Cars that “just need” a little work can seem like really good deals at first glance, especially if the parts are included, or the seller already has a line on them. But like everything, you have to read the fine print. So today, our venerable PT Cruiser is going up against a battered BMW that “just needs” a few junkyard body parts swapped onto it, and we’ll see if it’s worth the effort.
The blue Cruiser won handily yesterday, as I suspected it might. That particular Cadillac Allante is just too far gone to be any fun. If you really want one, look for one a couple years newer, with the much-improved 4500 engine, and shiny paint, for not a whole lot more money. They’re not all that hard to find.
Honestly, though, even if the Allante were nice, I’d rather deal with the PT Cruiser. I still have burn scars on my forearm from transverse Cadillac exhaust manifolds – if you’ve never seen where they put the oil filters in these things, you wouldn’t believe it. Despite knowing that, I actually bought a FWD Coupe DeVille a few years ago. It was a fine car, until you had to work on something. Access to the PT Cruiser’s guts is harder than it has to be, too, but at least it’s just a four-cylinder.
Self-service junkyards are a boon to do-it-yourselfers who prefer cheap cars. Pay your two bucks or whatever, go dig around in a car almost but not quite exactly like yours, find the part you need, and as a bonus, you get to practice disassembling it so you know what not to do on your own car. Body panels are sometimes hard to find; a lot of cars end up in junkyards due to accidents, but if your car is already banged up, you might as well go look. If you’re really lucky, sometimes you can find a car that’s not only the same make and model, but the same color as yours. But is it worth it? Let’s find out.
1999 BMW 328i Sport – $1,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.8-liter DOHC inline 6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Torrance, CA
Odometer reading: 119,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, but needs some work
The E46 3 Series BMW is one of those cars I really want to like, but it’s way better as a concept than as an actual vehicle. On paper it’s great: a nice smooth inline six, excellent balance and handling, and that delightful German precision that made BMW famous, all at an affordable price. But in practice, it’s a nightmare of oil leaks, coolant leaks, broken window regulators, possible torn rear subframes, and a host of other little ticking time bombs. My wife and I owned one, briefly, and it was a great car to drive – but it made me pay for it in garage time. It just wasn’t worth the hassle.
This is similar to the one we had, just a little older; it’s a 328i Sport model, with a 2.8-liter M52 inline six good for 190 horsepower and a GM-built five-speed automatic. It only has 119,000 miles on it, and the seller says it runs great. However, it was involved in a scary-sounding accident: it got hit in a parking lot, and the seller was pinned between it and another car and injured. Understandably, they don’t want the car anymore. It has some body damage that we’ll get to in a minute, but they say it also needs a low-pressure power steering line, and a wheel alignment. Whether those are related to the accident or not, I don’t know for sure, but I suspect they might be. Hopefully it only needs an alignment, and not suspension work.
It’s in typical old, cheap BMW condition inside: generally all right, but a little rough around the edges. Expect some of the power features to not work, and I’m sure it has at least a few dead pixels in the information center in the dash. But there’s nothing frightening inside, and I’m sure it’s still plenty comfy.
The damage is on the driver’s side, with the driver’s door and front fender getting the worst of it. The door is tweaked pretty badly, and I think the window is broken. I believe that’s the spare tire on the left front, which is what worries me about the suspension. The seller found another dark blue E46 in a nearby junkyard and claims that the parts will run you about $300. Replacing a door and a fender is about a half-day job on a Dodge Caravan (I’ve done it before), so I would expect this to be similar. The seller plans to do the work next weekend, if nobody buys the car before then, and after that, the price will go up. So if you want it for cheap and can fix it yourself, act now.
2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser GT – $1,000
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: San Diego, CA
Odometer reading: 221,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
I want to clear something up about our friend the PT Cruiser GT: this is indeed the all-singing, all-dancing, 215-horsepower engine from the Neon SRT-4. Two different turbocharged engines were available for the Cruiser: if you got the standard model and checked the “turbo” box on the order form, you got 180 horses. But if you selected the GT model, you got the full-fat version – along with an “Autostick” manual-ish mode for the Ultradrive automatic. It’s no substitute for a true manual, but it gives you something to play with, I suppose.
There were also some questions about the seller’s claims that the top is in excellent shape, so I wanted to make sure to include a photo of it in the up position today. Looks pretty good to me. It’s got blind spots the size of Oklahoma, but it’s by no means unique in that regard.
Like the old VW Cabriolet and Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible, the PT Cruiser has a fixed basket-handle rollbar that stays in place when you drop the top. Honestly, I’m surprised all convertibles don’t have this. I know some people don’t like the obstructed view, but it helps with the structural rigidity, which is so often lacking in unibody convertibles.
Chrysler made just over a million PT Cruisers, but there can’t have been too many GT convertibles included in that figure. And like it or not, these things will be considered classics someday, especially the uncommon ones like this. That doesn’t mean you should buy this one and restore it as an investment, but it does mean that if you want to be able to say you had one once upon a time, this is a good opportunity.
From this point forward, I’m going to treat this week as a sudden-death elimination: if the Cruiser wins again today, you’ll see it again tomorrow, but if you choose the BMW, then it will face off against the absolutely absurd vehicle I have lined up for tomorrow. So the choice is yours: fix up the E46 yourself and save, or stick with the PT?
You can’t make that beat to death BMW nice for what a nice one costs. And the last thing you want to try to depend on is a beat BMW. Nope, still the PT Loser for me. American cars always run badly for a long time.
Definitely should put an HHR up against the PT just to make it funny to see peoples heads explode. https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/0ad0d3f4-0236-4883-bbbf-4c777de0f743/?aff=atempest&utm_campaign=atempest&utm_source=autotempest&utm_medium=trp&utm_campaign_id=1&utm_trusted=TRUE
I saw “bodywork” and immediately thought “rust!” That immediately turned me towards the PT, but I’d way rather fix accident damage than rust. And honestly, it doesn’t look that bad, so I probably wouldn’t fix the bodywork! Rebuilding some suspension doesn’t sound too hard or expensive (if it’s anything like the Mazda5 suspension I rebuilt last month), and otherwise I don’t expect it to be any less reliable than a turbo PT Cruiser, and somewhat nicer and more practical
It is the Paint really on the Beemer that will end up setting you back, but he is right, as long as it did not get into the rear quarters, ebay or a clean Junk yard setup could have you driving an externally acceptable ride.
Not sure how much elbow grease and steam vacs would be required to disinfect the interior though.
I don’t know that driver’s door is pretty tweaked if you look at the roofline, and the hood isn’t flush anymore either. I’m convinced the damage is more than superficial. Either way I’d rather the turbo PT over the BMW’s treehouse of horrors that await me.
That BMW is so fucking sketchy, everything about it. I wanted to give it the nod over the PT Cruiser but I can’t.
Mark, you should bring the PT back again tomorrow and find another appalling car to go up against it. We need to know where this dam will break… for science!
The Bimmer gives me extremely bad vibes. Parking lot accident where the owner was pinned against the vehicle? I’m not usually superstitious but… it’s gonna be a no from me dawg.
I guess my vote count for the PT is up to 2. Why must you do this to us Mark?
The nickname Christine is purely coincidental. Now go for a late night jog near the BMW.
The Bimmer’s passenger-side headlight is wonky as well; maybe from being pushed into the next car over in parking lot? It’s too cheap for the seller to have done much to even diagnose it properly. It feels like they’re just trying to unload it and not trying to fix it. That’s understandable but just be honest about it, especially before you slap some new panels over top.
PT for me. It’s a tool for best kind of fun: cheap and just rough enough so that you can focus on enjoying the fun without worrying about the tools.
I can’t bring myself to ever vote for a PT Cruiser… they’re hideous.
Well, you convinced someone. The PT Craigslist post has been taken down – I assume sold?
I knew before I even read this that I was going PT GT. That old BMW screams neglect. To use a wonderful saying, that old girl looks like she was rode hard and put away wet. Plus, I’ve done my cheap BMW dance already with an ’89 318is I got for $400 from the bargain lot of a Toyota dealership in my hometown, I’m not looking to get hurt again.
The PT Bruiser having a top that is good enough is a huge win considering replacing the top is frightfully expensive.
Yet again…the win goes to Chrysler.
Still feels weird to say.
BMW – Break My Wallet. At least that was the nickname for my friend 318 from the late 80’s.
If that PT was a manual it’d be reigning champ for months on end. its still good as is. The BMW is a basket case and not gonna be worth the time and effort again. But at least today it runs, it’s a bit closer.
$300 in junkyard body parts is just the beginning. Not worth it to me
I wonder what the PT Cruiser will be up against tomorrow? Yesterday it was an Allante.
https://ebay.us/m/ReDxyd A Saturn? But without reverse?
I’m an unapologetic PT Cruiser fan, even though I objectively despise the convertible version. That blue is fantastic, the turbo motor is wonderful. That’s also, I think, the last year before Daimler-Chrysler ruined the fascia and interior. I don’t know what exactly I’d do with it, but I couldn’t pass it up at only a grand.
Neither. I choose neither and retain my ante for the next hand.
I can’t believe I’m voting for one of the few cars I’d be too embarrassed to drive, but P.T. it is.
I’m going with the PT again, this time mostly for the color matched dash because yes, I’m that superficial.
PT, mostly because I want to see its “absurd” competition for tomorrow.
…If that BMW were manual, and I lived anywhere near a track that hosted the correct events, it’d become a drift missile, which, in that condition, is pretty much all it’s good for. In fact it might have been one of questionable legality from all the damage. I’m worried about the core support from how those headlights and the hood are sitting, anyway.
Also, again, I like PTs. So PT.
I went Cruising again, that BMW just sounds like too much potential. Steering rack? More suspension bits? But then again, cheap fun rallycross car that when it dies you probably have $500 worth of parts?