What a difference a grand makes. We’re doubling our price cap each day this week, trying to find the price point at which a car stops being a beater, and today’s cars are a definite step up from yesterday. They’re both products of the erstwhile New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc, also known as NUMMI, which means they’re both secretly Toyotas in disguise.
Yesterday we were looking at cars for a grand or less, and it wasn’t even a competition. The paint-challenged Chevy Lumina blew that Honda Accord out of the water. You all saw something by the Honda’s myriad of dashboard lights, but it sure wasn’t paradise.
Actually, for seven hundred bucks, that Lumina is a damn good deal. It looks like hell, but if the seller is being honest, it runs and drives just fine. And as many of you pointed out, Rust-Oleum is cheap.
But what if you can swing two thousand? Your choices open up drastically, as it turns out. I intentionally chose two more Midwest cars, because finding clean cars on the West Coast is almost too easy. These two aren’t perfect, but they’re pretty damn clean for the price. Let’s check them out.
2002 Chevrolet Prizm – $1,900
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Chicago, IL
Odometer reading: 125,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
This car, like the Geo Prizm and Chevy Nova before it, is basically just a Toyota Corolla with slightly different sheetmetal. Toyota sold a bunch of variations on the Corolla theme in Japan, so creating the Chevy and Geo versions was a simple matter of using one of those variations, in this case the Toyota Sprinter. It wasn’t built in Japan, though; like all Prizms and Novas, it came out of the NUMMI factory in Fremont, California, which is now a Tesla factory. This is the final year for the Prizm, and it’s a low-mileage one-owner car.
The Prizm has the same engine and drivetrain as its Corolla sibling, a Toyota 1.8 liter 1ZZ-FE four cylinder engine, and either a five-speed manual or a three- or four-speed automatic. This one is an automatic, and since it’s kind of a fancy model, I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume it has the four-speed. It runs and drives well, but it does have a check engine light for a bad oxygen sensor.
It has power windows and locks, as well as a sunroof, fancy stuff for a Prizm. The driver’s seat looks a little grubby, possibly water-stained? Maybe someone left the sunroof open. Apart from that, it’s in decent shape, and the air conditioning works.
It does have a little rust in the corners, but it’s a Chicago car, so that’s to be expected. The back bumper is also scuffed up, and there are a few dings, which are also no surprise for a city car. And why are these things always silver? Did they come in other colors?
2009 Pontiac Vibe – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Lapeer, MI
Odometer reading: 198,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
After NUMMI stopped building Corollas and Prizms, it turned its attention to the Toyota Matrix wagon and its near-twin the Pontiac Vibe. The Matrix was pretty conservative, as you would expect from Toyota, but the Vibe was a bit more fun. This is the second-generation Vibe, in its second-to-last model year. This car, sadly, was to be Pontiac’s last vehicle. Not this particular one, though. I don’t think, anyway.
The Vibe and Matrix were still very heavily Corolla-based, and powered by Toyota engines. This one has a 1.8-liter engine and a four-speed automatic, not the most exciting drivetrain around, but it’s reliable and efficient. It’s closing in on 200,000 miles, and the seller drives it daily without trouble. It does have a noisy exhaust, but that’s not unusual for Michigan cars, I’m finding. The ABS and traction control warning lights are also on, which is likely the result of a bad wheel sensor.
It’s a little dirty inside, but it looks intact. The seller doesn’t give us much information to go on, so your guess is as good as mine concerning how much stuff actually works in here. I do wish sellers would be a little more verbose sometimes. There’s no reason to write a whole book about a car, but jeez, give us something.
It’s nice and shiny outside, and I don’t see any rust. There is a chunk missing from the plastic front bumper cover, but if it bothers you, you can probably find one in a junkyard to replace it. Will you find one in navy blue, though? Probably not.
To me, these two seem like decent little cars. Each of them needs something, but nothing that should stop you from driving them until you get around to fixing it. And neither one of them is going to embarrass you in a parking lot. A $2,000 car is probably more like a $2,500 car by the time you get everything whipped into shape, but that’s still a hell of a deal these days. Which way are you leaning?
Pontiac. It’s a hatch and a Pontiac. Say less!
Vibe. The black hides whatever evil is in the carpets and fabrics. It’s a roomy little hatchback and there’s something about that gen of Corolla/Prizm and that particular color that seems just so inescapably cheap and depressing.
Both of these are oil-burners IIRC, so it’s a dice roll there either way.
If there’s no smoke coming out of the tailpipe, you’re perfectly fine. Even if it does burn excessive oil, the engine will likely outlast the rest of the car.
As of my vote, there are 327 total ballots cast and somehow the Prizm is at ~40%. Is there something I’m missing about it? Neither is a dream car but I’ve heard so many wax lyrical about the Vibe/Matrix duo that I expected it to piledrive the Prizm.
I’m guessing it’s the odometer. Same motor but 70,000 fewer miles. Can’t blame them when you’re trying to squeeze as much cheap life out of $2000 as possible.
I still voted Vibe.
True, but this era Toyota especially is in the “I’m sure it’ll run forever” camp for me.
I had two Geo Prizms. Things that I can remember failing were a door lock, and a window mechanism that dropped the glass (crank windows, not power). Beyond that, they were fine.
I voted Pontiac. My only reason was that the Prizm has stains on the driver’s seat upholstery, and I hate stained upholstery. The black upholstery of the Vibe might be equally nasty, but at least it is harder to see.
I’m feeling a dark vibe today, so the Dark Vibe for me!
Vibe for me because I prefer hatchbacks and it seems to be in a bit better condition in spite of the higher mileage.
Can’t really go wrong with either of them today. My wife and I had a 2000 Corolla without the sunroof for years and almost traded it in for a Matrix but the dealer had a Prius with fewer miles and a lower price so we went with that instead.
Despite the dishonesty of the Vibe owner taking pics while the car is wet (I wonder just how much clearcoat is actually left?), I’m taking it. It just looks a little more stylish (as far as the pre-death Pontiacs can).
“It’s nice and shiny outside” – definitely an artifact of the seller taking photos just after washing.
Never ever judge a car’s appearance when wet!
In the Showdown, the answer is always a Miata, and if that’s not available, choose a Vibe/Matrix. This has high mileage, but it’ll go another 100k. Not too sure about the warning lights, but it’s $2k, something is going to be wrong.
‘This was surprisingly difficult. The Vibe has a better color, the hatchback, and that groovy instrument panel. But a “Corolla” with 125K on it is practically brand new, and the “POW MIA” sticker on the back indicates that it’s been driven by someone significantly older, even, than me. Plus, they specify that the A/C works, and that’s a big deal out here. The Vibe looks a bit more rid hard and put away wet, and with that many miles on it, I’m guessing some sort of pain-in-the-ass issue is not far off. Prizm it izm,
My family’s experience with a couple Corollas of this era is that even (maybe especially) low milage ones are going to be burning a quart of oil every oil change but they will likely be happy to do that basically forever.
Vibe, just for the AC outlet
I had almost forgotten about that! At least one commercial at the time showed people using a blender in the car.
Sorry, those were first gen only. You’ll have to nuke your burrito before driving off.
My little old lady of a mother is driving a Vibe with < 60,000 miles on it since it was new. I’m not sure if the oil has been changed since 2024.
Should I look into getting that done?
Hatchback + a new set of four matching silver hubcaps for the winning vibe today.
https://suburbanwheelcover.com/cdn/shop/products/5144_2048x.jpg?v=1686188354
I guess the Vibe. I get that cars are more expensive for your basic used appliance but a lit up CEL is usually something I just avoid at all costs.
Brotherinlaw sold his Vibe years back to get an Equinox. He still regrets it, and felt that if he kept the Vibe that it would have been less maintenance and more fun even 10 years into the Chevy.
I’m voting Vibe, hatches rule.
The wife use to have the Corolla that Prizm is based on so I’ll take the devil I know. It was an incredibly reliable car and in over 10 years of ownership the only factory part that failed was the dry-rotted window washer reservoir.
My friend got a used Matrix as his first car back in 2010. He’s still driving it. It had nearly 100k miles on it when he got it, so who knows how many are on it now. While I prefer the styling of the Matrix over the Vibe, I’ll still take the Vibe today.
Neither. They both will require an unknown amount of repairs to get the lights off and pass inspection.
I never believe a seller when they say their car “just needs x” to turn off a warning light.
Everything else being equal, I will always choose hatch over sedan.
Agreed.
Both of these are good choices. You can’t go wrong wither way. $2000 for a running/driving Toyota is a good deal 🙂
I voted for the Vibe because the hatchback is more useful, and it’s a lot newer, but the sunroof makes the Prizm a compelling choice too. Maybe you can get a stainless exhaust for the Vibe, so it won’t rust again.
In this price range, it’s more about condition, and you have to take each example individually. Even better if you can see it on a lift.
I see so many Pontiac Vibes out on the road just chugging along. They’re usually red. I just don’t think you can kill that car.