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?
Just some corrections on the Veloster, I had a 2013 6MT non turbo.
2013 was the first MY for the turbo, and they grenaded many an engine, reliably improved in later years.
That is not leather, its vynl/vegan leather. I installed seat heaters had those covers off.
They are a ton of fun, but NVH is horrible, the rubber band wheels telegraph every road imperfection!
This one is roached out, I still voted for it cause I can’t vote for a nissan, and I owned one so I’m obligated too lol
It took the comments section to get me to think practically about the shoddy condition of the Veloster. I’ve never driven one, but I like their looks and a stick sounds fun. Then I started thinking: the owner probably wanted it to be fun, too, and I’ll bet it’s been shifted hard. The Juke is ugly enough to be interesting and might still be interesting to drive, so it got my vote.
Veloster for me since I hate how the Juke looks.
The looks of Juke may have grown on you, but I still think they’re ugly as sin. The Veloster is a little small for me and it’s not the turbo, but it still gets my vote today.
I have never driven a Veloster, but I have driven a Juke. Therefore, Veloster without a doubt.
As a friend once told me, “It doesn’t matter if you look stupid, as long as you’re having fun.” Never drove one but it sounds like from the comments the Juke is a fun ride.
Juke. I like the Veloster, and even the base models are fun to drive. However, that Veloster gives off all of the vibes of a neglected and uncared for car, so I’d rather roll the dice on the Nissan.
As a former Veloster owner I heartily vote for the Juke. When they first came out my wife fell in love and got one. She had the turbo. It had 200 hp but I swear 70 of them never showed up. It also had larger wheels that killed the ride. NVH was terrible. I called it toad. Not only did it look like one but it didn’t roll down the road, it hopped. We had it a full miserable year. It turns out that she also considered a Juke. She likes ’em weird and lumpy. Wait a minute.
I’m a Hyundai fan, and was close to purchasing a Veloster Turbo but instead bought an Elantra GT (needed a more roomy hatchback). I’ve always had a soft spot for Velosters, and initially was going to vote for this one, but the back end just looks shoddy. If the exterior was treated so poorly, then what type of maintenance has this one had.
I’ll hold my nose and vote for the Juke. At least it’s a stick and not their terrible CVT.
The Veloster has all the signs of a poorly maintained car. Someone that rattle cans their car’s body and wheels doesn’t do preventive maintenance.
This is one of the best matchups yet; these two vehicles are kindred spirits, design-wise.
I too have warmed up to that Juke; it’s quite lovably shaped. Never driven one but I’ll take on faith those here who say they have and enjoyed the ride.
But every time I see the last of the Velosters on the road, I get a little misty eyed. They made a bold statement: Slick, affordable cars still matter. So Velo for me.
(BTW, gotta nitpick–contrary to what Mark’s written, the Juke’s owner claims it’s a five speed, not a six speed.)
I once briefly considered a NISMO Juke, and I seem to recall that the 6-speed manual was the only manual offered in the US. The dumb part of the Juke was that the 6-speed, regardless of trim, was only available with FWD; if you wanted AWD, it was CVT-only, even on the NISMO.
Turbo Jukes were only available with a 6 speed manual. If it is a five speed it is a normally aspirated Juke.
We never got a non-turbo Juke in the US, so all our manuals are six-speeds. The seller is mistaken (surprise, surprise).
I can’t even with the Puke. Horrific inside and out, even with being too old for screens, screens, screens, screens.
So 3dr Hyundai for me, gun to my head.
Since it’s a hatchback, wouldn’t it technically be a 4-door?
You are technically correct, which is the best kind of correct!
But it would have been really kind of cool if they had offered it as a goofy 5dr.
I always had soft spot for the Juke’s styling. Quirky but I was ok with it. But I like the Veloster more and was ready to go that route but something seems off on it. Whatever is in the corner of that photo (is it the seat belt that is all worn and mangled?) and general body alignment concern me. There’s a dent under the driver’s door and the body lines seem to be off there too. Not sure if this is hiding some nefarious or just presenting typical Hyundai quality of the time.
It’s ugly as hell but a Juke with the manual is surprisingly fun to drive – if that Veloster is the non-turbo it’s just a cooler looking Accent
I cannot stand the Juke’s design language; the giant amber orange eyebrows look awful. Everything about that car is visually offensive to me.
It just looks like this to me.
Imho the design was SO bad, that Nissan had to pay people to swap a GTR drivetrain in it in an effort to convince people it was cool. It won’t work on me. Looks awful.
Gonna go against the grain here, the Veloster is my pick. It would live out the rest of its limited days an a RallyX car, so the condition of the body doesn’t really matter, as its going to get worse.
I’d gut as much as is legal to do so in a stock class, grab some snow tires for it, disable the airbags and hoon it to death.
The Juke I rented in Scotland got me through the highlands and everything else just fine. I don’t remember the “oh sh1t” handle placement, but it survived my wife’s reaction to my driving in the UK. I’ll take the Juke, it was surprisingly ok.
I have always liked the styling of the Juke and the Veloster because they were a bit oddball, and I think the world needs more fun cars… given equal conditions, I would choose the Veloster hands down, they are actually pretty good cars to drive, but between these two examples, the Juke looks like your better bet.
I’ve driven both. The Veloster isn’t bad but it has huge blind spots that drive you a bit crazy in parking lots or when changing lanes. This one is owned by a clown who painted those wheels and is trying to hide something in the photos. Do I really want to show up somewhere where I already don’t trust a seller? Not when I have the choice.
I had always written off the Juke as something weird or ugly. A friend had one and always raved about it. I just nodded. Last year my wife and I were in the Azores and the rental company handed me the keys to a Jeep Renegade. I cringed but took it. It not only drove like crap, already had transmission issues and felt way too tight on those super narrow streets. I took it back the next day to exchange at the rental place. The guy was cool and said I could pick whatever they had. After taking a look, I found a Juke and figured what the hell. I was amazed at how well it drove and how fun it was. It also seemed really solid and put together (esp. after the Renegade). When I got back home, I told my friend about the rental, and he gave me the I told you so spiel. So yeah. today I’m voting Juke all the way.
Juke 100%. It’s so bad it’s great. Kinda like the original mini cooper….plucky, unique, can be ridiculous. I dig it.
The vlobster tries to be a sporty coupe hot hatch thing. The Juke is an ungainly klutz that stumbled its way into being a hilarious turbo hatch.
I was set to vote for the Hyundai, right up until the last picture. It looks like that whole side of the car has been badly repainted, which is concerning. If the paint looks that bad, imagine what the bodywork under it looks like.
Hm. Ugly Nissan with a manual, or a Hyundai. I guess I’ll go with ugly Nissan as I think it’s more likely to be semi-reliable than the Hyundai.
I actually have kind of a soft spot (potentially between my ears) for both of these, primarily because of their oddball looks.
I think of these two I would have gone with the Veloster given equal condition but the Hyundai here looks pretty wrung out. I suspect the maintenance on this one might have been spotty at best. Also, there is all the potential Theta engine crap looming on the horizon (I believe these fall in that bucket), and I’ve heard from a number of places that the big sunroofs in the Veloseters are prone to failure and a pain to fix.
The Juke would have been better with AWD, but if memory serves, that required the auto which brings all the Nissan CVT baggage of this era along with it so manual here is probably best for reliability, although that word is rather loosely applied when talking about either of these two. But it looks in better shape so we’ll go Juke today.
Actually the 1.6 isn’t from the Theta engine line, It a Gamma engine. My bad.
A Juke at the end of it’s life isn’t exactly gonna give much as a trade-in for an RV. I wonder if someone traded an RV that happened to be flat-towing the Juke and just left it there.
I thought the same thing. I couldn’t figure out why it was at an RV lot unless someone flat-towed it there and didn’t want it back.
I like the Juke’s styling, in a weird way. I don’t love it, but I like when cars Dare to Be Different I suppose. And while it’s a completely different generation, a coworker of mine had a manual Juke rental in Europe last year and that thing was legitimately fun to drive.
Had the same experience last year in Portugal with a Juke. I had no idea they were fun little cars and could handle.