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?
While I like the idea of the Probe, it is in rougher shape and needs more work. The Voyager would be a great work truck as long as the rust isn’t too awful.
OBVIOUSLY the voyager. Put up a manual minivan against just about anything and it’ll be the answer. I’m sure the probe might win in another race, but not this one.
I could make a compelling case for either, especially since I’d love the Probe for a daily and the van for my handyman business.
I think I’m going with the Probe, I already have a Kia Rondo to fulfill the minivan role, and the Probe would be more fun overall.
Either one would be a great Radwood ride, and also great for a fun activity I like to call “taking something unexpected to a brand-specific show like Carlisle and annoying the muscle car guys.”
I’ll take the Voyager. I passed my driving test in one, albeit a LWB automatic V6-powered example.
As much as I want to vote “manual minivan” that generation Probe has always appealed to me. Even though it’s not the V6, it’s ripe for making into something pretty neat.
I don’t even have to look at the photos or read anything – The Probe is the one.
Probe, regardless of everything else. I don’t want an old Voyager really, and though I only drove a Probe once, 30ish years ago, for just a very short while, I liked it.
The Voyager could get a quick weekend spray paint job and be okay, and with that interior, it’s really hard to pass up.
I have a vague feeling that Probe has been thrashed. Aftermarket stereo and speakers, ridiculous shift knob? A high school kid beat the piss out of that thing. The Voyager is only old.
Gotta go Voyager, as my mom had an ’85 manual 2.2 in the same color. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.
Voyager, purely for the utility. Unlike the probe, the minivan can haul things, both inside and on the roof. For this price and age, there’s little beauty to be found in either of these. As least go for the hauler.
I’ll take the (anal) Probe. It’s a great color and has decent paint at least. I’d rather fix about anything other than paint. These are a decent drive too – a buddy had one new. I’d be embarrassed to have that van in my driveway.
Oof, I guess the Probe. I have no interest in an old minivan. I wonder if the Probe owner would prefer an automatic due to that terrible shift knob that looks like a sex toy for masochists.
Though rare, I think I would’ve been swayed to the Voyager if it had been an automatic. I don’t think it adds much to the driving experience for that vehicle. The Probe benefits from a manual for sure, and I hope the 2nd gen is a little lighter than the 1st gen heavy GTs I remember.
The Ford for me. Once you fix the minor issues, it will be a much nicer car to drive.
If the Voyager had paint that was in better condition. Plus I don’t believe that old Voyager will need nothing. Vehicles that old always need something.
That voyager is the kind of car you can throw a tarp over or park beside the garage and only use 3 times a year for the rest of your life. nothing too bad will ever go wrong. The rust will crust things over for sure, but it will perform like an old mule until one day it just becomes a storage container for the parts you buy for a different car. A car like that could really find a way to be the executor of my estates problem one day.
I’m picking probe, but I am only offering $500.
A bit off topic, but I don’t understand the number of low end car ads that have requests for trades.
I have seen several where the seller was willing to trade for a hot water pressure washer system. What are the odds that someone interested in that particular car, also has a pressure washer they want to get rid of? It’s pretty much the whole reason humans invented money.
I’ve also always wondered about this. My best guess has always been “because dumb”.
Jeez a Voyager stick, that could be a pace car in David Tracy’s other driveway.
That would be my choice too.
Why the hell is this such a close race??
Which one do you think should be running away with voting?
The Probe.
I voted Probe (in spite of not being the GT), but I can also see the appeal of the Voyager. First, it’s a couple hundred cheaper which matters in this crazy market. Second, it’s a minivan which means interior space for miles. And the guy is even throwing in parts which it doesn’t need (yet).
The van is an original shorty. Vast for the mid-80s, kinda small today. And hideous. If it looked decent I would have voted for it though.
I would rather have the Voyager than the bottom end Probe. More nostalgia and honestly more comfort to me.
Because both have their faults. The Voyager needs a paint job, stat.
The Probe needs to have the doors put back together and the front suspension/steering repaired.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Both make you look like you can’t afford anything but the $2,999 row at the Buy Here, Pay Here lot.
My wife had a Probe when we got married. It was hot garbage. Non-stop electrical gremlins and random bits falling off inside and out. In hindsight it was likely because the example she had was third-hand and was almost certainly extremely mistreated before it came to her. Even still I carry a lot of trauma from that experience. Never again.
Could’ve easily voted for the Voyager against a less appealing alternative, but that Probe is tempting. The 2nd gen design still looks great and I have fond memories of a ’93 owned new by an unattainable girl I was smitten with, so I’m biased.
I have no idea what the going price of a Ford Probe is, but that minivan will never ever ever sell for two grand. Its value is entirely dependent on how much gas is in the tank.
Voyager for me, I never really liked the Probe, but I spent a LOT of time in those early mini-vans. I didn’t understand how cool they were then, but now I have come around. I would use it for material hauling and camping.
Give me the Voyager. I’m gonna guy the interior, turn it into a mini-camper and not have to pitch a tent when I go camping. I’ve always wanted to do that. Just big enough to sleep in worth a few DIY modifications.
The Probe would also be fun but where are the door cards? Are they included? I didn’t look to see. But in the end it’s just transportation.
It said they are off because the owner is trying to fix the broken window electrics.
Why not both?