Happy Friday, Autopians! Today we’re looking at a pair of cheap used cars that are the same color, close to the same price, and hold roughly the same amount of stuff, but differ in how they put the power to the road. Have we reached the era of the electric shitbox, or do we have a ways to go yet? You be the judge.
I’m honestly a little surprised that yesterday‘s final tally was so lopsided. I expected the Suzuki to put up a better showing. Was it the grubby interior? Or the faded paint? Or simply the fact that an Astra is actually a pretty nice little car, whatever badge it wears?
Personally, I’ve never driven an Astra, but I did put several hundred miles on its smaller sibling, the Corsa, many years ago while on vacation in the UK, and I really enjoyed it. If the Astra is more or less the same thing only bigger, then it would be my choice as well – especially since I know I don’t like the Aerio’s dashboard.
Now then: EVs are here, and they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And at some point, older ones are going to become just plain old used cars. It won’t happen anytime soon, but eventually, based on the sheer numbers of them sold, I’ll be able to feature a $5,000 Tesla Model 3 on this column.
But will anyone want it? Battery degradation is real, and while the technology is way better than it was, and improving all the time, the fact that an EV loses effective range over time while an ICE-powered car does not is going to have an effect on their value. So today, we’re going to look at one of each, within a hundred dollars of each other in price, and weigh the pros and cons of each.
2001 BMW 525iT – $1,700
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter dual overhead cam inline 6, five-speed automatic, RWD
Location: McHenry, IL
Odometer reading: 147,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives, but has a check-engine light
There is nothing more expensive, the old line goes, than a cheap German car. German engineers tend to design things with a high level of precision and complexity, and then expect a degree of fastidiousness about maintenance that doesn’t really exist outside of the owner’s manual. When removed from the cold environment of a CAD program and subjected to typical road conditions and owners’ casual attitudes, German cars have a maddening and expensive tendency to fail, or at least make you keenly aware of every warning light on the dash.
This wouldn’t matter if they weren’t so damned nice. If BMW’s E39-chassis 5 Series were any less wonderful to drive, we could simply ignore it and let it fade into the mists of automotive history, along with Hyundai Excels and Ford Tempos. But that smooth, powerful inline six, powering the rear wheels of a wonderfully balanced chassis, makes it worth putting up with all the German car bullshit. Sometimes.
This 525i is powered by the smallest engine offered in America in the 5 Series, a 2.5 liter six making 192 horsepower. It drives the rear wheels through a five-speed automatic. Yes, of course, a manual would be more fun, but even with an automatic, a BMW of this era is a nice car to drive. This one runs and drives well, but it has a vacuum leak that causes a stumble in the idle sometimes, and the Check Engine light is on. It also burns a little oil. It does, however, have new catalytic converters, new brakes all around, and some other recent work.
Unfortunately, however, this is a Midwestern car, and we all know what that means. Rust has had its way with the underside of this car, notably in the jack points, which will eventually make future repairs much more challenging. I once had to junk a Honda Accord that needed nothing but new rear brakes, because it was too rusty to jack up safely. This one is nowhere near that bad, but unless you have welding skills and a lift, know that its days are numbered.
2011 Nissan Leaf SL – $1,800
Motor/drivetrain: 80 kW AC electric motor, single-speed gearbox, FWD
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Odometer reading: 66,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great – for short distances
It’s hard being a pioneer. Blazing a trail for others to follow means inventing whole new ways of doing things, failing to meet expectations even though you didn’t have those expectations yourself, occasionally dying of dysentery … it’s not easy. Nissan’s Leaf hatchback was the first EV produced in serious numbers, and as such, nobody quite knew what to expect of it. When it was new, it was compared to ICE cars, and not always favorably. Now, the first-generation Leaf gets compared to newer, better EVs. Poor thing can’t catch a break.
The Leaf’s battery is a 24 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion pack, good for about 75 miles of range when it was new. This one, thirteen years and 66,000 miles later, is down to about 35 miles of range around town, and less than half that on the highway. Newer Leafs use a lithium-iron-phosphate battery, which suffers from a lot less degradation, but that doesn’t help this poor car. It does run and drive flawlessly; you just can’t stray too far from home.
It looks like it’s in really nice shape inside, at least from the one photo we’re given. The Leaf was panned for being “cheap” inside when it was new, but that’s because reviewers were comparing it to other cars at the same price. This is an economy car; it was just an expensive one. Now, as a cheap used car, it’s fine.
Outside, it’s fine, except for one crunched fender. But I lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years, and I remember what the traffic was like. A little body damage on a cheap used car isn’t necessarily a disadvantage; it’s more like a warning to other drivers: “Look what happened to the last person who wouldn’t let me merge.”
Buying a cheap used car is always a gamble, and it’s always a compromise. Do you look for something dull but sturdy, or something that’s more fun but occasionally might not make it home? In this case, the compromise is potentially high maintenance costs, or the need for a reeeeally long extension cord. Which way are you going to go?
(Image credits: Facebook Marketplace sellers)
It is a sad(?) reflection of how much of my perfectly good time I spend(waste?) on this site that I immediately recognized both cars by their owners…. And no reflection on either of the owners but no thanks to either one.
The BMW is pretty distinctive, for the Leaf i had to scroll to confirm the quarter panel damage
The Leaf would be near useless to me without a new battery. And in that case, I’d rather sink the money into the E39 wagon, which actually has redeeming qualities when it is running well.
If you smash a BMW and Leaf together you just might get the world’s best REX EV!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GuENAWds5B0
Do it! For science!
I read both of these articles and genuinely thought if either one of them would fit into a need we have in our household. My son is turning 16 next month and he goes to school 5 miles from our house. If that Leaf could go there and back, maybe another quick run to town every day then it might be worth it to drive a safer modern car than the shitbox I have for him already. The BMW would be far cooler and could go longer distances, and truthfully, I wouldn’t fix the rust, just let it return to the earth until it’s unsafe. I went with the BMW though on this poll.
The Leaf is not a safer modern car. Major safety issues, particularly in the area where this one already has damage.
Sadly, David’s Leaf comes pre-crashed, and to my eye, the damage almost certainly extends to the unibody. Never call insurance on the thing because it’ll be totaled out in an instant.
So your choice is between better, but compromised safety from 2011, or worse, and still compromised safety from 2001. lol
The Leaf would be useless to be with that abysmal range, my 500e sometimes cuts it close as-is with 3-4 times the range. Plus, not living in California, I get no rebates, and have to ship it all the way to Michigan, so it’s not a very good deal at all. Also, David needs to work on the visual parts of his facebook ads; they give you 20 slots, and he’s using 6? 7? not only on the Leaf, but on the much higher priced i3 as well!
The BMW seems to have sold (congratulations if true!), but that would have been my pick, although only if I had to choose, since the last thing I need is another rusty sub-$2000 car added to my fleet.
LEAF all the way! (even if that isn’t very far)
It’s in decent condition and rust free, I could have GreenTec do a pack swap and get a nice commuter, or buy a wrecked LEAF from Copart and DIY a pack swap as practice for electrifying an older Datsun/Nissan pickup.
At least the Mercedes-BMW offers the possibility of actual transportation before it breaks itself worse. A car with a range of 35 miles and falling is a lot like having no car. Plus…just look at the two.
I’m taking the BMW, just so I can roll some coal 🙂
Plus, it’d take a year to drive the leaf to my house
I can actually make the Leaf work for me as a town car. But to really clinch the deal, DT is going to have to autograph it and include a picture of himself driving it.
Oh I’m sure not only will you get that autograph and pic you’ll get Autopian decals and bumper stickers covering every square inch of it.
Well, both cars have impeccable provenance, but I’ll vote BMW because trailering a Leaf from Los Angeles to Chicago seems silly. Perhaps the Autopian staff can recommend a car hauler …
I love how the ownership was not mentioned anywhere in the article and we treat this as random vehicles on the internet lol
Wanda has my vote, that Leaf looks like a coconut tree fell on it.
I mean, the real answer is “LOL, NO!” But that’s not how the game works, so I’ll take the BMW since the Leaf couldn’t even get me to my friend’s house.
lol lmao lol
You forgot the part where a seriously degraded Leaf will bring out the dumbest people on the internet to take your posts out of context and yell at you.
Depending on your point of view, some might call that a feature!
“Who wants a block today? Let me guess: you just ranted about this in a low-effort, non-fact-checked video posted from the front seat of your hooptie Ram.”
While crushing a Monster.
“I like my dogs rolled, and my Monsters cold!” *BELCH*
“So why don’t you make like a tree… and get out of here.” Not too far, though.
For the seller:
1) There is a very old quasi-joke type statement that was deployed to get people to go away: “Why don’t you make like a tree and leaf?” (The idea was that ‘leaf’ was close enough to ‘leave’ to make the point.) However, this line has been irreversibly modified into the aforementioned version by a not-very-bright movie character named Biff.
1a) See also “Screen door on a battleship” vs “screen door on a submarine”.
2) Biff was a pivotal figure in a series of movies titled ‘Back to the Future’ I, II, and III. The films deal with time travel and paradoxes and DeLoreans. In many cases the full title will be abbreviated to “BttF”.
The real value is that each one was once owned by Jon Voight.
I heard the Leaf was owned by some guy named Travid Dacy.
Yeah, but is his pencil in the glovebox? (w/ bite marks)
Love this Showdown!!
My wife’s job, and the grocery store, are each only about 4 miles away from the house, so the Leaf makes sense in a warped view of the world sort of way. As for the BMW, I don’t have the financial resources to own a $1,700 German car
No one does.
Why do you think we got rid of it? lol
Only a short time ago. who would have imagined that in a matchup such as this the least rusted offering would have been David’s car?
I can’t weld and that Leaf will get me to pretty much everywhere I’m likely to go and back, so I guess if I’m compelled to make one, it’s a choice.
Leaf is only good for a rear engine motorcycle swap, I’d go BMW
Nope. Neither. No reflection on the sellers, but I won’t put even imaginary money into them.
Sorry David, but I’m taking the BMW.
I had (have) a huge smile from this one, no word that these are writers cars! too cute, I went BMW, my dad had the sedan version, nice car it was!
Sorry DT that leaf is no better than a go cart atm. I wonder what a replacement battery would cost?
Go karts are more fun than the leaf.
truth!
I’ll take the Leaf! My commute is only about 6 miles each way, and I can charge at home. It would be perfect for me.
I just don’t wanna drive it from LA to OK 20 miles at a time, and even with the shipping partner of the site, it’s gonna cost as much to ship it as it would be to buy it.
My respect to you – you nailed the wonderful autopian-ness of this as a feature like 2 days ago!!
Nice test run of the Autopian classifieds!
And these are some real shitboxes being sold by shitbox connoisseurs!
Staff Lot Showdown ®
I wonder if there’s any way to contact that seller and ask for more photos. Eh, that seller’s probably too busy being all Hollywood and stuff.
Yeah..and now he has a girlfriend so…
Haha not even a single word about the fact that these are being sold by Mercedes and DT? Yeah a big no thanks to the leaf, I couldn’t get to work and back and have no way to charge at work.