How Would You Spend Two Grand? 1996 Toyota Camry vs 2004 Honda Accord

I feel like I’ve been a little domestic-heavy on my choices recently, so this week and next, I’m going to even the score a little bit. We’re going to stick with imports, increasing in price as we go. We’ll start off with a pair of old faithful nameplates: the Camry, and the Accord. (Though it now occurs to me that these were both actually built in the US.)

We finished up on Friday with a four-way battle between terrible choices, and I figured I knew which car was going to win. I was right; the Buick Century was cheap, and the worst thing anyone could really say about it was that it was boring. It cruised to an easy win.

That’s probably the right call. I would consider the Mirage as well, even though you all put it in dead-last place, but I think I would go look at the Buick first. It’s reliable, and you could rebuild it out of any auto parts store in the country if you had to.

This is a short week; we’re off Thursday and Friday (I think? I’d better check), so we’ll start with a price cap of $2,000, and add $2,000 every day from now until next Friday, when we’ll top out at $14,000. Big money for our little virtual used car lot here, but it gives us a chance to look at some different stuff.

Let me just preface today’s choices by saying it is getting really damn hard to find Japanese cars worth owning for under two grand. And I’m not saying there are no good choices; there are almost no choices. Sign of the times, I guess; everything is getting more expensive. Sure, you can stumble into a dirt-cheap deal here and there, if you’re in the right place at the right time, but they’re the exception rather than the rule. I don’t like the fact that $2,000 is the new $500 any more than you do, but it’s what we’ve got to work with. Let’s check them out.

1996 Toyota Camry LE Wagon – $1,850

Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter DOHC V6, four-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Portland, OR

Odometer reading: 168,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Imagine a car so reliable, so well-engineered, that it gets lampooned for it. A car that everyone knows, nobody really lusts after, but anyone in their right mind would choose over almost anything else if they just needed cheap wheels. A car that hasn’t really been improved upon in subsequent generations except in minor details. That car is this car, the XV10 Toyota Camry. And this one is special, because it’s the rare wagon version.

This generation of Camry was available with two engines: a 2.2-liter inline four, or a 3.0-liter V6. This one has the V6, like nearly every wagon I’ve seen. It also has an automatic transmission, which is also typical. I’m sure somewhere there exists a V6 Camry wagon with a manual, but its owner bought it new, has put 400,000 miles on it, and is never, ever going to sell it. This one is actually pretty low mileage, and the seller says it runs and drives great.

Part of the reason for the Camry’s success is that not only is it reliable and durable, but it’s also a really nice car. It’s nothing special, just comfortable and well thought-out. This one looks nice inside, and the seller says the heat and air conditioning work great, so you’ll stay comfy no matter the weather.

I’ll be honest: I’m not much of a fan of the styling of these wagons. I know some people love them, but I think that rear window shape looks awkward. It is instantly recognizable, though. The wagon’s big trick is extra seating capacity, in the form of a rearward-facing third seat, which we used to call a “way-back seat” when I was a kid. They were common in American station wagons for years, but I think this might be the only Japanese wagon that has one.

2004 Honda Accord LX – $2,000

Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Buena Park, CA

Odometer reading: 293,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Honda’s Accord has been around longer than the Toyota Camry, and it has just as much of a reputation for durability and reliability, except for one thing – rust. Honda’s rustproofing back in the 1980s and ’90s wasn’t what you’d call effective, and a lot of excellent-running Accords, including one I owned, went to an early grave because their structure just rotted out from under them. This seventh-generation Accord doesn’t have the propensity to rust that the earlier ones did, and it’s a Southern California car, so it has had the opportunity to reach a prodigious mileage: nearly three hundred thousand.

One reason it wears such a heroic number on its odometer is that it has the drivetrain to do it: Honda’s celebrated K-series four-cylinder and a five-speed manual gearbox. This combination makes the Accord both more reliable and more fun to drive. We don’t get any useful information about its condition, only that it has a salvage title for some reason. It could be nothing; California hands out salvage titles like candy. But it’s worth asking, or checking the VIN, to see if you can find out what happened.

It shows some wear and tear inside, but that’s to be expected at this mileage. A steering wheel cover would help a lot, and maybe a new shift knob too. It has a big aftermarket stereo with a touchscreen; I’ll leave that up to you to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.

Outside, it’s missing its hubcaps and a piece of trim on one back door. But the paint looks good, and as mentioned, it shouldn’t have any rust to worry about underneath. The headlights could use a polish, or maybe replacement if they’re cheap enough, but aside from that, it looks ready to roll.

So there you go: two nice, reliable cars for two grand or less each. One is more fun to drive but has a ton of miles, and the other is more practical and lower in mileage, but it’s kinda dull. I know which one I would choose, and I have a feeling it’s not the one you all will, but we’ll see.