All this week, we’ve been sticking with a hard $2,500 price ceiling, and looking at cars we might recommend to friends of ours who aren’t enthusiasts, but need a good cheap ride they can count on. We’ve narrowed it down to four finalists, and now you must choose a winner. Even though there is no Highlander among this group, there can be only one.
Our final pairing yesterday ventured into the world of manual transmissions, historically a good idea but a hard sell for cheap cars. You all made good strong arguments for each, but in the end, the Subaru Outback took a decisive win, I think just because it is such a clean example. A lot of those Outbacks get thrashed within an inch of their lives; seeing one that still looks respectable, and has a stickshift, is a rare sight indeed.
I could go with that. The Matrix would make a fine beater, but I think it’s a little overpriced for its condition. The Outback looks like something you could still take some pride in owning, and that goes a long way towards making a cheap car last longer. And as long as the head gaskets have already been replaced with the “good” kind, it should be good to go.
So we have our four finalists, and you have a non-gearhead friend waiting with twenty-five hundred bucks for you to tell them which one to buy. Let’s review the choices.
2004 Chrysler PT Cruiser
The case for it: It’s a useful little wagon chock-full of cheap, plentiful domestic parts. It has reasonably low mileage, too, so it should have plenty of life left.
The case against it: Automatic PT Cruisers are sluggish performers, and don’t get the gas mileage you think they ought to. Also, if that is a cigarette burn on the driver’s seat, there’s a chance it might be stinky inside.
1992 Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight Royale
The case for it: It’s a genuine grandpa-mobile, probably maintained by the same mechanic all its life, though those records are probably lost. It has a simple and durable drivetrain and plenty of room inside. And it gets better mileage than you would think.
The case against it: Nothing really, as long as it isn’t rusted out underneath. But that’s a big “if.” Check it out carefully.
2011 Kia Sedona EX
The case for it: Minivans are still the most useful personal vehicles ever devised. If you need a lot of seats or a lot of open space, nothing will do the job better. And this looks like a good one for the price.
The case against it: There’s some strangeness about the title that I don’t quite understand. And some people just wouldn’t touch a minivan, no matter how much sense it makes, because they think it makes them look “uncool.” But most of the people who think that aren’t very cool anyway.
2003 Subaru Outback
The case for it: It’s a legitimately nice car that just happens to not cost very much, so it doesn’t really have that “beater” stigma that something in rougher shape would have. And it’s a wagon, which is the second-most useful vehicle shape of all time.
The case against it: The manual transmission might be a hard sell, depending on who your friend is. And if you don’t actually need AWD, which most people don’t, it adds complexity and potential maintenance to worry about.
Right, now remember: You’re not shopping for yourself. You’re helping out a friend, to keep them from throwing $2,500 down on a sketchy Ford Explorer from the buy-here-pay-here lot, and getting roped into $500 per month payments for God knows how long. Any of these would be better than that, but which one would you feel best about recommending?
For the test case presentation I voted the 88, were it for myself it would be the Subaru.
Olds 88! This was easy
Oldsmobile,because it will last forever and probably do stuff
Subaru,because they’re solid cars if you maintain them properly
Kia,because it’s a minivan and that is fine
PT Cruiser,because I really don’t care about them
Kia van lots of room for whatever. They were of decent quality then in their upwards quality over the years. Parts are cheap working on them is easy. You still see them on the road. The explorer is basically the modern minivan so if they are looking at an explorer it’s probably the best fit too.
Subaru is the easy first choice because a manual wagon wins. If the stick is an absolute no-go, then it’s the Olds
Olds. Still see them out here. PT Cruiser in 2nd. Just don’t have faith in Kia. The Subi is easy to work on, but you’re GOING to be working on it; plus there’s got to be a reason the price is a little low at a dealer.
Like many others, I voted for the Outback. A decent-sized Japanese manual wagon? In an unusual but pleasant enough shade of metallic green? I don’t think the other cars stand a chance.
My ranking for the week:
Subaru
Olds
Van
PT Cruiser
Based on available information, I vote Subaru. Should be reliable, useful, and have enough value left over that the friend could unload it when they’re done. Negatives are learning stick and a certain degree of guilt because the thing does look incredible. Bonus points: this is the kind of car that could get someone excited because it has a stick, it is capable, it looks excellent, and there is a cult following.
If I knew the Olds had a solid subframe, that would be my pick because it would just work. Simplicity is beautiful and a basic automatic grandpa car is always great transportation for someone who is just interested in getting around on the cheap. Bonus, you won’t care about bumps and dings. No one will look twice at it, no one will steal it, it’ll just…exist. Can’t ask for much more from a cheap car for transportation.
Each one of these is a top choice (and practically the fleet vehicle) for where it currently lives. My friend lives in the PNW so Subie it is. Dear Spouse confirms that you can fork a half-ton pallet of soil amendments into the back of one.
The Olds hands down. It will outlast any other vehicle here without a major repair, has a slushbox for our non-gearhead friend, and like you said gets decent mileage
Outback, not only because it is the best option here, but because I recommended a nearly identical one (it was white with the gold lower half) to my nephew a few years ago. They have Subaru-specific quirks, but they are practical, relatively easy to fix, and have a relatively easy transmission to learn to drive stick on (my very non-gearhead nephew learned it in a day and was old-hat in a week).
I live in Colorado; the Outback is THE default vehicle for non-gearheads. Easy choice.
You scared me off the Olds with your rusty subframe talk and the Outback is the only other car in the bunch that LOOKS like it is worth saving. Most cars are technically worth it, but it makes it a lot easier to justify the cost when you can still take pride in the vehicle’s appearance in my opinion.
Since the rules stipulate the car is not for me, that almost eliminated the Outback from consideration. But then I looked again at the other 3 choices.
Outback, it is! And I’ll find a way to teach my friend how to drive stick.
If rust were not a concern I would lean towards Olds, but unfortunately it is and I can’t see under the Olds, so we’ll go out back for today.
Of these, I would pick the Outback for myself
Went with the Olds, because that red interior is beautiful. If I were going for practical rather than beautiful, I’d take the Subaru, even though nobody down here needs AWD.
Going with the 88, since it’s the only one I voted for that was still in the running today.
It’s the not-so-Rocket 88 for me.
Rocking Chair 88?
Edit: Walker 88 was right there. I’m not on my A-game today, clearly.
It’s a toss-up between the 88 and the Outback. And having had experience with Subaru EJ head gasket issues, for which this particular generation of engine is known, that’s a hard pass. I would strongly prefer the manual and wagon form factor but not with that engine, and I can’t put that on someone else either.
So that leaves the Eighty-eight. It’s nothing special but it inhales freeways, effortlessly, forever. They’re not especially complex and that’s a good thing. I almost can’t believe I’m writing this, but the Olds gets the win. If they didn’t want an unexciting recommendation, they shouldn’t be asking me.
My friends are cool and older and can drive stick. In this group, the Subie looks even better so that’s my call today.
Subaru for a clean win. Herb burned the PT Cruiser’s seat.
For myself the choice would be my grandfather’s Oldsmobile. Those are simple (by today’s standards) and reliable. Parts are cheap and the engine is swimming in that engine bay. Even the back bank of plugs is easy to change. Hint: copper is best on a Series II 3800.
Oh yes, old engine designs do not like modern plugs. I always ran straight copper in both my Jeep 4.0L engines.
Tough choice. If I were buying a car for myself the obvious choice would be the Subaru.
For someone else, I would recommend the Kia. It is several years newer than any of the other three. It is cheap due to the title issue and the poor reputation of Kia. Kias sucked in the ’90s, but by 2011 they were perfectly adequate vehicles. As for the title issue, I presume this thing has a rebuilt title – those are also blue in Texas, according to the internet. A 2011 Kia hasn’t been worth much since 2013 or so. This means the wreck was either major and a long time ago (thus showing it was fixed right) or recent and minor. It could also be a theft recovery. I’m not concerned about a rebuilt title on a car this cheap, assuming it isn’t a flood car.
The PT Cruiser is also a solid choice. It is cheap because it is old and many people have an irrational hatred of these cars. When in doubt, I go with the much newer vehicle, though.
The only one I would absolutely NOT recommend is the Oldsmobile. I don’t think it is a great idea for someone with no interest in cars and/or no mechanical ability to daily drive a 30+ year old car. I don’t care how reliable this car was when new. When this car was built, George Bush was president – and not the one who can’t pronounce the word “nuclear.”
I agree entirely. The Olds is getting too old for a non-gearhead to maintain, and the Subaru is likely going to provide more expensive maintenance concerns than the other cars in this roundup. Out of all of them, if they need to schlep themselves/kids around the van is the best choice. It won’t be fun, but it will be boringly reliable and useful and probably cause them the least amount of financial trouble. As I said the other day with the Nissan, though, I’m going to be generous and help pay for a PPI before they pick up the van.
Plus one for George Herbert Walker Bush, the good one.