In today’s thrilling episode, we’re going to look at two cars that have the same color scheme. They’re both rare, they’re both in nice shape, and if we’re being honest, they both seem a little expensive for what you get. Is one of them more worth the price than the other? That’s what we’re going to find out.
We looked at a couple of two-door sedans yesterday, and it sounds as if a lot of you had trouble choosing. And for once, it wasn’t because you hated them both! From the sounds of it, a lot of people’s heads said Toyota Corona, while their hearts said Volvo. The head won out, but just barely. As of this writing, only about thirty votes separate the two.
I understand your indecision. I’d have trouble choosing between them as well. I’ve low-key wanted a Volvo 240 for years, and that’s a good spec to get, but that Corona is cleaner, and I really like the light, airy look of the interior. I think I’d have to drive them both and see which one felt more like home.
Of all the possible color combinations for cars, green outside and tan inside is one of my favorites. It just looks good on everything. And it doesn’t really matter what shade of green it is; Forest Service Green works just as well as British Racing Green. The combination was really popular in the 1990s, but you don’t see it much these days. You don’t see many interior colors except for black, actually, unless you start looking at higher-end cars. Both of today’s cars are from the end of the green-over-tan era, but they both wear it well, and they’re both cars you don’t see often in any color. Let’s check them out.
2000 Daewoo Nubira CDX Wagon – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter DOHC inline-4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Hillsboro, OR
Odometer reading: 67,000 miles
Operational status: Ad doesn’t actually say
Daewoo doesn’t have a long or distinguished resume of selling cars in the United States. The first Daewoo-built car sold here was the ill-fated Pontiac LeMans revival, based on the European Opel Kadett. It should have been a good little car. It wasn’t. In the late ’90s, Daewoo came to the US as its own entity, just in time to go bankrupt and have to get bailed out by General Motors. This Nubira was the middle child of Daewoo’s lineup in the US, a car that sold so poorly that I haven’t actually seen one on the road since about 2005. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Nubira wagon in green. It’s a fetching color, I have to admit.
All US-market Nubiras came with a 2.0-liter twin-cam four-cylinder engine built in Australia by Holden. Either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic were available; this car, like nearly all Nubiras, I would imagine, has the automatic. Curiously, the seller doesn’t actually mention how well it runs; only that it’s hard to find “in this condition.” I assume that means running and driving? These cars weren’t known for their reliability.
It’s the fancy CDX model, with air conditioning, cruise control, and power everything. The seller appears to have installed a touch-screen stereo in it, but since it’s positioned so low in the dash, I have to imagine it’s a pain in the ass to operate. I think I’d yank it out and replace it with something with knobs and buttons, personally. It does look like it’s in good condition inside, at least.
Little wagons are always useful things, no matter who makes them, and this looks like a very practical car. The cross-bars on the roof racks are apparently a factory option, and I have to believe they’re one of very few sets in existence. I can’t see a reason to go for this over an Escort wagon or something, unless you really want a Daewoo, but if that’s the case, then you do you. You’re unlikely to find a nicer one than this.
2004 Mitsubishi Galant GTS – $4,800
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8-liter OHC V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: San Jose, CA
Odometer reading: 119,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Some cars seem to exist only in a certain period of time, regardless of how long they were actually produced. Mitsubishi’s Galant sedan is such a car. When I think of the Galant, it’s the early 1990s versions that come to mind, especially the cool all-wheel-drive VR-4 model. Remembering that Mitsubishi still sold the Galant in 2004 is a bit like being reminded that Collective Soul released a new album that same year. Oh right, so they did. Well, good for them.
As it turns out, in 2004, the Galant had a bit of a surprise under the hood: a 3.8-liter version of Mitsubishi’s long-serving V6, making 230 horsepower. That’s not too shabby at all for a mid-sized sedan, though not quite at the level of Nissan’s brawler V6 version of the Altima. No manual transmission was available in the Galant by this point; you get a four-speed automatic with one of those manual-shiftable plus-and-minus gates. (Does anybody ever actually use those?) The seller says it runs and drives well, and just had a bunch of service work completed. It does, however, have a salvage title, though the seller doesn’t know the reason. It needn’t have been an accident; it could have been a theft recovery. If it doesn’t affect the car, and your insurance company doesn’t care, it probably doesn’t matter.
This one is also the top of its range, which for the Galant means the GTS model. It has leather seats, power everything, and nice-looking white-faced gauges. It’s all in good condition, but I do wonder about that yellow plastic bag in front of the vent on the right side. Is that an air freshener? What smell is it covering up?
It looks good on the outside, and this one is a nice color as well. The seller does say it has “scratches here and there,” but what car outside of Pebble Beach doesn’t? None of the panel gaps look off in the photos, which also leads me to believe that the tarnished title is not due to damage.
I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw either of these cars. Wait – actually, I had a friend in Portland with a Galant from this era, but hers was nowhere near this fancy. A Daewoo of any description, though? It’s been years. If nothing else, you’re practically guaranteed to have the only one in almost any parking lot, and you certainly won’t see another example of either in green. Which one is worth the money to you?
“Remembering that Mitsubishi still sold the Galant in 2004 is a bit like being reminded that Collective Soul released a new album that same year.”
Yours Truly was a part of the opening act on that tour for a bit! Thanks for the 22yr throwback memory and for a great, green match-up this morning, Mark!
Also, I’m choosing that Galant, all day.
4 grand for a f’n Daewoo? are you kidding me? lol
None of the above, while I like wagons I dislike Daewoo and the only candidate I know for that car currently drives a Suzuki Esteem.
I agree about the Tiptronic style gates, they seem more novelty than utility since the Sport mode does what I want in mountains or on gravel
A wagon’s a nice thing to have in a fleet, akin to a little truck. People seem a bit scared of the ‘Woo’s rarity/scarcity, and I don’t blame them. But I imagine it’d probably run a good bit longer with some TLC. And it looks great and would draw some admiring glances in parking lots and on the road.
That said, I’ve test driven a Galant of about that vintage (think it was 2003?), well put together sports sedan if that’s what your fleet needs. Mine doesn’t.
Lastly:
On long downhills, one often has to, at least I have many times with such transmissions (maybe they’re better about automatically downshifting these days?) so, yes.
I’ll go with the…..wait, what were the choices again?
I’m only voting for the Daewoo because my deceased father got one for a bit. Mechanically, the car was reliable, it wasn’t pretty but it got the job done. If I had the money, I’d buy it, paint it white and torture my family members that trashed it while my father was out of the country.
The Mitsubishi is the better car for the (still high) price. I’m not crazy about the style, but if I were in the market and could get the price down a little, it’d be worth considering.
Voted for the Mitsu because at least there will be a chance of finding parts at my local NAPA.
No way I want a Daewoo. I remember them being just crap cars. And I esp. don’t want a 26 year old Daewoo for $4k.
The Mitsu is overpriced esp. for a salvage titled 22 year old Gallant but it would probably be more fun and last longer. It looks really clean. And am I the only one that thinks it looks a lot like a 2000’s era Pontiac? Maybe like a Grand Am?
DAEWOO BOUNCE!
(Even Tank voted for the Mitsu)
As someone who owned a 2000 Daewoo Nubira wagon in high school I did love the car. It was great for hauling friends and my hockey gear until it wasn’t. The engines in these things are absolute shit ( I had the original and replaced one) only for it to go bad 20k miles later. Give me the Galant.
Oh hell no.
Not gonna sucker me into voting today Mark…
It takes some big cojones to ask $4k for a Daewoo anything or $4800 for a salvage-title Galant. This is definitely a “neither” day at these prices.
I voted for the Daewoo because I might be interested in this car at the right price. To me, the right price is $1000 because it would be worth $1000 to say I owned a Daewoo. No one remembers Daewoo, so at least that could be a conversation starter.
I’m struggling to come up with any scenario in which I would buy the Galant. So far, the only one I can come up with is a pandemic involving an unusual virus that causes your pelvis to shatter every time a cow farts within 80 miles of your current location. Strangely, scientists discover driving a Galant at least 50 miles per month produces pelvis-preserving antibodies. Scientists have thus far been unable to develop any cure that doesn’t involve driving a Galant.
If that scenario ever happens, I would want the Galant, but I would still try to talk the seller down to $3500. Of course, I don’t see this happening any time soon so the Galant is a hard pass.
“…the only one I can come up with is a pandemic involving an unusual virus that causes your pelvis to shatter every time a cow farts within 80 miles of your current location.”
That’s what you’ve come up with?
You have a unique mind process.
I’m sure there are other uncommon scenarios in which I would want the Galant, but it would take something as equally bizarre as a bovine flatulence induced pelvis-shattering virus.
I really, really don’t want that Galant.
“Please hold! I have James Cameron on line 2”
Oh no, that’s a Michael Bay picture. Explosions.
I prefer the styling of the previous gen Galant, but in this case, it seems like it would be the better option if you wanted to drive it I suppose.
You know what they say, there’s no woo like Daewoo. OK, nobody says that, but I’ll still go with K Pop wagon. Perfect place to sit and eat a Big Arch. As if …
I was all-in on the Galant until salvage title + air freshener. 99% chance that equals flood damage. If true, I can only imagine the electrical gremlins that will forever plague this car. I would definitely get every carfax and equivalent you can on that car before paying top dollar for a Galant. The Houston area alone has “gifted” 100’s of thousands of flood damaged cars to us, so look for any ownership time there.
I put a few hundred miles on a loaner Nubira wagon around 2003–gray, no less. It was as exciting as you’d expect. These both look like good transportation, but I’ll go with the Galant this time.
One thing to keep in mind, especially with First Brands going under, is are parts available? When I was in the auto repair industry, Mitsubishi parts were still available for the most part but could be expensive. Daewoo parts? Who knows? I’m stocking up on common maintenance parts for my cars just in case.
Make sure you do your homework.
If you have an off brand check availability and like I said stockpile some. If Ford is worried about parts availability????
Years ago someone had one of those daewoos in a neighborhood I used to live in and I was always curious about it so I’m going with that!
That Galant is priced about 1500 bucks too high but those Mitsus are like GM 3800s they run a long time. You see a surprising number of Eclipses around limping along in bad condition. Not sure about the Daewoo, didn’t know they had a Holden built engine, is that an Ecotec?
Surprised to see the Mitsu catch a lot of flak in here. The 6G75 is a decent engine with forged internals and there were even versions of it that were the first production direct injection units on sale. This one isn’t GDI and won’t blow your socks off but it’s not going to be a slouch either (and IIRC they were all forged internals, good longevity). Ride and interior quality is pretty much on par with its competition (Altima, Camry) etc. If the timing belt and WP are done, do a trans service and you’re good for another 60-80k easy.
The wagon is more functional but I’d wager the Mitsu will last longer and will be a better driver all around. You’ll also have no problem getting parts as so much is shared with 6G engine generations over the years, going back to the early 3000gts and Paj/Monteros.
Hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby
That Daewoo has D-Tec Yo! How can you pass that up?
Collective Soul catching unnecessary strays this morning…I love that band!
Anyway, definitely the Galant as it’s like 100% more care than the Daewoo, which is at the end of it’s life even with those low miles
I’m voting Daewoo because I like oddball cars and also I’ve always wanted to own the last example on earth of something.
I didn’t even know Daewoo made the Nubira in a wagon. How is this still in such nice shape?