Welcome back! It’s been a while since we really scraped the bottom of the used car market barrel, so today we’re doing just that. I found two really sketchy cars for sale in Cincinnati that both just say “Runs and drives.” That’s all you need, right?
I thought that old Ford truck yesterday would give some of you the warm fuzzies. It’s a friendly truck, from a good era for Ford trucks. The Chevy isn’t as nostalgic, but it’s anvil-reliable and has a lot fewer miles. The stage was set for a close vote, and that’s what we got, with the big beige Ford taking a narrow victory.
Personally, I’m not sure which way I would go. If I were shopping for a cheap truck, it would mean that some terrible fate had befallen my beloved Forest Service truck, and there’s no replacing that thing. We already have a GMT800 Yukon, so I could go Chevy and only have to remember one oil filter number, but that Ford just seems like a more affable companion.
All right, let’s look at some garbage. As someone who has more than once had to buy whatever cheap piece of crap car I could find, and then wait for my next paycheck to go to the DMV and register it, I’ve gotten good at separating the wheat from the chaff when it comes to the low end of the market. Back when I was doing it, the ads were printed in the Tradin’ Times, and the descriptions were terse. I had to figure out which cars were worth a phone call and a trip across town to look at from a few lines of text and often no photos.
These two have a few bad photos, but just about as little text description as those days. And neither one is a particularly desirable used car. Is that what makes them cheap? Or is there some other reason not to pick up the phone? That’s what we’re going to try to find out.
2003 Volkswagen Jetta – $1,450
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0-liter overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Blanchester, OH
Odometer reading: 235,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives
You probably saw Thomas’s article yesterday about Volkswagen charging sixty grand and up for its new electric ID Buzz van. He didn’t seem to think it was unreasonable; many commenters, including me, disagreed. Volkswagen has always been good at cheap mass-market cars; it’s literally right there in the name: “People’s Car.” When the brand’s overseers remember this, you get the Beetle, and the Golf, and a cute little car sold in Europe called the Up! (yes, with the exclamation point). When they get too big for their britches, you get the Phaeton. The fourth-generation Jetta could have been a car of the people, but VW tried to get fancy and went all Phaeton on it.
This era of Jetta was available with a few different engines, but the default option was a 2.0 liter four, an updated version of the same basic engine VW had been stuffing into Rabbits and Jettas and Sciroccos since the ’70s. It’s not powerful – its nickname among the VW tuner crowd is the “two-point-slow” – but it is reliable and durable, and that might be this car’s saving grace as a beater. The seller does mention the engine just had a timing belt change, and has a new water pump. I’d rather see it attached to a five-speed manual, as VW’s automatics have never been great, but if it made it to 235,000 miles, someone must have taken care of it.
It’s the interior of the fourth-generation Jettas that really lets them down. It’s supposed to feel upscale, but instead it’s just a mishmash of soft-touch plastics that wear like shit, complicated electric and electronic crap that fails constantly, and a pervasive waxy smell on hot days. This one looks OK in the couple of photos that we get, but I’m sure it has its issues.
Outside, it’s green, which is a good thing. A disturbing number of these Jettas were painted silver, and black ones were so common someone even wrote a song about them. The green is a welcome sight. Less welcome is that rust hole in the front fender; I’d poke around with a screwdriver under the edge of the rocker panels and make sure they’re still there.
2013 Dodge Avenger – $1,695
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Hamilton, OH
Odometer reading: 231,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives
Volkswagen lost the plot when it came to affordable cars in the 2000s; Chrysler just couldn’t seem to write a decent sequel. It followed up the lovable Neon with a watered-down second generation and then replaced it altogether with the unforgivable Caliber. Its midsized cars after the first-generation cloud cars were a game of musical nameplates that left buyers, and parts-counter clerks, trying to figure out which ones were actually Mitsubishis.
The Avenger sedan replaced the Stratus in 2008, with styling that aped the popular LX-platform Charger sedan. The styling came across as a caricature of the Charger rather than a smaller sibling. This is the basic SE model, as far as I can tell, powered by a 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine and Chrysler’s minivan-tastic Ultradrive four-speed automatic. You’ve probably rented one at some point, though you may not have noticed. It runs and drives, but that’s all we know.
The interior is decidedly low-rent on these, with lots of hard plastic and cheap fabric. It has held up well, though, from the looks of it. One photo shows the instrument panel with the car running; the check engine light isn’t on, but the ABS, traction control, and low-tire warning lights are. It may be nothing but a bad sensor or two, or it could be more serious. Either way, you’re not likely to see paradise by those dashboard lights.
It looks all right outside, too, at least for this price. I don’t know how prone to rust these cars are, but it is in Ohio, so it’s worth a peek underneath.
You don’t generally look at cars like these unless you really need a car. But if you need a car in this price range, you need it to be something decent. Both of these have sort of shaky reputations, but the sheer number of miles on both of them speaks in their favor. Somebody kept them up, or they wouldn’t have lasted this long. Which one of them seems worth a look?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I feel like the Jetta at least has a chance a being a decent vehicle. And you would avoid the used car dealer experience.
While I’m dubious of the reliability of the Jetta, the Avenger really only wins the “it beats walking” category. I’d seriously consider a bicycle over that hateful machine.
I test drove an Avenger when it 1st came out and came deeply disappointed to know my 1st gen cloud car had better interior quality than an 8 yr newer car that was supposed to replace it.
Fast forward 5 years and the Malibu I rented was traded in for a non-working keyfob by guess what, an Avenger. I had already made my mind to not drive an Avenger ever again but it was summer in Orlando and high season means that’s all Sixt had left so I reluctantly took the keys and resumed my trip.
To say the least these mid-cycle Avengers improved a ton over the early ones. It’s front end still looks ugly as a sin but at least the interior improved a ton over the early ones with most of the dash and door cards being soft touch materials while not smelling like crayons (Jetta).
Personally I’d also pick a late Ultradrive over a 4 spd VW auto all day everyday. So Avenger it is.
Why is the Dodge so ugly?
I’ve totaled two cars, both of them green. Shouldn’t happen a third time, right? Since this is pretend internet money I went VW. In reality I prob wouldn’t buy either of them, but if forced I’d pick the non-green car.
I had a 2001 Jetta in that color, but with the 1.8 turbo married to a 5-speed, and I loved that car. This would be an extremely faint echo, but it’s not like that Dodge has anything going for it.
Aaaaand it’s tails, so I’m going with the Jetta.
The Dodge is gonna be more repairable, for a lot less money, and a lot less headaches. Will it feel as good? No. But the Jetta won’t feel good up on jackstands.
I’d rather be seen on the side of the road calling a flatbed next to the Jetta.
At this price, it needs to at least pass inspection…. so I have to go VW… even though it’s going to die in a month, at least you get a month out of it before the electrics turn it into scrap.
The As-is Avenger: not the superhero we need; the superhero we can afford.
If you want a cheap car to drive, you’re generally better off with the car that was cheaper to begin with. There’s a reason you still see J-bodies running around. It’s easy to keep them limping along. A 20-yr old Jetta isn’t that car.
I’m taking the Dodge, if only because I have to figure it will be easier/cheaper to repair when something inevitably goes wrong.
You speak with wisdom
Which one has had fewer owners? I’d look at it first. There’s a huge difference between a 2xxk mile car whose original owner cared for it, and a 2xxk mile car where the original owner cared for it, traded it at 150k, and then no one has maintained it since.
All else being equal, the Avenger is easier to find in junkyards so it’s likely to be cheaper to fix.
If you want the worst of both worlds. In Europe, you could buy a Dodge Avenger with a VW diesel in it.
It’s the Jetta for me, as the price is closer to its scrap value for when something inevitably breaks for good.
I guess I’ll go with the VW since the dashboard isn’t lit up like a Christmas tree. At this price you can’t expect more than a week to week car. Honestly, if you have enough cash to buy one of these heaps you might be better served using it for cab fare until your financial situation improves.
I had a MkIV for a long time. Decent car, and the 2.slow was reliable… just slow and not very efficient.
I can’t say that I’ve ever seen one of these generation Jetta’s not going at least 30mph of the speed limit in any given location
I’m the original owner of an ’04 Jetta GL with 240K miles that are all my doing. My third Jetta, I have the TDI wagon with a manual. Everything else is the same as this car — and it IS the fulfillment of “The People’s Car” — basic, but balanced. Not noticeable, but not ugly. In my opinion, there isn’t much “complicated electronic crap” to fail- no touchscreen, no power seats (or even seat warmers). It’s utilitarian, but solid. I often see these for sale (or for free) at 350k miles. I hope to get there in mine. I started off hauling kids home from the hospital. Now I haul yard debris and furniture. It will have to fall apart under me before I get rid of it.
Having grown up in Cincinnati, I’m familiar with both Blanchester and Hamilton. Blanchester is a decent enough rural anytown. Hamiltucky on the other hand, is an absolute shithole of a blue-collar urban town that hit its peak in 1948 and its been downhill ever since. It was arguably just as responsible for the meth epidemic in the area as JD Vance’s beloved Middletown. To buy a 12 year old Dodge from an unaffiliated fly-by-night used car dealer in that town is just unthinkably stupid.
I can’t believe I’m voting for a VW of that era, but here we are.
To be clear, both of these are shitboxes, and I.wouldn’t touch either of them with Bea Arthur’s you-know-what. BUT: since we are playing with house money, I have to go VW. It has to be better, and almost can’t be worse. It’s better looking too.
Plus, if you buy the Dodge Avenger, you are left with a Dodge Avenger.
This era VW Jetta has horrendous electrical issues which is a shame because they are sharp looking cars. Stay Back!
If I’m shopping these two, I’m desperate for transportation. Or a Gambler 500 car.
If they both had half the mileage, I’d probably take the VW, but these are both well-worn and are certain to need repairs along the way.
In this situation, I’ll take the one that’s likely to be cheapest and easiest to keep repairing, and that’s the Dodge. Especially considering the obvious rust on the VW, which is likely eating way too much of the structure by now.
Gotta wonder just what Dodge was trying to avenge when they turned these cars out. That both have high miles would seem to indicate they’ve avoided the pitfalls of their respective siblings, so are probably OK runners. How much longer they’ll run is the more important question. The rust hole on the VW bothers me, but not as much as the whole zeitgeist of the Dodge. All in, I’ll say I better get a Jetta.
I remember when these were being developed during the “Merger of Equals” era, the platform that spawned the Avenger/Sebring was going to be shared with Mercedes as the basis for the C Class or was it vice versa? I can’t find anything online talking about it and it was definitely not a Mandela effect.
please, please, please stop those awful video pop-ups. they are enough to make one stop coming to this site