I’ve been doubling the price limit every day this week, and now we’re all the way up to eight thousand dollars, not an insignificant sum for most people. It’s still a lot less than even the cheapest new car, but it’s an amount many of us would have to finance. So a car in this price range has to be something really nice, maybe even a bit special. I think I’ve found a couple of choices that fit that brief.
Yesterday, at $4,000, we were looking at vans. It’s amazing to me how much people still love the Mazda 5. It’s not a car you would think would have such staying power, but it resonated with a lot of owners, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say anything bad about their experience with one, except maybe rust. It’s not that the Honda Odyssey is a bad choice at all; it’s just that it’s not a Mazda 5.
To find a place in our garage, however, one of these two would have to replace an existing vehicle. And the Mazda isn’t big or special enough to do that. The Odyssey could take the place of either my truck (with all but the front seats removed) or my wife’s Yukon (with the rearmost seats removed). Not that I would make such a trade, but technically, I could. If the Mazda were a manual, I could make a case for an addition to the fleet. But it isn’t.
We’re well and truly out of the realm of shitboxes now, at this price. That’s not to say you can’t find plenty of dreadful $8,000 cars for sale, but my intention this week was to show the best of what’s available at each price tier, not the worst. Both of these cars are clean, low-mileage, and nice enough that you wouldn’t feel embarrassed to be seen in them. They’re not particularly fancy, or high-performance; they’re both just really pleasant cars. And that’s not nothing. Let’s take a look.
2000 Toyota Avalon XLS – $7,800
Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter DOHC V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Austin, TX
Odometer reading: 73,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
I’m a fan of some pretty noisy music. I love punk, metal, and garage rock. Basically, if it’s got Glenn Danzig, loud guitars, and/or crappy production values, I’m in. (That link is not safe for work, just so you know.) But the thing about music like that is that it gets tiring after a while. You can’t just rock out to noisy stuff like that all the time. Sometimes you want something calm and soothing, a nicely-produced tonic for jangled nerves. Something like, well, “Avalon.”
Much like Bryan Ferry’s masterpiece, Toyota’s Avalon is slick, comforting, and flawlessly put together. It’s more special than a Camry, but not as highfalutin as a Lexus. Only one engine and transmission combination is available, which for this generation was a 3.0-liter V6 and a four-speed automatic, both utterly competent and completely invisible. The Avalon is like a good butler: it does what you ask of it without drawing attention to itself. This example has just 73,000 miles to its name, spread out over two owners, and the seller says it drives great.
I guess you could call this a luxury car, but in the old Mercedes-Benz sense of the term. It doesn’t have a lot of silly gadgets to impress your friends, or absurd materials that are there just so you can say you have them; it’s just comfortable, un-fussy, and extremely well made. As you would expect from such low mileage, this one is in very good condition inside. The seller says it was never smoked in, either, which is nice to hear.
It was repainted recently; my guess is that the Texas sun did a number on the clearcoat, so the seller had it redone. The fact that it was considered a nice enough car to repaint says a lot. The Avalon isn’t what you’d call a stylish car, but it’s handsome enough. No one is going to comment on its appearance either way, and sometimes that’s nice.
2012 Volvo C70 T5 – $7,950
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.5-liter DOHC inline 5, five-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Fremont, CA
Odometer reading: 118,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
I know how a lot of you feel about convertibles, and because of that I debated showing this one to you. But this isn’t your typical convertible. For one thing, it has a retractable hardtop, and for another, it’s a Volvo. If there’s one company we should trust to make a nice, solid, safe droptop, it’s Volvo. This is the second generation C70, which replaced both the coupe and soft-top convertible versions of the previous generation with one car.
This is the T5 model, with a turbocharged five-cylinder engine driving the front wheels through a five-speed automatic. The seller is a dealership, so take the claims of “regular oil changes” with a grain of salt, but a clean Carfax report and a fresh smog certificate are encouraging signs. Best to bring a mechanic friend along if you don’t know what you’re looking at, though.
I have to say, I really love the interior of this car. It’s a sleek design, and it looks nice and bright. It’s in good condition, too. I really hope this car has a good sound system, because it deserves one. It deserves a nice sunny day and a wide open road, too.
It’s too bad there isn’t a photo in the ad with the top fully up, because this is one convertible that looks equally good with it up or down. That’s the advantage of a retractable hardtop; put the top up, and it’s just a coupe. I do have to say that I’m not crazy about the black wheels. That’s one trend that can die out any time.
So that’s what eight thousand bucks can get you these days: a nice but somewhat bland sedan, or a cool but slightly impractical hardtop convertible. Okay, it will get you lots of other things as well, but these are the two that caught my eye. Which one would you pick?
*old man yelling at clouds*
I hate that 8 grand is shitbox territory these days.
Uh, if these are shit boxes, these the nicest shit boxes I’ve ever seen.
Okay, maybe not *these* two, but there are definite $8K turds out there. A LOT of them.
Toyota Avalon was an apex appliance car. Volvo and convertible are an odd couple.
Volvo is the obvious winner. Anyone who disagrees is suffering from TDS (Toyota Derangement Syndrome).
The Toyota might be a great car, but it is 26 years old and even the most reliable cars have a shelf life – this car’s use by date was 2020 at the latest. Given there is no reason to buy an Avalon aside from reliability, I’m not interested in one that is too old to be reliable. Hard pass.
The Volvo may not have as good a reputation, but it is at least a convertible. It will be fun when it works.
“…this car’s use by date was 2020 at the latest.”
“I’m not interested in one that is too old to be reliable.”
Give me a break. Sure, things do get old and wear out, but in the shape that car’s in it could easily go another 20 years.
You are clearly suffering from TDS.
Just a reminder – 2000 was 26 years ago.
Over a quarter of a century ago.
Nearly 10,000 days ago.
When this car was built, Bill Clinton was president.
When this car was built, Y2K compliance was a recent memory.
When this car was built, you probably needed to borrow a quarter if you had to make a phone call away from home.
When this car was built, if you wanted to go somewhere new you got out your Rand McNally atlas.
When this car was built, you were probably kicked off the internet when someone made a phone call.
When this car was built, you probably bought groceries with a check.
When this car was built, a non-trivial chunk of people reading this weren’t even born.
I can’t stress how much time has passed since this car was new. You are completely insane if you think this car is still going to be reliable.
That’s the nicest early 2000s Avalon I’ve seen in a while so maybe the premium. I would be more confident around $5k to $6k. Most of those are on their 3rd owner and terrible things have been done to them. This one appears to have escaped that. I like the look of the Volvo but with the problems likey to be cost of admission a bit too high. Tough call but hard to not choose an Avalon.
If my daily got totaled on my way home from work today, Avalon.
If I want something to enjoy these fleeting months of warm and pleasant Michigan weather, the C70.
I’ll be an optimist and go with the C70. Even if my daily gets totaled it should be reliable enough to take over as my primary car until I get something else to pile the everyday mileage on to.
I guess the Toyota today. The wheels on that Volvo made me cringe.
Almost bought one of these Volvos about 10 years ago. Even though I bought a Miata 5 years ago, the Volvo is getting my vote today.
Neither are worth $8000, not to me anyway.
Volvo. 12 years newer, not many more miles and a nice drop-top. The Avalon is nice but that just seems like too much coin for a 26 year old Toyota Avalon. So I’m putting on the sunscreen and playing my Roxy Music.
I’ll give you $12,500 for both.
This actually is a great two car garage!
If that Volvo was a soft top, I’d have picked the Avalon. They’re both exceptionally nice cars for 8 large. Went with Volvo for that interior and retractable hard top. Can’t beat it and the mileage doesn’t matter much for a Volvo from California. . . Nice choices today.
Psst, Mark! The Avalon link goes to yesterday’s Showdown, not the Craigslist ad…
I’m going with the Avalon, I keep advocating for other people to buy them, so how can I not when the “opportunity” presents itself.
I know it’s old, but the mileage and condition override the age as far as I’m concerned. A quick trip to the car audio boutique for modern sound and connectivity and I might in fact be set for life.
“You paid $8000 for a used what?” Yep, that broken-in, uh, Volvo for me.
26 year old Avalon for $8k??? Lol, NOT.
Exactly.
Price made me spit out my Cheerios.
I love this car , but at 4-5K maybe.
8K asking is nuts.
Volvo drop top. Everything is more fun if you do it topless. I’d also start putting money aside for future repair$, but it would be worth it.
“Everything is more fun if you do it topless.”
Me:(Looks at scratched-up arms after digging out invasive bushes from my landscaping) I will beg to differ.
If you bought both, you’d have the classiest driveway in Del Boca Vista.
only if your son bought them for you
I am not a convertible fan, but I wonder if it was just because I didn’t have a hard top, today I will try the Volvo. We already have a prosaic car and don’t need two.
You’ll Avalon way to go before that ‘Yota breaks down. That’s my pick today.
Avalon!
My parents (in their 80’s) have one in pearl white, and it. Is. GLORIOUS. The back seat is cavernous and RECLINES. You cannot go wrong with one of these.
I mean, you COULD, but it’s unlikely. They’re mostly owned by old people who take care of them.
So you will self identify as on old fart?
Proudly. My truck is certified old man spec. Base engine, rubber floor, hand crank windows, manual locks.
If you had a hand-crank motor, then you’d be a really old fart.
I already have a sensible daily driver so the Avalon would mostly duplicate it (even though it’s more of a city car) and the Volvo is a convertible but still a plush cruiser. So I guess I’ll take a chance on the Volvo.
8k is a lot for a 26 year old Avalon but it’s only play money.I had a 2003 XLS and nothing is going to break.I may try to negotiate the price of replacing the timing belt and water pump but other than that put a Frank Sinatra CD or cassette in the player and cruise around like it’s a sunny Sunday afternoon.
I know nothing about Volvo’s except they’re tanks (or were, are they still?). Not really a convertible fan but with a retractable top I could see putting it down occasionally in nice weather for local trips.
I’ll take a chance.
20 years from now barring any new leftist environmental laws (think Red Barchetta) the Avalon will still be stirring near-luxury cruising in a suburbia maybe not yet built while the Volvo will be in my salvage yard.
I don’t need a butler, but I’d love to have nice new(er) convertible to add to my fleet.