I have a lot of respect for cars with big miles on the odometer, and for the people who put those miles there. Even more so if those cars are the sort of cars that don’t typically rack up a lot of miles. One of today’s cars you expect to see a lot of miles on, but the other… not so much.
I’m glad to see that the majority of us were in agreement yesterday: a Ford Festiva is a little nugget of awesome, even with an automatic transmission. It didn’t win by a lot; that Mercury Cougar had plenty of fans as well, but win it did. In both cases, a lot of you wanted to make changes: the Cougar fans wanted to up its horsepower, and the Festiva fans were talking about a manual swap.
Between these two, I’d definitely take the Festiva, and I think I’d leave it as an automatic. I’m too old to go mucking around with transmission swaps, especially on a car that’s too old to find in junkyards anymore. I’m sure I could find ways to have fun with that little rollerskate, even without a clutch pedal.
Seeing low-mileage time-capsule cars is kind of cool, but it’s also kind of sad. There’s a lot of potential miles there that never got driven. It seems like kind of a waste. And the cars that are bought as “investments” and squirreled away from day one are even worse. I’d much rather see cars with a ton of miles on them. Cars aren’t meant to be preserved; they’re meant to be enjoyed and used up. These two aren’t quite there yet, but they’ve definitely got some history. Let’s check them out.
1986 BMW 325 – $3,750
Engine/drivetrain: 2.7-liter OHC inline 6, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Beaverton, OR
Odometer reading: 281,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well, but needs a few things
Used BMWs have gotten a bad reputation in recent years. They’re fragile, overly-complicated, and difficult and expensive to repair. But if you go back far enough, to say, forty years old, you find a much simpler and more robust machine. The E30-chassis 3 Series is a legend for a reason: it’s not only a great car to drive, but it’s also built like a tank. This isn’t the most miles I’ve seen on one of these cars by a long shot.
This isn’t the most desirable spec E30, but it’s not the worst either. It has the classic M20 inline six, but the low-compression “eta” version, backed by an automatic transmission. Yes, it would be more fun with one of the more rev-happy engines and a manual gearbox, but it’s still going to be an awfully nice car to drive. It has been owned by the same person for 38 years, and they have all the records for it. It currently needs a rear wheel bearing replaced, and it has an “intermittent engine stall,” which sounds ominous. I’d quiz them pretty hard about that one.
My favorite aspect of the interiors of these older BMWs is the fact that everything is oriented towards the driver. The whole center stack is canted towards the driver’s seat. The passenger gets a dash vent and the glovebox, and that’s it. HVAC, stereo, and everything else are all within easy reach of the driver. But that’s all right, because we all know the rule: Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts his cake hole. The air conditioning is a little weak, according to the seller, but the aftermarket Bluetooth stereo works just fine.
It’s rust-free and nice and shiny outside, but it does have some previous damage repaired, on the rear quarter panel. That’s one of the advantages of buying a car from a long-time owner; you know about stuff like that up front, rather than finding out years later when you start poking around.
1986 Chevrolet Corvette – $4,900
Engine/drivetrain: 5.7-liter OHV V8, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: North Plains, OR
Odometer reading: 255,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
The C4 and newer Corvette might hold the record for the most under-used car of all time. They’re not particularly rare, or special, but the majority of owners seem to think they are, and far too many of them baby their cars, or never drive them at all. This yellow C4 is an exception; it has been used for commuting, and has racked up more than a quarter of a million miles in its forty years. That may not sound like a lot to a Toyota Camry driver, but it’s a lot for a Corvette.
There’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to rack up a ton of miles on one of these; at its core, it’s just a Chevy small-block V8 and a Turbo-Hydramatic transmission. The suspension and brakes are a little more complex than your average Caprice, but it’s still just a Chevy. The transmission has been rebuilt, and the seller says everything else is in great shape. It has the Z51 suspension package, so it’s stiffer and has quicker steering than other C4s, which makes the high mileage even more impressive. I’ve never driven a Z51, but a standard C4 Corvette isn’t what you’d call smooth-riding. The seller must have a spine made of iron.
Halfway through the C4’s run, Chevy redesigned the interior, making it more ergonomic but less cool-looking. This one is old enough to have the original interior, complete with a digital instrument panel. It sounds cheesy now, but I cannot tell you how cool we thought that was back in the mid-’80s. The seller says everything works just fine except the power locks, but it’s a two-door. Having to manually lock and unlock the doors isn’t the end of the world.
It’s a little unevenly faded outside, and there are some chips and scrapes, but it doesn’t look too bad. It’s nice to see one of these in a color besides red or white, too. The Z51 package came with special wheels originally, but they’re absent from this car. Instead, it wears the classic C4 “Salad Shooter” wheels, which are fine by me. These are the wheels a Corvette of this era should have.
With a low-mileage car, or a car that has been sitting around for a long time, there are all sorts of things you have to worry about: hardened seals, leaking gaskets, dry-rotted tires, and more. But when a car has been driven a lot, everything tends to stay in better shape. I’d trust either of these more than I would trust a “perfect” example with next to no miles on it. But which one? That’s what you have to decide.
I’ve had eight or nine BMWs, but, like these two, I’m about to turn 40, and maybe that’s when the switch flips because I’m going Corvette. Like, I almost legitimately want it. I could probably even get my spouse onboard (he likes C4s), and my father-in-law, who’s a major Corvette guy with the white New Blanaces to prove it, would be over the moon.
Well, If I can’t have both, I’ll take the BMW. The Corvette is awesome, but the interior is just terribly ugly. (My opinion, if you disagree, that’s fine.) Since I’m going to be inside the car, I’ll enjoy the BMW more.
I certainly appreciate the 3-series from that era, but the yellow ‘vette is calling my name. I don’t care that it offers pedestrian performance in the modern era, the unloved C4 is the ‘vette that hit at the same time as my love for cars in general. Parts are not a problem, and my local garage can handle anything that I can’t. They also sound sooooo damned cool – a low, resonant rumble, not what you get from a modern performance car (a sound akin to a steel drum filled with angry beavers)
I was NOT ready to think this hard this morning. I saw the pics on the headline and my brain just went “Son of a bitch…” and I clicked hoping one would be a potential basket case. Neither was. Here is my dilemma:
I owned a 1989 BMW 318is (two door, black interior, manual, sun roof, charcoal exterior), but it turns out the block was cracked, so that was a break even $400 car. It gave me the itch though! I loved that little BMW and felt supremely cool in it. This one is not as fun, but it does have the DNA of greatness in it AND it is practical (I have a kid in a car seat, that backseat would be clutch) AND it would look swell pulling up to my office at a historic New England college (an old BMW screams mildly pretentious academia). Plus, the price is very good.
I’ve never owned or even driven a Corvette which feels like a crime considering the things I have driven. The C4 here is undeniably cool and satisfies something primal (and probably mulleted) from my redneck past. It is not practical at all, I would be physically aged every single commute (the bumps are bad enough in my highly practical Tiguan), there is no room for my kiddo, and I live in a major city where parallel parking is the most common parking set-up. It is the wrong choice in every single way…but look at it! The wheels, the hood opening, the obnoxious yellow (there are not nearly enough unapologetically yellow cars anymore), the V8!
I’d go BMW. A well documented and loved BMW for over a thousand dollars less with more seating would give me significantly more smiles because I’d drive it longer, more often, and with my family in tow.
I second this comment. We could use some bright orange as well.
Love the goofiness of having the headlights pointed at you when looking under the hood. The fact that these flipped nearly 180 degrees from back to front instead of just popping up the 90 like every other pop up headlight does just makes me laugh.
For my own use, I would go with the Vette. If it’s mostly working, it should be a fun summer toy for relatively short money. Also, if the engine finally does go, it’s a Chevy 350, and good replacements are easy to source. Or build.
For resale, I would go BMW because a rust free example would go for a premium in my neck of the woods.
Z5-anything Chevy is an automatic “Shut up and take my money!” They stem from the time when GM owned the major stake in Lotus and pulled their engineers in to spend some time on refining Chevy’s own suspension and handling efforts.
I don’t recall the Z51 ‘Vette as really riding any harder than a normal C4 — but it did have a reputation for having sharp-edged enough handling that it could scare the pants off of unprepared drivers. With power output above a regular C4 plus quick handling and an ability to stay planted at speed, it’s said to have upped the pucker factor to exploring its limits.
Nowadays, modern tire compounds and shocks are likely to tame the harshness a bit in ways that weren’t possible when the car was new.
I gotta go with the BMW, I’ve actually worked on other examples, and they are very easy to maintain, and I don’t have to play the who stays home today game, as it has back seats.
As I kid I really loved the C4 when it came out, but I my SO has very negative things to say about them in general, and while she probably loves me enough to tolerate me having one, I’d find another hill to die on. Plus no back seats, and most of my driving involves at least two passengers. I do love the sawblade wheels though, maybe I’d out a set on the BMW to ruin it….
Build wise, I’d just keep the little red BMW running maybe find some better seats that don’t need covers on them, just little piecemeal jobs to slowly make it better.
BMW for me. I’m a huge fan of C4s but if I’m getting one it’s from the post facelift and with a manual.
This is a tough one for me. I’m a BMW fan going back to the 90’s and I have owned an E30 before. (1989 325ix) If the sheet metal is as good as it looks, this one would be a fun project car. Swap a manual into it and slap a 325i head and engine management on it and you have a great driver.
I’ve never been a Vette fan, but in this case call me Vette-curious. Assuming it’s still structurally sound, this might be a fun project. Clean it up and fix any of the gremlins and drive it for the summer. Then sell it on and probably break even.
Both interesting choices, but I’ve already had an E30. I’ll take the Vette.