Beauty, it is said, is only skin-deep. That means ugliness is too, which is good news for these two cars. Let’s try to ignore their unattractive exteriors and see if they have any redeeming qualities beneath the skin.
Yesterday we looked a couple of fun green machines, and a few of you wanted a “Both” button. But there has to be a winner, and that winner, by a narrow margin, was the Saab 9-3 convertible. Sorry, air-cooled Volkswagen fans, but I think Friday is going to be a second-chance Showdown, so you’ll get another shot at it.
I think the Saab would be my choice as well. The Type 3 is just a little too primitive for me to deal with; it’s the kind of car I admire, but don’t actually want. The Saab would make a great weekend toy with a little work, without all the old-car hassle.
For today’s choices, we’re putting the “Shitbox” back in the Showdown. These things are ugly, rusty, beat to hell, and yet supposedly still run and drive just fine. And they’re both under our original $2,500 price cap. So let’s kick it old-school and check out a couple of absolute clunkers.
2008 Hyundai Accent – $1,950
Engine/drivetrain: 1.6-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Chicago, IL
Odometer reading: 105,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Despite all its recent moves upmarket, when I think of Hyundai, this is still the car I think about: the humble Accent hatchback. Hyundai doesn’t make these anymore, and nobody else really makes anything like it anymore either, at least not for US consumption. It’s not much to look at, even in good condition, but it’s an honest little car, built to a price and unashamed of it. Looking for style over substance? Look elsewhere.
This Accent is a one-owner car, with only 104,000 miles on its odometer. It’s powered by a 1.6-liter engine paired with a four-speed automatic. Yeah, I’d rather have a manual too, but at this price, you take what you can get. It’s in great mechanical shape, from the sounds of it, with lots of new parts, including brakes and tires, so it shouldn’t need anything right away. The tire-pressure monitor light is on, though, so I’d check with the shop that installed the tires and make sure they installed the sensors right.
I wish I could show you more of the interior, but this is the best view we get. It’s dirty inside, and there’s heavy wear on the radio buttons, and that’s about all I can tell you. The seller does say that both the heat and air conditioning work fine, so that’s something.
The seller, amusingly, says that this car “could use some TLC” on the outside. Let’s be honest: It’s trashed. It has damage all over, occasionally repaired with duct tape, including what I think is a big hole in the right side. The left front fender is either completely wadded-up and straightened back out, or it’s a mass of duct tape too; I can’t tell which. Nothing against the seller, of course, but I’m not sure I’d brag about this being a one-owner car.
2010 Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback GTS – $2,497
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4, CVT automatic, FWD
Location: Farmington, MN
Odometer reading: 237,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Now this is a car I didn’t remember at all. I’m familiar with this generation of Mitsubishi Lancer; I’ve even rented one, but I had forgotten the Sportback version even existed until I saw this ad. I know the previous generation Lancer came as a wagon, and they’re as rare as hen’s teeth, but this might be even rarer. It’s a shame this one is in such rough shape, actually; a nice clean Lancer Sportback might be quite a find.
It’s a GTS model, featuring a 2.4-liter four-cylinder with Mitsubishi’s MIVEC variable valve timing system. It sends 168 horsepower to the front wheels through a CVT automatic. I know a lot of you hate CVTs, and there is some question about their durability, but this one has made it to 237,000 miles, so someone did something right taking care of it. It’s being sold by a dealer, so any other information about its previous care is purely speculative. I should note that both the check engine and TPMS lights are on, in the name of full disclosure.
It’s pretty fancy inside for a Lancer, with leather seats and a bunch of power goodies. It looks like it’s in decent shape, but I don’t know how many of the power features still work. The ad is no help; it reads like AI or, at best, boilerplate. You’ll just have to push all the buttons and see which ones still do something.
Outside, it gets ugly. Not only are the hood and front bumper mismatched, likely as a result of a minor accident, but the tin worm has been snacking on this car. The bottom of the left front fender is completely rusted out, and I shudder to think of what’s lurking under those side skirts.
Unfortunately, these are about as cheap as running cars get these days. You can still find better deals, but you have to be in the right place at the right time to grab one. This is what you’re more likely to find. So take a good look at them, warts and all, and decide which one you’d rather take a chance on.
Biased choice here, but hyundai.
Id bet it lived a HARD 100k besides the obvious beat down the outside took.
But these lil dudes can take it and keep going. Do a trans filter and fill and check the t belt rq, bet itl last to 300k.
These cars arent that bad to flog and hoon.
Given that my dear departed Mitsu Outlander 2.4 made 168hp, I assume it’s living on largely unmodified in this Lancer, so that’s nearly enough to make it easy.
Still, part of me wanted to take in that poor stray of a Hyundai, and if it had a stick I’d be tempted, duct tape and all. But I just can’t. So, pray that rubber band tran holds up and rest assured the motor will give you at least another 100K.
The Lancer takes the easy win today. The CVT, being of course developed by the master engineers at Jatco, is the obvious choice here when compared to the Accent’s dreadful four-speed automatic…
Obviously the Mitsu! I buy cars that look 10 times better than the poor Hyundai for my salvage yard than when that Hyundai was new.
Yeesh. Nope and nope.
My one comment: I don’t care about the TPMS. I’m on my second Sienna (2006 and 2018) and, despite the rest of the cars being solid and reliable, the TPMS on both has been utter shite from the factory. Including the factory tires. At this point, I assume the idiot light exists to cast a warm glow – it’s a mood light.
I just check the pressure regularly, including the spare, because the system is worthless.
The check engine light, though…definitely test that before buying.
My first impressions:
1- I didn’t know duct tape came in sheets. The Accent’s RR fender “patch” looks like a single piece.
2- I know exactly what’s hiding under the side skirts of the Twin Cities suburb Lancer: nothing
I voted Lancer
Yikes. I see why the $2500 cap had to go if this is what’s on offer for less than that.
I wanted to say Lancer since I don’t think this bodystyle is even that ugly, but the mileage, rust, and CVT kill it for me.
I’m hoping that the new parts mean the Accent owner didn’t care about the aesthetics of their beater Chicago car but was saying on top of mechanical needs, but that would be subject to verifying the mechanical status and checking that it’s also not fully rusted away underneath. I can’t say I’m holding my breath.
I voted for the Mitsubishi.
For me it came down to the “one owner” thing. I would feel better if seller said the Hyundai had 3 previous owners. At least there is a chance owners 1,2, and 4 treated it well. I prefer a car that was abused part of its life instead of all of its life.
I feel like you are rolling the dice with cars in this price range, but at least the Mitsubishi feels like you are rolling 6-sided dice. The Hyundai looks like you are, at best, rolling a 20 sided die and hoping your number comes up against the highly stacked odds.
Bad or worse… Yeah I guess I’m going Hyundai this round, but I’m not happy about it. I love the body style for the Lancer, but it’s more expensive, and has more than 2x the mileage. The Accent looks like it’s the lone survivor from a terrifying slasher movie, and it’s shockingly bad for only 105k, but it’s still alive? So I guess it gets bonus points for that?
That Hyundai has seen some shit.
I want it to just know what’s behind the duct tape.