Good morning! Today’s Shitbox Showdown takes us to that car-unfriendly strip of coastline to the northeast of me: the great state of Delaware. One Craigslist site covers the whole state, and pickings are slim. These were the best of the bunch when it came to cheap and interesting rides.
So … I screwed up again yesterday, and I’m owning up to it. Yes, that Achieva is indeed a Quad 4, and probably does have an overdrive transmission. I suspect that I was looking up specs for the wrong year; after looking up the ’92 323, I had a brain fart and searched for a ’92 Achieva as well, instead of a ’95. And for what it’s worth, I did have an Olds Calais with a Quad 4 for a while (and a five-speed stick) and never had any trouble with overheating or blowing the head gasket. It’s a sample size of one, but my experience with that engine is 100% positive.
Much to my surprise, the Achieva actually won the vote. I expected the little Mazda to run away with it, but then again, an 80-something-horsepower economy car with an automatic isn’t really in a position to run away with anything. The Achieva gets my vote as well. The transmission makes the decision for me; I could tolerate the Olds with a slushbox, but not the Mazda.
Now then: When we first started talking about moving to the East Coast, I naturally looked up the important stuff first: Vehicle inspection requirements in the various states we were considering. I almost immediately nixed Delaware, based on their testing requirements; no way was my 1971 MG going to pass an emissions test, and it would be required to do so there every two years. Other oddly strict rules turned me off as well. Maryland inspections were no picnic either, but we passed them, and don’t need to go through them again.
I understand why the requirements are there, and after seeing some of the deathtraps rolling around the streets of Portland, I’m thankful for safety inspections. But it makes fun and interesting cars few and far between in Delaware. These two are almost fun and interesting; let’s check them out.
1998 Jeep Cherokee Sport – $2,350
Engine/drivetrain: 4.0-liter overhead valve inline 6, four-speed automatic, 4WD
Location: Wilmington, DE
Odometer reading: 178,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Take a box, and stick another, smaller box on the front of it. Give it four-wheel-drive and an archaic but effective inline-six engine. Sell it for almost two decades with very few changes. That’s the XJ-series Jeep Cherokee formula, and it proved a reliable ride for everyone from Mama Fratelli to Buffy the Vampire Slayer to our own David Tracy. (Strange company, indeed.)
This is a later Cherokee, towards the end of the run, when Jeep took a file to the Cherokee’s sharp corners and rounded them off a bit, both inside and out. I would show you the inside, but this seller has declined to show any photos of it; instead, they say “photos on request,” and fill up all the available slots with exterior, underside, and underhood photos. They claim the interior is in good condition, though it has a broken driver’s seat frame. Not sure how you accomplish that.
Mechanically it sounds all right, and like any good Jeep from the ’90s, it’s powered by a 4.0 liter inline six. As a side note, these engines were the bane of my existence when I worked at a garage in the mid-1990s, for one reason: The oil filter. AMC spec’d a filter that had 19mm threads; when Chrysler took over, they changed it to 3/4 inch threads. The filters were identical sizes, and one would even screw onto the other’s mounting stud, but not tighten properly. I never mixed them up, but my co-workers constantly did, and I always had to go check and make sure they were installing the right one.
Apart from clueless mechanics, the Cherokee’s only real natural enemy is rust. This one doesn’t look bad, but there are some signs of corrosion starting to appear on the rocker panels. Underneath it’s fairly clean, though, so any rust problems should be a good long ways off.
2000 Volvo S70 – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter dual overhead cam inline 5, five-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Bear, DE
Odometer reading: 164,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Here we have another boxy car that got its edges rounded off. The Volvo 850, this car’s predecessor, was only slightly less brutally rectilinear than the 240 and 740 that it replaced. When the name changed from 850 to S70, the corners softened. It’s hard to tell unless you’re looking at them side-by-side, though. It’s still boxy, and it’s still good.
Like the 850, the S70 is front-wheel-drive, powered by a transverse inline five. You don’t see a lot of five-cylinder engines; Audi is probably the most famous purveyor of them, but I bet Volvo actually built just as many of them, if not more. This one runs “perfect,” the seller says, and even has good cold air conditioning.
It’s in good condition for its age and mileage. Lots of toys, too: heated leather seats, a sunroof, and power everything. From the sounds of it, it all works, even. Actually, this is one of the nicest $2,000 cars I’ve seen in a while. I guess that’s the upside of inspections – they weed out the junk.
It looks pretty good outside too, though there is a little ding below one taillight. Strangely, this isn’t the first S70 that I’ve seen with damage in this same spot. I don’t know if the sightlines are bad, or if Volvo drivers just can’t reverse properly, or what. It’s not as prevalent as the fabled “Camry dent,” but it definitely seems to be a thing.
Maybe I just got spoiled by the car culture in Portland, and in Los Angeles before that, but this whole area doesn’t seem to be much of a car-guy haven. There aren’t a lot of interesting cars on the road, nor, clearly, for sale. But I guess you could do a lot worse than an XJ and an old Volvo. It could be a land of nothing but Nissan Altimas, for example. With that in mind, these aren’t bad at all. Which one would you choose?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I’ll take both; they are “Boxy But Good”
I live in Delaware and can confirm the car culture is very mediocre. You’ll mostly see poorly modified Hondas and Infinitis driving around with the occasional daily driven GTI/R. You will see the occasional tastefully modified car but they’re few and far in between and there are very little car events. Although in the Greenville area of Wilmington where the president lives you will see quite a few pricy enthusiast cars (Aston Martins, R35 GTRs, BMW M cars) and lots and lots of classics.
I can’t vote for something without seeing the interior. If the Jeep’s interior is mint, and it has all the service records, I might switch.
But a Volvo with a 5 is a highway annihilator, and the interior looks like a really nice place to be. Skol!
or shots of the undercarriage. I would have gone for the Volvo for sure if it is a wagon.
I don’t need shots of the undercarriage. The location tells me all I need to know.
I’ve seen what an XJ can go through and survive. Jeep all the way for me.
I just love that the title is a movie reference that DT has no chance of getting, or probably even realizing it’s a reference he doesn’t get.
Anyways, the broken seat frame is a known XJ weak spot, but I still picked it over the Volvo. Those Volvos look nice, but they’re expensive to keep on the road, and it’s a boring front wheel drive automatic car. Not interested.
Shopping with a $3k budget in late 2019, I couldn’t find a reasonable XJ —but I absolutely wanted 3 pedals after a full decade of slushboxes. Now, with a couple manuals in the driveway, I’d take this Cherokee in a heartbeat
That’s a hard choice.
But I think I’d rather drive a 5-cylinder for once in my life.
Gimme the Volvo. Boxy but safe. A smooth driver with a super comfortable interior for $2K.
I was already leaning away from that jeep but the laziness of the seller sealed. If it’s too hard to take some interior pictures, then it’s too hard for me to pay you. I already know the driver’s seat is busted and without photos to prove otherwise, I will assume that the entire interior is trashed so hard pass. Seriously “photos on request”? F that!
After replacing the engine in my nephew’s similar 850 a couple years ago, and wreaking havoc on my back in the process, I’ll take the Jeep.
I would have liked to vote for the Volvo, but it wasn’t the wagon variety. If it had been, I’d be on a flight out right now. So by default, Jeep. But not voluntarily.
It will always be the Volvo. Jeep would be a great choice but I like being closer to the ground in my cars.
I legit want both of these. Learned to drive in an 88 XJ Sport 2-door. Owned a 99, and legit miss it, but the rust was getting too bad on the thing.
I also owned a predecessor Volvo 850 and really like this generation, and at these prices I would take them both.
XJ’s only die due to rust or rollovers.
I have seen a significant number of XJs with the roof cut off and usually a roll cage added, so I’d say you’re half right.
There’s nice and modern with a Volvo badge, and ancient pushrods, slushbox, suspension etc. with broken interior, rust, and higher price, as the Jeep.
Volvo all the way.
I voted XJ. In DT and rust we trust.
Volvo, in part for nostalgia. I was brought home from the hospital in a brand new 1993 Volvo 850, identical in every way to the one driven by the mom in Mrs. Doubtfire. I know this isn’t an 850 and it’s the wrong color but it’s close enough for me.
Oddly enough, years later Mrs. Six and I brought our newborn kiddo home in a less-than-new 1993 Volvo 850. We also moved from CA to CO in it when she was 7 months pregnant. With three cats. One of the more interesting road trips I’ve been on.
Admittedly, I’m tempted by the Jeep, but I’ve already got two Grand Cherokees in my stable – sure, this one may outlast both of them, but I’m in the “comfort” stage of life, and that Volvo sure looks like a nice place to spend long periods of time. Additionally, a car doesn’t look like that after 24 years by accident – someone cared about this thing, and it shows. Not sure I can say the same about the Jeep. The brake dust accumulation on the front wheels says “I get washed 3x annually” – no interior shots is probably for a reason.
“Not sure I can say the same about the Jeep. The brake dust accumulation on the front wheels says “I get washed 3x annually” – no interior shots is probably for a reason.”
So what? Its a 26 yo >$3000 Jeep being used daily as a Jeep was designed to be, not some delusional boomer’s garage queen.
Agreed.
> doesn’t mean what you think, though
I get it – but without the ability for test drives, looking at pictures is all I got. To these eyes, one looks like it was better maintainted than the other.
These jeeps don’t ask for much, mostly fluids and rubber.
*insert double entendre here*
Oh man, my dad had this generation S70 and that 5 cylinder was a nightmare. It spent so much time in the service department that the dealership bought it back…although it was fully undone when during a storm parts from an AC unit on the building came loose and smashed it. It was always the family joke that it was cursed.
I remember that damn thing completely stalling out on us while cruising several times, and it was an automatic. It also had a vinyl interior that was sticky and miserable…I’m not sure if this is actual leather or the “premium vinyl” interior as they called it. All the rich kids at my school used to make fun of it too.
…and to add insult to injury, my mom made him get rid of his manual Saab 93 hatchback for it. She got sick of driving stick in DC and played the “it’s not a good family car” card. So suffice to say…I’m wary of this era of Volvo. Gimme the Cherokee, hopefully some cats will start living in it.
I think that was an anomaly, the 2.4 has a stellar reputation and it would be the first engine I look for from a FWD Volvo
Sounds like the Saab had the last laugh after all.
Delaware, the state with the lowest highest point!
Hey! My credit card is from there!
I learned that from a Moxy Fruvous song:
https://youtu.be/yAy2yBEwbV8?feature=shared
Kind of a deep cut, I was just curious if anyone else had heard it
Imagine being magically whisked away to… Delaware…
Party time! Excellent!
Both. Here in CO that Jeep would sell for at least 2x that asking price, even with the rust. I get constant offers for mine and it has no paint left on the hood. Always liked the 850/S70 too.
*Edit – looks like the Volvo sold already!
Seconded, but going XJ if I have to choose just one. I miss mine and could sell it for double here in Pittsburgh.
I get to see interior photos of the Jeep upon request? Haha, no. I’ll take the Volvo that I know has an intact interior.
Lack of interior pics was an immediate disqualification for my vote, but I’d probably say both in real dollars instead of internet bucks.
Yeah, that nixed it for me too. Either lazy or it’s trashed so a non-starter.
I have met so many people with these XJs with an insane amount of miles on them. My high school friend had one with over 600,000 miles on it. And he abused the hell out of it too. He never changed the transmissions fluid. Occasionally he would add some if it needed it. A lot of things were falling apart on it but the engine and transmission were totally fine.
I sold my 99 at 255K miles, it still ran like a champ, but it had significant death wobble, and the buyer put his fingers through the rust over the drivers rear window.
Normally I’d leap for a Volvo, but FWD autos do not spark joy.
I’ve owned two XJs and both ended in heartbreak, but the devil you know…
Party on Mark!
I’m giving a thumbs up to the Volvo here. That’s about as nice an S70 you’re going to find these days.
Volvo, because that Jeep shipped with the Factory rust package. It just takes time to show up, but it always arrives.