How Much Do You Want To Spend On Fresh Air? 1986 Chevy Cavalier vs 2003 Mercedes SL500

Spring has finally sprung where I am. I got to drive around a bit this weekend with the windows down and the sunroof open, and it got me thinking about convertibles again. And as luck would have it, Stephen Walter Gossin and I were talking about convertibles via Slack as well. He’s selling one of today’s cars, and suggested the other one.

On Friday, I showed you a couple of ’70s coupes that have been sitting around far too long. I expected the Datsun 200SX to do better, but its condition, lackluster handling, and face only a mother could love were no match for the tiny Italian doorstop. The Fiat X1/9 won this round handily, despite being more expensive.

I can’t say I disagree. The X1/9 is another one of those cars I’ve loved since I was a kid, and this is the best example I’ve seen for a reasonable price in a long time. Yes, it’s irritating that $8,500 is a “reasonable price” for an X1/9 these days, but that’s where we are. I should have bought that $600 one back in college. Ah well.

In this age when increasing complexity and encroaching rules make it ever harder to take care of your own stuff, us DIYers have to stick together. So when my partner-in-grime Stephen suggested that I feature another one of his cars in order to boost its signal a little bit and maybe help it find a buyer, I was happy to oblige. And lest you think this is another case of me picking a fall guy to put up against one of Stephen’s cars, he picked the competitor this time, not me. Though I must say, if I had a little more time and money to play with, it’s something I’d consider as a toy for myself. Let’s take a look at them.

1986 Chevrolet Cavalier RS convertible – $800

Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter OHV inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Youngsville, NC

Odometer reading: 222,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives, but needs a battery

I have a checkered history with the first-generation General Motors J platform. I’ve had some good experiences with them, and some not so good. But overall, I’m fond of the little buggers, and I always enjoy seeing one, especially since they’re getting really thin on the ground these days. This Cavalier convertible never was all that common of a sight, certainly more rare than its steel-roofed bretheren. But it’s practically a unicorn now, especially in functional condition for a price this low.

Since this Cavalier is an RS instead of a Z24, it has the “little” engine: a 2.0-liter inline 4. It’s not powerful, or refined, but it gets reasonable gas mileage and it’s tough as nails. I spun a rod bearing in one of these engines, and dropped a valve in another, and they both still ran – poorly, obviously. This one has a lot of miles on it, and it has been sitting for a bit, but the seller says it fires right up and runs fine. It does need a new battery, though; right now you have to jump-start it. On the plus side, it has the good transmission: a five-speed manual, a rarity in the convertible.

Also, since it’s an RS, it has a bit of ’80s coolness: a digital dash. It also has power windows and locks, and a power top, and it all works – except for the HVAC blower fan. That shouldn’t be too hard to fix. It has covers on the seats, dash, and steering wheel, so there’s no telling what kind of condition they’re in. But it looks livable inside, at least.

The seller chose to take photos at night, so it’s a little hard to tell what condition it’s in outside. But it’s an eight hundred dollar car that runs and drives; how much does it really matter? The seller says there’s a small hole in the top, but that’s what duct tape is for. As long as it isn’t rusty underneath – and it shouldn’t be, where it is – you’re in business.

2003 Mercedes-Benz SL 500 – $5,995

Engine/drivetrain: 5.0-liter OHC V8, five-speed automatic, RWD

Location: Wilmington, NC

Odometer reading: 67,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Just in case you’re new here, allow me to introduce you to one of my co-contributors: Stephen Walter Gossin. Stephen buys, fixes, and sells a lot of cars. Many of them are suffering from some minor but labor-intensive malady that would otherwise have sent them to the junkyard. He fixes them up, sells them on, and repeats the process. There’s an environmental and altruistic aspect to this, keeping materials out of landfills and providing someone with a good cheap set of wheels, but I think mostly he just enjoys the process. He must – almost every day in Slack there’s a new crop of junkyard photos featuring a smiling Stephen pulling parts off some derelict car. This Mercedes SL500 is one of his more recent finished projects.

The Mercedes SL is a tremendously complicated car. It has a five-liter V8 engine and a five-speed automatic transmission, and a fiendish and failure-prone self-leveling hydropneumatic suspension system that Mercedes calls “Active Body Control.” That system was the thing that grounded (no pun intended) this car, so Stephen yanked it out and replaced it with traditional coil-over shock absorbers. Sometimes old ways are the best ways. It now runs and drives fine, though it occasionally throws a code for a lean condition, which may just be due to old gas. If so, it should take care of itself; a lot of cars that have been sidelined for a while could benefit from a good “Italian tuneup.” Even the German ones.

It looks pretty good inside, and the air conditioning is nice and cold. It also has an aftermarket stereo with CarPlay and all that good stuff. The power locks do not work; they’re vacuum-operated as on a lot of German luxury cars, and known to fail after a while. But it’s a two-door. Just lean over and unlock the passenger’s side manually.

It wears nice AMG wheels with new tires. The paint isn’t great; it has some chips and faded spots. It’s one of the problems with a black car: every little blemish shows. You can have someone touch it up, or wrap it, or just live with it. One other thing to consider, and it’s a big one: the power folding top is not currently power-operated. You can raise and lower it manually, but there’s a leak in the hydraulics. Stephen is working on it, and should have it sorted out soon.

I know this is kind of a strange comparison, but it’s also an interesting thought experiment. On one hand, you have a cheap and simple car that’s never going to be very nice, but won’t take much to keep it going. On the other, you have a very nice car that has the potential to need quite a lot of care and feeding. Is one really worth seven and a half times as much money as the other? That’s what you have to decide.