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.
These are both somewhat appealing cars, though I don’t feel any particular need to own either one. I chose the BMW mainly because it’ll be easier to park, and with my bad back, easier to get in and out of.
I currently own an E36 with 192k miles on it, and it’s still going strong.
I personally know how stout older BMWs with the I6s are.
However, yellow Corvette. It’s hard to resist something with a big ol’ pushrod V8 in a silly colour.
I don’t want to know the state of the disks on the Corvette….owner. But probably the better deal here. I’d love an E30, but the stick is mandatory. Engine is fine – I’d even take a 4 or the diesel. The Corvette is so often an automatic anyway, so I’d settle. Also, I’ve had a few vehicles with the 4l60. It’s familiar and cheap to rebuild.
I have never liked Corvettes. I like older BMWs, but a poorly bought ’74 Bavaria broke my wallet and the ’15 X5 my wife had when we married was threatening to do so before we traded it in on a 2018 Acura MDX.
So, the E30 it is. Heck, I am not sure I could even get out of a Corvette these days.
The Vette would have to come with a good bit of nose candy to justify it over the plucky and fun little bimmer. I’m biased tho
In a game of spending fake internet dollars can I also pretend that my back would survive Z51 suspension?
C4 over a yuppie stockbrokers car
“yuppie”, lol. Ok boomer.
Hey, we were alive and able to buy when these were new, with the jargon that came with the era. Please respect our car loving gen just like we do yours.
I’m allergic to yellow.
And I don’t have the right gold medallion to wear over my hairy chest for that Corvette.
So it’s the BMW for me.
I love how much 80’s awesomeness you can get for less than $5K!!
From an absolutely 100% completely and utterly unbiased perspective, the C4 is absolutely the superior choice here
I think I’d prefer the BMW, even though it’ll be a money pit. I’ve worked on too many ’80s and ’90s Chevys for other people that I’d NEVER want one for myself.
Where’s that Festiva at?
The 3 series is ok but the eta engine is for economy. Vette just looks more fun.
This one’s easy for me, since part of me has wanted a 3 series since riding ’round with a collegue who had a 318 in Switzerland. It seemed perfectly simple and geared for driving pleasure, although it wasn’t a bad passenger ride.
I’ve come, over the years, to respect the Vette in all its iterations, but given the choice I know which set of wheels would be more livable.
That yellow beast would be great at bottoming out in most every driveway I know, but not great at much else I’d be interested in doing.
Love the look of a.clasic bmw, c4 doesn’t do anything for me. The dirt cheap ones maybe but I rather not.
Vette. I have a soft spot for TPI engines, they’re torque monsters off the line. Even with 245hp, this thing will be a burnout machine. It looks clean enough, and I spy name brand tires on it, which means it’s likely the owner cared enough about it to maintain it.
Since I already have an E46, if the instrument panel works on the Vette (and that’s a big if), I’m in. It’s just new enough to not have the dreaded “cross fire” injection.
The article mentions a trans swap for the Festiva, but both of these would benefit from a manual – I wonder how hard a T56 swap would be on the Vette?
I like both but went bimmer…I have always loved these classic BMW’s, such a great design and well made car. The Vette is awesome too
How hard is a trans swap in either vehicle? That would be the deciding factor to me, as I definitely dig both options. Tough choice today.
Oof this is a tough one, was gonna easily say the Bimmer until I saw it was an auto. Arguably the worst version both of these cars. I’ve owned their relatives: ’91 e30 325i w/ 5mt and an ’88 Trans Am with the 4 speed auto and a version of the same L98 engine. Since they’re both autos gotta go ‘Vette as it’s less hamstrung by the auto, imo older BMWs are totally neutered by an auto, even though the lower revving Eta engine probably less so. That being said I’d rather wrench on a ’80s BMW than an ’80s GM car having worked on both, and the BMW’s interior while not top notch will still hold up better than the playskool levels of plastic quality in an ’80s Corvette.