; you’re a more eloquent writer than I Khan ever be.
Non sequitur…
That’s because his writing is how he lives long and prospers.
I give you a star with great relish.
I don’t really want either, but the manual minivan is quirky, and it would at least be helpful as a self-propelled utility trailer. Plus, the Probe has a vanity plate and Pep Boys shift knob, both of which are big red flags.
I’m not sure that is a vanity plate. This kind of specialty plate always has 5 letters or numbers. I used to spend a lot of time trying to decipher the meaning of these while sitting in traffic; I eventually realized most are just random combinations of letters with occasional numbers thrown in (either that or I’m just too stupid to get the joke – I acknowledge that possibility).
The shift knob is a red flag, though.
Always possible! Where I am, the specialty plates are the most common type to also be vanity plates.
I drove the first gen Probe as a rental car when I was on the road with my first job. It was pretty good for the time considering the Taurus was the start of the show over at ford and getting all of the attention.