All the cars we’ve looked at so far this week have been hovering around the four or five grand range, which is frankly more than I’d pay for any of them. And I imagine I’m not alone. So I thought I’d see if I could find some cheaper options that still fit the 2010 or newer and manual transmission criteria. It took some doing, but I found two good runners for less than three grand each. But wouldn’t you know it – they’re both really funny-looking cars.
Yesterday’s matchup was more of a battle of the sellers than of the cars. That strangely pampered Hyundai Elantra showed us its best, even if it wasn’t perfect, while the bought-from-auction Mitsubishi Outlander Sport was shined up and stuck in a photo booth, but with no maintenance history to tell us how it was treated. As several of you pointed out, condition is king when it comes to inexpensive cars, and the Elantra’s impressive record gave it an easy win.
That’s definitely the way to go, in my opinion. You could probably offer the dealership four grand cash for the Mitsubishi and they’d take it, so the price is probably the same for both. But the fact that someone put so much work into fixing and maintaining a mundane car like a Hyundai Elantra speaks volumes. That will make someone a nice cheap used car.
But we can go cheaper still, and we’re about to. The two cars we’re about to look at are closer to what I think a beater should cost these days. I know the days of three-figure shitboxes pretty much died with COVID, but five thousand feels like a steep investment. $2,500-3,000 is about right; you have to dip into savings, but the sticker shock is far less. These are some pretty odd characters, but in a way, that makes them sort of endearing. Would I have wanted either of them new? Hell no. But for this price, who cares if they’re a little funny-looking?
2011 Nissan Juke SV – $2,950
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 1.6-liter DOHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Salem, OR
Odometer reading: 166,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
See, this is why I hate the term “crossover.” Nissan calls the Juke a crossover, which implies a certain level of SUV-ness, but this doesn’t strike me as an SUV. It’s just a weird little car with a taller-than-average roofline. All the rest is just marketing bullshit.
The standard engine in the Juke is a 1.6-liter turbo four making 188 horsepower. Most of them came with a CVT, and in fact that’s all you could get in the base model. You had to step up to this mid-level SV to get a manual. This Juke is being sold by an RV dealership, and they say it runs well and is fun to drive. Since it is a dealership, don’t expect any maintenance records; you’ll have to rely on an inspection to determine its condition.
The Juke’s interior design is only slightly less weird than its exterior, but weird interiors were sort of what Nissan did back then. (Ever see the inside of a third-generation Nissan Quest minivan?) It’s in pretty good shape, but the miles show around the edges. There’s some wear and tear on the edge of the driver’s seat, but the rest of the interior looks good. I get the feeling this was a one-occupant vehicle for most of its miles.
I hated the Juke’s styling when it first came out, but it has kind of grown on me. I mean, it’s weird, but it looks sort of friendly too. It is a good thing that it has those lower round headlights; without them, the upper headlights extending way back into the tops of the fenders would give it sort of a bug-in-an-Edgar-suit look. (“Is that better?” No. It most certainly is not.) It’s in good shape, and since it’s an Oregon car, you probably don’t have to worry about rust.
2012 Hyundai Veloster Sport – $2,300
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter DOHC inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: El Segundo, CA
Odometer reading: 161,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The Nissan Juke’s styling may be weird, but at least it has the same number of doors on both sides. The same cannot be said of this car, the Hyundai Veloster. For the longest time, when these first came out, I thought it was available as a two-door or a four-door – until I saw one parked and saw both sides of the same car, and learned the truth. The Veloster has a single big door on the driver’s side, and two shorter doors on the passenger’s side. What’s weird is that this is true whether you’re talking about a left-hand-drive or a right-hand-drive Veloster, which means Hyundai made both single-door and double-door versions of each side of the car, so it could have sold regular two- and four-door versions, but chose not to.
The Veloster is powered by Hyundai’s 1.6 liter Gamma engine, either with or without a turbocharger. This one is without. The seller says it runs and drives “fantastic,” and it’s “ready to drive.” The oil was just changed, but that’s all the seller gives us for maintenance information. Maybe they can tell you more in person, though. That’s the advantage of buying a car from a private party; you can learn a lot chit-chatting about a car while checking it out.
This is the fancy Sport model, which includes leather seats and what the seller describes as a “giant” sunroof. The seller was a little cagey in how they framed the photos, presumably to hide wear, but you can see a little in the lower-right corner of this photo. My guess is that the part you can’t see is worse. How bad, though? You’d have to check it out in person to find out.
Outside, it’s a little beat-up, and it has some bad touch-ups in the paint (done with a rattle can, it looks like), but what do you expect for $2,300? The flat-black painted wheels, though, I really can’t stand. Why do people do that? I guess you’d have to put up with it until it needs tires, and then either strip or repaint the wheels before the new tires are installed.
When it comes to cheap cars, being a little weird is actually sort of an advantage. If you’re shopping for a beater, you might as well make it something interesting, right? I mean, Corollas are great and all, but they’re everywhere, and they’re kinda boring. At least these two are conversation-starters. Which one appeals to you?
I forgot to participate on behalf of my car! I love my car, but here’s the thing: I don’t think the early ones had backup cameras standard. If it doesn’t have one, add one aftermarket. Rear visibility is truly awful.
This is why I prefer the term “crossover” exists. I want to know what cars are designed to be tall and bulky for no reason, like the Bolt EUV, or the Model Y – I remember they added height inside the Model Y versus the Model 3 to make it “sit higher”. There is a difference, and I hate it. Now name-stealers like the “Leaf” and “Bolt” are making it harder to see there were, and still could be, shorter, leaner versions of those cars.
Think I’d go Veloster. I really like the Ioniq 3, and this is its spiritual ancestor.
I’m not buying a Juke even with fake internet money. I loathe CUVs in general, but fuuuuck do I hate Jukes. Y’all are weird for liking them. There, I said it.
The Juke is shaped like a lumpy potato. The Hyundai is also awkwardly shaped, and would be just as embarrassing to drive. Neither one, thank you very much.
I went with the Juke as I bet a lot of those miles are being towed behind an RV
The cheaper, better looking Hyundai for me, despite the red flags. Use the money you saved for tires and getting the crap off the wheels.
Had to go veloster. Not for any practical reason, but just because a friend of mine was so proud of his, and we lost him about two years ago now. This is actually the second time he’s come up this week for me. Two days ago one of the parolees I supervise told me about a time not long before my friend passed in which my friend talked him down from self harm over the parolee losing his parental rights. He was a good man, and his journey ended as too many do when he chose to end it early.
If anyone out there is struggling, or if you know someone that is, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Guaranteed, there is someone out there that you’ve made their life better for you being in it, and there will still be more to come. You may never know them, or hear about the impact you make but it’s still there.
I’m never voting for a Juke. I’ll abstain first. Plus, I’ve always kinda liked the Veloster.
With the Juke you’re already avoiding the main reliability issue with the manual. Just make sure the turbo oil line isn’t clogged from poor oil change practices, it’ll cook the oil, sludge it up so bad it can then lead to engine damage. If that hasn’t happened best to just put a new line on anyway to be careful. I love the weirdness of Velosters, but also saw a lot of these 1.6s bottom ends fail even though they were never really part of the official recalls for that stuff Hyundai had, so I’d have a hard time trusting one. I drove a Juke Nismo RS manual back when those were new and it was a shocking fun little scoot. I always wanted to paint/wrap one in Covenant Purple from Halo, seem properly alien, haha.
This was a tough decision. I chose one of them. Can’t remember which.
Never a good sign when everyone in the comments who previously owned X is voting for Y.
Having driven neither of these I went with the Veloster today but under duress.
I’ve been in both of these though I haven’t driven them. Generally, I’m not inclined towards (presumably) stressed very small displacement engines, especially with forced induction, but at least both of these cars have manuals.
I’ve always sort of liked the Juke despite its looks and tiny capacity, plus I have a friend with a Veloster and the thing has been just a whole bunch of out-of-warranty problems for her.
So, I’ll take the Juke assuming a decent mechanic gives the engine and turbo a clean bill of health first.
Still, if allowed, I’d sit this one out.
I have an almost gutteral reaction every time I see a Juke. When I saw these two in the article preview, I was totally prepared to smash the button for whatever opposed it. Then I took a good look at the competitor….*sigh*. All it needed to do was to not scream “I WAS ABUSED” and I’d be cool with whatever is on the other side, but that’s not what this Hyundai is saying. Good lord, I’m taking the Juke.
I think I’ll head to a bar early today.
Veloster by default. Juke and cube are just nono cars. Too ugly to exist. Veloster is quirky and sort of fun in a plebeian way. Plus 2 hour $400 engines. That Nissan engine is just just French enough to make you crazy with electronic issues.
I’m looking at these two choices and checking that my shoes are securely tied.
I’ll walk.
Ugh! Veloster…too bad it’s a… Hyundai. THE JUKE MAKES ME WANT TO PUKE! What a fucking horrible design- one of the worst ever. Juke is always an automatic ND/crackpipe. The other one just had to be a…Hyundai. At least it’s a stick. I think the interior is alright- this time I think they just don’t know how to take good photos. Also, not all BHPH lots are bad- I would have bought that awesome Outlander in a second. I think I’ve bought most of my shitboxes from used lots, actually. You can basically tell if they are slimy jerks from a gut feeling…plus if you’ve already done all your homework pertaining to all aspects of the deal, it’s fine and you can find great deals and more interesting cars. If I found my rare special dream car at a used lot and that was the only place it was, I wouldn’t hesitate to make the deal as long as things are legit. I think it may be that there are a lot better ones in my area, but I still much prefer any used lot even if it’s just to have fun looking around vs. a fucking stealership!
“Ya but that TruCoat!”