Good morning! Today we’re going to look at two sedans from two different eras, both of which I’m pretty sure were driven by elderly owners. They come from opposite sides of the world, but the basic idea of both of them is the same.
Before we get into yesterday’s results, I just want to remind you all of something: Like those old 1-900 psychic hotlines, the information presented here is for entertainment purposes only. I’m not actually trying to give any car-buying advice. You get that, right? I’m not suggesting (well, kinda but not really) that anyone go buy a 9,000-mile Chevy Cavalier instead of a new Trax. I’m just showing you some cars I found for sale that I thought were interesting.
That said, if I had ten grand to spare, I’d fly out to Santa Barbara, road-trip that Dodge Daytona home, and spend the next ten years happily using it up. Maybe that’s just me, but maybe not. The blue Daytona won in a landslide.
My current daily driver is a 2013 Chrysler 300 that I inherited from my dad when he passed away. Before that, Dad had a 2006 300, and before that, a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spider. I remember giving him a hard time about trading in the Eclipse for an “old man car,” but after spending three and a half years behind the wheel of this newer 300, I get it. Comfy seats, a good stereo, and good strong air conditioning make the miles disappear in the rearview mirror in a very pleasant way. And it’s not even at 100,000 miles, so it should last me a good long while yet. You could do worse than to pick up a nice old sedan owned by an elderly driver. But how far back do you go? Let’s check out an old standby and a slightly newer choice, and you can decide.
1987 Pontiac 6000 – $3,950
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter OHV inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Battle Creek, MI
Odometer reading: 137,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
General Motors has been doing the badge-engineering thing for a long time, but it reached its peak in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Fortune magazine called GM out on it in 1983, and the movie Fletch made a joke about it in 1985. This Pontiac 6000 would be nearly indistinguishable from a Chevy Celebrity, Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, or Buick Century if not for its grille and badges. Despite that, GM sold a bazillion of these things over the years, and they turned out to be durable, reliable cars.
You’d never accuse one of being fun to drive, though, even though it’s from GM’s “Excitement Division.” This base-model 6000 is powered by our old friend the Iron Duke four-cylinder, which was renamed the Tech IV in 1982 when it gained throttle-body fuel injection. It’s noisy, and it isn’t much of a powerhouse, but if you keep fresh oil in it, it will keep cranking out its measly ninety horsepower until the end of time. It only comes with one transmission in the 6000, a three-speed automatic. This one runs and drives great and has had only two owners who both cared for it.
The interior is a little threadbare, but it doesn’t look abused. It has a gigantic aftermarket touchscreen where the radio should be, which I don’t much care for. I’d rather see the good old two-knob Delco stereo (which is included), and use a cassette adapter to bring it into the modern era. It has a strange assortment of options: cruise control, air conditioning (which works fine), and power locks, but manual crank windows. The old a la carte option days made for some weird specs.
I expect it has a small amount of rust somewhere, being a thirty-nine-year-old Michigan car, but for the most part it’s in remarkable shape outside. The paint is shiny, it has all the original hubcaps, and it isn’t missing any door trim like so many of these are. Oh, and whoever buys this car is required to nickname it “The Purple Duke.” I mean, what else could it be?
2000 Hyundai Sonata GLS – $4,300
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter DOHC V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Sacramento, CA
Odometer reading: 78,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Hyundai didn’t get off to a very auspicious start in the US. It began selling cars here in 1985, with the Excel subcompact, which sold like hotcakes but fell apart as soon as the warranty expired. The Excel was followed in 1989 by the Sonata, which also sold well by undercutting models like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord on price. Both the Excel and the original Sonata were based on Mitsubishi designs, but by the time this Sonata was built, Hyundai was designing its own cars, and screwing them together a whole lot better.
Two engines were available in the Sonata: a Mitsubishi-designed Sirius four-cylinder or Hyundai’s own Delta V6. This being the upmarket GLS model, it has the V6, paired with a four-speed automatic. The seller is a dealer, I think, and we don’t get a whole lot of details about it, but they do say it runs and drives “very smooth.” That’s encouraging, but a pre-purchase inspection is a good idea.
It’s pretty fancy inside for a Hyundai, with (hopefully real) leather seats and (probably fake) wood trim. It’s in good condition, which you would hope with only 78,000 miles on it, but you know how some people treat their cars. The seller doesn’t give us much information here either, but they do say the air conditioning works, so that’s something.
I’m still not big on earth tones on cars, but if you have to do it, this is a good one. I’ve always liked this sort of greenish beige. Not that it’s a particularly stylish car, but it’s inoffensive. And it’s in great shape.
The older I get, the more I realize that “cool” cars are overrated. The trick is to find yourself something you think is cool, and then find something you don’t hate that does what you need it to. These both fall into that “something you don’t hate” category, but they will certainly do what you need them to. They’ve got comfy seats and air conditioning; what more could you want in a cheap daily driver? Which one would you pick?
Bench seat? World’s most miserable speedometer? It’s the purple ‘Yak all the way.
this would be a big bag of neither for me, though begrudgingly, I would endure the Duke in a Poncho. Though, for Sacramento I would probably go with the HHR. Sedans are getting hard to find, though wagons are as well and well, this one is actually not the worst one I have seen. (though that does kind of make me wary of it being scam too) https://www.craigslist.org/view/d/lucerne-2010-chevrolet-hhr/jzbV37Cpxf5cNfniUfuLGb
I had that generation Sonata and with the V6. It was a very good freeway cruiser. I took mine from 100K to 180K miles and then sold it to my neighbor’s daughter.
So that’s where my vote goes
I default to the newer vehicle when one option is pre-2000 and the other is 2000 or later. The modern car is almost always the better option. I don’t know how well that logic applies to a 26-year-old Sonata from the Hyundai-is-crap era, though.
But then again, the other choice is a 39-year-old Pontiac 6000.
Yikes.
In deciding the Garbage v Trash case of 2026, I’ll stick with precedent and side with the newer vehicle. Hyundai it is.
Mom had a Sonata. I asked her, You know why it’s called a Sonata? She said no
I said because it’s sonata Toyota!!
She didn’t think that was funny. Sorry Mom.
If that Pontiac had the v-6 (2.8? 3.1? – I forget) and A/C this would be a slam dunk. I’d be OK with cranks and no other options, but the 2.5 and no air would make it rather miserable. I never liked this era of Sonata or Hyundai as a whole. Their exterior designs were just…off. Apart from that, I can’t deny that this is a well equipped car and would be comfortable and likely reliable enough for this old man.
Might want to re-think your vote after you re-read the description.
“It has a strange assortment of options: cruise control, air conditioning (which works fine), and power locks, but manual crank windows.“
Yeah, reading comprehension didn’t pull me through this one, obviously.
You didn’t forget: 2.8 from 1981 to 1987 and 3.1 from 1988 to 1991. There was another V6, this time diesel 4.3…
My parents had an ’85 Pontiac 6000 when I was a kid. I took my driving test in the thing. When I saw the ’87 on offer here, that was going to be my pick until I saw the dreaded 2.5L Iron Puke in the thing. Hard pass, I’ll take the Hyundai.
If that Pontiac had the V6, I’d go for that in a second. (As long as the undercarriage isn’t rusted to holy hell). I know it may be a little nostalgia talking.
That Pontiac may as well be from 1977 compared to a car from 2000+. I’m taking the far more modern and safer Hyundai, if I had to choose.
I’d go Sonata. If you’re going to drive a penalty box it might as well be safer and have some comfort.
Pontiac for the win today. Parts and service will still be easier to get in the rural Midwest where I live.
You see a lot of old GM cars and trucks where I live. You don’t see a lot of old Hyundai vehicles.
That’s what I discovered when doing many road trips with my 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity in the 1990s. The service was quick and parts readily available so I wasn’t stranded for more than few hours when something broke in my Celebrity.
Pontiac by default.
My SiL had two different Hyundai’s of that era. Both managed to invent new forms of failure mechanism for even the most basic functions (power window failure that eats everything it can inside the door card? Sure!) Ultimately, they both ended up at a scrap yard at <10 years old. No thanks.
Early 2000s Hyundais are NOT the same as 2010’s Hyundais. Not sure which your SiL had, but would guess it was more of a late model than the Sonata on offer today.
Hyundai went out of their way to prove to the buying public that they could build a reliable workhorse of a car in the 2000s and then slowly backed away from that after gaining that trust.
I’m not sure that they have gotten back to where they were 25 years ago yet.
They were absolutely turn of the century examples.
I can honestly say I’ve not heard this opinion before, that they were better then, and worse now. The early days of Hyundai imports were marred by absolute garbage reliability that sent many examples to early graves.
Early Hyundais (think the Excel) were reprehensible trash and not much better than a Yugo. Hyundai shot themselves in the foot and took over a decade to regain any traction in the US after the Excel was long-gone.
That traction came in the form of excellent pricing, a 5yr/100k warranty and a wide selection of cars that met the needs of 99% of the buyers. By the mid aughts, Hyundai was no longer a joke in the US, but a serious contender in the automotive landscape.
The vehicles from that era (at least in my own purview) were uber reliable and could tolerate lots of abuse and neglect without major failures.
My 2001 Elantra GT was one of the most trouble-free cars I ever owned, and the Hyundai dealership bent over backwards to take care of me and that car. As with all cheap cars, frequent and regular maintenance goes a LOOOONG way. My Elantra had frequent fluid and filter changes over it’s lifespan.
Fast forward to 2011 or so, and Hyundai started chasing near-luxury and the mechanical quality of the cars fell off substantially. A 2011-2017 Sonata from this era will likely need a new engine and transmission before 120k. Those cars took luxury and features to the next level, but at the cost of the mechanical fortitude of the cars.
Hyundai (and Kia) have lured near-luxury buyers away from other makes with low entry costs and extensive features lists, but they are no longer as solid a vehicle as they were in the 2000s.
The Sonata might be something I wouldn’t immediately regret, so it gets my vote today.
I almost fell asleep looking at the pics of the Pontiac. Sonata today.
Sonata. I could see myself getting in the Sonata and doing my long, boring commute without any real excitement or discomfort, unlike the 6000 where I know I would be complaining about it nonstop day in and day out.
As much as I don’t like the color and body style of the Hyundai, having half the miles and overdrive for only $400 more makes it the better choice to me
If I’m going A-Body, it’s 1990+ Cutlass Ciera with the 3.3 or GTFO.
Sonata for me. Side and front airbags, 2.5 liters spread across 6 smooth cylinders instead of a paint shaker Iron Duke, hideous/glorious OEM fake wood, and the champagne gold paint and perfect analog gauges aping the 1996 Camry. The Hyundai has no identity or personality, but it is unlikely to offend or annoy.
Do you want your ugly square or rounded?
Hyundai was super cheap and reliable in that era, my first serious girlfriend’s mom had a Sonata just like that one, that she let me drive occasionally.
It was a perfectly cromulent car and would make a solid (if boring) commuter.
Is that Lincoln from Friday still available?
It’s unexciting as hell, but the Duke engine and THM125 were both pretty long in production by this point and their worst bugs almost entirely sorted. It isn’t fast or stylish, but it’s rugged and reliable which are highly desirable, valuable qualities and at under $4000, that’s a great deal.
The last Hyundai I had stranded me on multiple occasions, which left a bad taste in my mouth that persists to this day.
Pontiac today. Easy call.
Ugh. Ennui on four wheels. Or 8 wheels I guess since they are both snooze fests. I suppose the purple color helps a little on the Pontiac I but still, ugh.
If put to it, I’ll go with the Hyundai because for actual use (it’s not like I’m keeping one of these for a showy/fun weekend cruiser) there just isn’t any getting away from a decade and a half worth of advancement in ergonomics, refinement, safety… basically everything.
I have it on good authority from Robocop that the 6000 sux and frankly I want neither of these.
I’ll take the durable, reliable and very much not phlegm-toned or anthropomorphic Poncho.
My grandparents had an ’84 6000, my grandma had an ’83 Century, my wife had an ’85 Celebrity, and my bro-in-law had an ’85 Ciera. I know these cars. The sad thing is that within ten years from new, in Michigan, the Ciera already had the floor rotted out and the Celebrity had a bad transmission (wouldn’t shift to third) and the wheel wells were rotted out. None of those cars had even seen 100k yet.
To use a term from C/D magazine, the “hoary” Iron Duke is not something I want to be subjected to again. Sonata wins this one.
I could see myself driving, and not hating, the Sonata. Can’t say that about the GM product.