Which Super-Cheap Fun Machine Would You Gamble On? 1989 Mazda 323 vs 1993 Subaru Impreza

There are times in your life when you need a cheap car to get around. And then there are times in your life when you just feel like having a cheap car around to do dumb stuff with. And since I finally gave up on the whole classic-car-ownership thing, I find myself wanting a cheap dumb-stuff car. Today, we’re going to look at a couple of likely candidates that are geographically a long way from me, but in my price range, and right up my alley. I hope you like at least one of them, too.

Yesterday we looked at two vehicles with Isuzu badges that weren’t built by Isuzu. I figured the Oasis minivan might win, owing to its rock-solid Honda lineage, and I was right. Not too many of you were impressed by the rebadged Chevy Trailblazer, especially for more money.

I’m with you. I don’t have any real use for a minivan, but I have even less use for a trouble-prone 2WD SUV. That Ascender wasn’t what I wanted to feature anyway. I tried really hard to find a first-generation Honda Passport instead, which is an Isuzu Rodeo with a Honda badge, but I couldn’t find one for sale in the time I had to look. It would have made a more fun comparison, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

A few years ago, right before COVID hit, I was commuting to work in my big green Chevy truck every day, getting 13 miles to the gallon and hating the gap between first and second gear in heavy traffic. So I went looking for something dirt-cheap that got better mileage. What I found, after a long search, was a five-speed manual 1995 Toyota Corolla sedan with a quarter-million miles on it, for just $500. It ran well, but looked like absolute hell. I sold it after I inherited my dad’s Chrysler, because I didn’t really need another car. But now looking back, I miss that dumb little thing. It didn’t have a straight piece of sheetmetal left on the body, and it always smelled a little like burning oil due to a leaky valve cover gasket I never fixed, but it got great mileage, and it reminded me how much fun you can have with a car you don’t give a crap about. You can’t find cars like that for $500 anymore, but these two are cut from the same cloth, and are not much more expensive. And I find myself drawn to both of them. Let’s see which one you prefer.

1989 Mazda 323 SE – $1,500

Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter OHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Spokane, WA

Odometer reading: 260,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

This is one of those cars that has gone by many names over the years. In Japan, it was known as the Familia across all its generations, but here in the US it was originally called the GLC, for “Great Little Car.” From 1990-2003, it was the Mazda Protege. But for a few years in between there, it received the same numeric model designation it carried in Europe: 323. Whatever you want to call it, it is indeed a great little car, and one I’ve long been fond of.

The switchover from GLC to 323 in 1986 brought with it a big improvement: standard electronic fuel injection. This was a big deal when a lot of compact cars still struggled with carburetors. Personally, I think I might be done with carburetors altogether; I just don’t see a reason to put up with the hassle anymore. There’s no hassle here; the seller says this car runs “perfect.” They don’t say much else, though, so there may be some maintenance to catch up on. But at this price, you can afford to do some stuff.

It’s as grubby and threadbare as you’d expect inside, but it just looks like age-related wear, not abuse. And as is typical for an economy car from the late ’80s, there aren’t a lot of options on it. It does have air conditioning, but there’s no telling whether it works. I’d guess not, but that $500 Toyota I bought had great A/C, so who knows?

The outside is, let’s say, pre-distressed. It has dings and dents all over, and a pretty good whack in the right front fender. And I can’t tell if it didn’t come with a right-side mirror, or if it’s broken off. But it isn’t rusty, and it has what looks like a new set of snow tires on it, perfect for rallycross shenanigans. Or, you know, snow.

1993 Subaru Impreza – $1,200

Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter OHC flat 4, five-speed manual, AWD

Location: Hillsboro, OR

Odometer reading: 285,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

The Subaru Impreza has a long and distinguished resume as a rally car, especially in its WRX trim. The vast majority of Imprezas were much tamer machines, like this one, but the bones are all still there: all-wheel-drive (optional until 1996), a flat-four engine for a low center of gravity, and light weight. This makes low-level Imprezas popular choices for Gambler-type go-fast-on-dirt events, and in fact, the seller of this car calls it a “Gambler special” in the ad.

What this Impreza does lack compared to a WRX is power. The standard Impreza engine for the first few years was a 1.8 liter flat 4, making just 110 horsepower. It’s plenty for commuting, but it won’t win any races. This one is all-wheel-drive, and it has a manual transmission, so you can still live out your rally fantasies at a slower pace. The seller sings the praises of its mechanical condition, saying it “drives great” and “shifts perfect,” which is impressive considering that it has a shit-ton of miles on it. It’s also a reminder that Subaru’s reputation for toughness didn’t used to be all hat and no cattle.

It looks about how you’d expect it to inside. It’s worn and dirty, and the airbag is blown and taped back shut. The seller doesn’t say how that happened, but it’s worth asking about. If nothing else, I guess it’s a good excuse to put an aftermarket steering wheel in it. The seller makes a point of saying the heater works, which I assume means the air conditioning doesn’t?

It looks like hell outside. It doesn’t look like it has been washed since Firefly was on the air, which doesn’t help. The missing gas cap cover is something I’ve seen before on Imprezas; I get the feeling they’re especially fragile. Now that I look more closely, I see what might be grease pencil marks from a junkyard on one front fender, so it may have been crashed and repaired with junkyard parts the same color. The title is clean, though.

I don’t know why, but cars like these sound like a lot more fun to me than a “nice” classic these days. Maybe because I spent nine years admiring that MGB GT in my garage rather than putting miles on it. I have plenty of model cars I can admire; when it comes to the real thing, I’d rather have something I can have some fun with. And since my budget is a shoestring at the best of times, ugly and cheap but runs great is where it’s at. Either of these would do nicely. Which one would you pick?