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)
This is so awesome – I am (was) the owner of that Jeep. It sold today specifically because the buyer saw it here so THANK YOU FOR THE EXTRA WORK.
Funny enough, the interior is in near-pristine condition. Zero rips, zero sags, one coffee stain. Craigslist limits the number of photos you can post and the rust question is more important than the interior, so I had to prioritize.
I was sad to let it go, it’s been an amazing car, but it went to a great buyer – a Jeep person like me.
So to say again, thank you so much for thinking this is a bad car and inadvertently giving me the free advertising I needed to make the sale!
The Volvo is really nice and would be a great car for most people, but we already have three people haulers. As I always say, I ALWAYS have use for a cheap 4×4 to beat the shit out of on some trails (why people beat new $50k+ offroaders is beyond me), Jeep it is for me.
I’d go w/ the Jeep since it looks like fun…the Volvo is nice but too boring
Volvo. My father had a black 1998 (I think) S70 2.5 5cyl turbo diesel in about 2000. Averaged 42mpg (UK). And it looked exactly like what the plain clothes motorway police were driving in our area (except they were T5s) so everyone let you past. Nice car for 22 year old me to be driving…
Volvo for me. It will have better performance and get much better fuel economy.
That Volvo is a slam dunk. We had a 2000 for many years, super comfortable, decent gas mileage and that five cylinder is smooth. Only real thing to watch out for is the throttle can have issues with the electronic throttle module (although there was a recall, so you should be able to get it fixed free if it hasn’t already been done) and cleaning the PCV.
I love an XJ as much as the next person, but I’ve already owned a couple, and for the money, that Volvo is way too nice to pass up. Barring any obvious gotcha, I’d take it. Like, I’d honestly buy that if it were nearby and I had the space.
My divorced parents ended up buying S70s about the same time independently of each other- Dad the T-5 high pressure turbo in ’99 and mom the GLT low pressure turbo in ’00. The S/V 70s were the last of the true “Volvos” to me before Ford bean counting and Geely build quality (the wife having a ’20 XC60 that the electrics pooped the bed early on has convinced me no matter how good they look, I’m not getting involved with another new Volvo for a long time).
Both of my parents’ S70s ended up wrecked- Dad’s when someone though they were in a turn lane right at the time Dad was punching the turbos and mom’s by the 16 year old neighbor she sold it to as his first car. Both cars should have been totaled (the insurer regretted the $ sunk into Dad’s instead of totaling it), but in both crashes, both drivers walked away without a scratch or lingering injury. I would take this one and give it to a 16 year old today for his/her first car.
That Volvo is just too good to pass on. The Jeep is nice and all,but it has probably seen some shit in it’s life.
100% David did not get the joke in the title.
I didn’t either,sorry.
https://youtu.be/MQEwJdhfddk?t=72
Ah,thanks. I haven’t seen that yet,maybe it’s time.
With apologies to the wedding boy DT, NFW on the Jeep. No way.
The Swedish offering is a much better choice. Even with a Camry dent.
If it was anywhere near to me I would buy it now. YMMV
The Jeep is actually seemingly in very good condition for a northern states Jeep anything. Tough choice here though. Both are prime winter beater options. the Jeep I could see getting modded and trailed the following summer on the cheap though. My only concern is the Aw4 I suppose, but hey it is at least not a Dodge 904 with a tacked on 4th gear. those were truly terrible.
Nice Volvo, but isn’t a longroof, so.. XJ.
OMG, it’s purple just like my 99 XJ! I should buy it as a parts car, or maybe mine becomes the parts car. If I were selling mine I’d skip the interior shots too. Not even decent enough for David’s cats
Today is a heckuva garage for under $5k! If forced to choose, I’ll take the better condition of the Volvo.
From growing up in Florida, what is this “rust” thing everyone is so worried about?
It’s that discoloration around fasteners that you see on vehicles near the coasts. Apparently, everywhere up north is right on the coast.
That’s what is the main ingredient in DT’s vascular system.
It was. It’s since been replaced by lithium dust and avocado dip.
I know the Volvo is the better value, but I did vote for the Jeep. If it weren’t half a country away, I’d seriously consider it.
Owned an 850 estate. Nice car, but spendy to maintain. The XJ is my choice.
I can’t believe I chose a Volvo over an XJ.
But the Volvo looks so clean and in better overall shape. It looks ready to go.
I appreciate the XJ owner taking undercarriage pictures, but that makes me wonder why wouldn’t they include interior shots? All said and done the XJ is still worth it but it needs at least $2K to get it re sprayed and a replacement driver’s seat.
There is a limit to the number of photos you can include and they clearly thought the underbody shots were more important.
Where can you get a paint job for 2K anymore?
The local guys are starting at 4 to 5K around here, and that’s for a Maaco quality crap job.
“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.”
Ah, yeah, I’ve had that happen in various applications (like having to fix plumbing problems caused by others using the wrong thread; ha, reminded of how a well-known Canadian YouTube machinist, Blondihacks, has talked about how much she hates taper-fit threads with a vehemence rather unexpected of the stereotypical Canadian.) But usually I would spot the problems only after leaking had started so I’m curious as to how you checked your co-workers’ work, like reading the part number on the filter itself or looking for leaks?
Blondihacks ftw, great channel!
Yeah, indubitably so! And where else are you going to find a machinist lifting the cover off a water tender on her model locomotive build to show a mechanical pump and commenting that it was like finding a trash panda hiding in her compost bin??
Part numbers cross referenced with model years. IIRC the changeover was in 1988, and the AMC was a four-digit part number (we used Fram filters) while the Chrysler one was the same PH16 as slant sixes and LA V8s. Took literally two seconds to verify.
One Jeep did make it out the door with the wrong filter, and made it as far as MN-36 before the filter blew off. The shop bought someone a 4.0 engine that day, but the guy responsible kept his job; stupid nepotism. After that I started checking everyone’s work when I was there. Even the manager.
Egad. That was more than a leak, that MN-36 incident, all right!! Good about these filters being easy to check by sight. Ha, did you ever keep a tally of how many times you saved the shop’s heiney?
The changeover in 1988 with subsequent parts confusion reminds me of the changeover for the Ford F150 in 1991-’92 where there were many differences between the 8th and 9th generations. Auto parts stores and DIY mechanics would run into trouble because people would order parts for either a “1994 F150” or a “1990 Ford F150.” Those two descriptions sounded alike enough that there was many a case of the wrong part being ordered because there were so many incompatiblites between ’90 and ’94.
TBH I’d have both, but I went for the Volvo cos I have an IRL yen for one.
I voted for the Volvo.
IMHO, the Volvo is worth closer to $4,000.00. It’s no wonder that it is already sold!
Hmmm. Deleware…$2000 plus ~$50 for an Amtrak ticket…
That Jeep is a steal for $2350. Shut up and take my money steal. I’m not even a Jeep guy.
The fact that someone went to serious effort to take pictures under the car (and with so little rust visible!) in that detail for a vehicle when others can’t be arsed to take even half decent pictures of cars selling for several times that price shows care. The interior can’t be that trashed, so I’m ready to gamble on that sans pics.
If they put half the effort into maintenance as they did into those pictures, the thing’s probably the best deal I’ve seen in a good long time. It’s like buying a house where the previous owner went to the effort to make a proper breaker panel diagram (and laminated it!). Just gives previous owner vibes of “I cared.”
As for what I’d do with it? I’d donate to David Tracy in exchange for a lifetime membership to the Autopian.
I just posted here but I thought I’d respond. I’m the owner and it sold today specifically because of being shown here.
The interior is pristine but you’re right, the rust is so much more important and Craigslist limits the number of photos so I had to prioritize.
It’s definitely a steal – the price made sense for me because it allows me to pay off my other car, so I can factor in the time value of saving on interest. And, my daughter just left for college so selling a car and removing a teen driver saves me about $400 a month, starting with tomorrow’s payment.
My reasoning – overall I get great value, and a buyer gets a great deal. (Plus, I think the tranny issue is minor but I couldn’t stomach the idea of being wrong and accidentally screwing a buyer. I’m just not that guy.)