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.
Both are compelling options, as diverse as they are.
But the Mercedes has been addressed by our own Stephen, so we know all the work was done with good sense and good faith.
In SWG I trust.
My man!
I was initially going to vote Cavalier because while the Cavalier is a shitbox it’s an easily maintained and repaired shitbox plus a manual transmission. Then I read further and discovered the Mercedes is,the one our own SWG laid hands on which means it’s worth the risk, and an Autopian sticker
The Merc is too much car for the money. It’s ridiculously tempting, but I’ve done the used German car financial spiral before. I suppose I could buy it for a spring/summer/fall and then sell it, hopefully before it hurts me. It would easily be 7.5 X nicer than the Cavalier. With a 5M, the Cavalier seems better than it could be. I could see running around some lower rent beach town in it.
But, really, I’m not a convertible guy.
I’ve driven a couple of J car convertibles and that flexible flyer body got on my nerves. I can’t imagine living with it. I think the Mercedes is a screaming deal. Pay the fee for SWG.
Dodsworth gets it.
I’m in total agreement about J-Body convertible chassis flex – it really is pronounced.
Thanks for the kind and supportive words, my dude!
Gossin’s Benz is definitely a good example, and a bargain relative to its competition at that price.
Unfortunately, I don’t really have a home for anything with fewer than three seats, the Cavalier’s condition’s also quite nice for the cheap money, and I’ve been missing driving a manual (whether the Cavalier would sate that desire or cure me of it…)
It’s 2026. I’d wager if you cleaned up that Cavalier real nice, and hit the beach with some Motley Crue on the tape deck, I bet the J body gets more attention than the yellow lens ‘buy here pay here’ lot Mercedes. Somehow, the little 4 eyed J body is more special.
I’ve tried twice now to clean up those lenses! Its’ very frustrating.
Also, this is definitely not a “‘buy here pay here’ lot Mercedes”, as I’ve done a ton of work to it over recent months. Work that those types of lots would never perform.
I didn’t mean it as a slight to you SWG. I’m a big fan and know you put in the real work.
I was referring to an outsider perspective of folks you might see out in the wild.
The J body is more the anomaly these days compared to the Merc.
But I know that Merc would sound gnarly with a muffler delete and some era-correct Pitbull blasting.