Welcome back to Mercedes’ Marketplace Madness! As you know, I love picking up dirt-cheap cars, motorcycles, and campers, and then telling you lovely readers about the dumb things that I do with them. I’m always looking for the next deal, but most of the time, I’m left empty-handed. At the same time, I love building a list of cars, trucks, and motorcycles that I would buy if I had the money.
Mercedes’ Marketplace Madness turns the long list of vehicles I’d love to buy into something for you all to enjoy. Some of them are cheap and some of them are not. Some of the vehicles I find are purely window shopping for everyone other than a collector like Beau or Myron.
Some readers have complained that I have gone too far from my roots. Indeed, my car-finding series did start off with a hard limit of $10,000. Admittedly, I began to feel like I was missing out on some real gems, so I expanded the series to higher price limits and sometimes no limits at all.
In honor of what I used to do, this week has just one vehicle above $10,000! Let’s check these rides out.
2001 Audi TT Quattro Roadster – $4,200
My old Audi TT was a basket case, but I still miss it. If I could buy my dream TT, it would be another first-generation model but with a convertible top and the rare baseball glove-like interior. Oh yeah, check the interior of this bad boy out!
My ideal TT would also be yellow or blue, but I’d take silver to get that interior in good shape. Here’s what Audi has to say about the original TT:
1995: the Audi TT concept car
At the International Motor Show (IAA) in Frankfurt am Main, Audi presented the first Audi TT as a concept sports car with high suitability for everyday use. Technical Development with a team of Audi designers had developed the concept for a sporty Coupé in the shortest conceivable time. In November 1995, the Roadster version made its premiere as a TTS concept car at the Tokyo Motor Show. The outer lines of the two show cars followed the German philosophy, and recalled the rounded shapes of the pre-War racing cars and post-War sedans of Auto Union. The interior rested on the principle of “as much as necessary and as little as possible.” The TT concept cars were very well received as forward-looking innovations and the embodiment of revolutionary automotive design. Audi kept a low profile for many years regarding possible production of the two model versions, however.
1998: the first generation of the Audi TT
Closely based on the show car, the production model with its formally coherent design idiom has remained a milestone of innovative automotive design to the present day. Its aspiration was clear in the tiniest of details: aluminum elements in the interior, progressive wheel design, a short, spherical gear knob and round, closely spaced tailpipes. For the first time, Audi employed the quick-as-lightning dual-clutch transmission in a production model – the so-called S tronic. Power output ranged from 110 kW (150 hp) to 184 kW (250 hp).
This TT presents in overall good shape with the baseball glove interior intact, clean wheels, and just 110,000 miles. The only damage to note is a cracked front bumper. Power comes from a 1.8-liter turbo four driving all four wheels (though, primarily the front ones) through a manual transmission. It’s unclear if that engine is the 180 HP tune or 225 HP tune. It’s $4,200 from the seller in Firestone, Colorado.
1969 GMC 1000 – $11,500
The first generation of General Motors’ C/K line of trucks launched in 1960, replacing the Task Force series trucks. In Chevrolet’s naming scheme, “C” denotes rear-wheel-drive while “K” means four-wheel-drive. Second-generation trucks were launched in 1967 and Chevrolet says that “Action Line” trucks added comfort and convenience features to make the C/K line to better fit the types of customers that were buying them. The body was given a new design, too. Chevrolet mentions some fun facts from when this line was introduced, like the fact that a gallon of gas was $0.33 ($3.08 today) or that a whole house was $24,600 ($229,569 today).
This GMC 1000 comes painted in a beautiful shade of green with white as a two-tone color. The truck presents in mostly good condition and even includes a clean bed, but rust is beginning to bubble on the cab’s drip rail. Power comes from a 350 cubic-inch V8 good for 250 HP and 350 lb-ft torque. That power reaches the rear end through a Tremec five-speed manual and a Positraction rear end. It’s $11,500 from the seller in Encino, California with 80,000 miles.
1996 Nissan Rasheen – $6,300
The vehicle originally in this spot was a Honda Life from the Import Guys, but it looks like that car was already featured in a Shitbox Showdown. So, here’s another interesting JDM car. This one’s larger than Kei-class, so you can even own it in some of the states that currently hate Kei vehicles. This is a vehicle our friends at the Lane Motor Museum have written about:
As the popularity of Sport Utility Vehicles (or SUVs) grew in the 1990s, Nissan realized it needed a small four-wheel drive SUV to augment sales of its larger Nissan Patrol. First shown as a prototype at the 1993 Tokyo Auto Show, the Rasheen was initially offered with a 1.5L, 104hp GA15DE-code engine, and shared its platform with the Nissan Sunny (known as the Sentra in North America). With its angular and quirky body styling, it was reminiscent of Nissan’s earlier “Pike” designed cars. The Rasheen was never marketed outside of the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM).
The light off-roader came standard with Nissan’s ATTESA viscous coupling system, sending torque to the wheels that needed it based on traction conditions. A larger 1.8L engine with 125hp came in 1997, followed in July 1998 by an optional 2.0L, 143hp engine in the Rasheen Forza edition. Nissan ended production of the Rasheen in 2000, replacing it with the X-Trail. Previously only a JDM product, the current generation of X-Trail (2013-present day) is sold in the US as the Rogue.
Power comes from a 1.5-liter GA15DE four making 104 HP. That’s driving all four wheels through an automatic transmission. It’s $6,300 from our friends at the Import Guys in Ferndale, Washington with 71,000 miles and change.
1961 Bianchi Motociclo Tattico MT 61 – $6,534
Bianchi is a name known for its performance bicycles, but for 70 years of its existence, it also built motorcycles. Edoardo Bianchi was an Italian inventor and pioneer who built his first bicycle in 1885. In 1897, Bianchi would create his first motorcycle and three years later, his first car. Bianchi would then build cars until 1939 and motorcycles until 1967. Over the years, Bianchi would build race-winning motorcycles as well as become captive imports sold in America by Montgomery Ward as Riverside motorcycles.
This Bianchi Motociclo Tattico MT 61, or Tactical Motorcycle, was a military motorcycle made by Bianchi in the 1960s. It was designed to get through some of the toughest terrain as well as ford deep water. MT 61s feature high fenders, a high-mounted air intake, a water-resistant electrical system, and a high-mount exhaust, as well. Power comes from a 318cc engine making 10.5 HP. It’s good for a top speed of 55 mph.
This example is for sale by Ruote Da Sogno s.r.l. in Italy for about $6,534. True mileage is unknown.
1955 Austin A30 – $7,325
The Austin A30 was launched at the October 1951 Earls Court Motor Show as a competitor to the Morris Minor. At the time, Austin marketed the vehicle as “New Austin Seven” with a price of £507, or £13,168 today. The car went on sale in May 1952. Reportedly, the car’s clay model was designed by Bob Koto, a designer from Raymond Loewy styling studio, but Austin’s Dick Burzi ended up penning the final design.
One highlight of the Austin A30 was its chassis-free unitized construction. It wasn’t the first car with unitized construction, but, reportedly, the Austin went with no chassis at all while some other cars were creating unibodies by welding chassis to bodies.
This 1955 Austin A30 comes with an 803cc four-cylinder making 38 HP and is attached to a manual transmission. It’s said to be original and has just 26,091 miles on its odometer. The car is about $7,325 from Carrosso Classic & Sportscars in the Netherlands.
1991 Alfa Romeo 164 S – $9,999
As Hemmings writes, Alfa Romeo began developing a new executive car in the 1970s when it was still an independent company. At the time, Fiat, Lancia, and Saab were also looking to create their own large sedans as well. Those three brands would end up working together on what would become the Tipo Quattro platform. Cars riding on this platform would be the Fiat Croma, the Lancia Thema, and the Saab 9000. The Alfa Romeo 164 would join its platform mates and ultimately, Alfa would join the Fiat umbrella.
The 164, sometimes called the last true Alfa, stood out from its platform siblings with styling inside and out from Pininfarina. These front-wheel-drive sport sedans also made it over to America between 1991 to 1995 of its 1987 to 1997 production run. This 1991 model is a 164 S, which is a sport version donning sport seating, a sport suspension, a body kit, and sport wheels. Power comes from a 3.0-liter V6 making 200 HP and 189 lb-ft torque. That firepower reaches the front wheels through a manual transmission. Car and Driver reported that these sedans can hit 60 mph in under 7 seconds and it seems like these are regarded as driver’s cars.
This one is described as being in daily driver condition. The seller says the air-conditioner doesn’t work, the airbag light is on, and the header panel for the sunroof is damaged. It’s $9,999 from the seller in Denver, Colorado with 124,500 miles.
1962 Mercury Meteor – $7,000
The Meteor was a model that came and went in a blink of an eye. The story of the Meteor starts with Canada, and I’ll let Ford of Canada explain:
A June 25, 1948 press release stated, “The Mercury and Lincoln division of Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited announced today that it would shortly introduce a brand new automobile in the low-priced field, to be known as the ‘Meteor.’ It will be exclusive to the Canadian market and will be distributed by the Mercury and Lincoln dealers across the Dominion.”
Meteor followed the Mercury 114 format, which was to use the Ford body with a Mercury grille. Instead of Ford’s “propeller” grille, Meteor used a Mercury style grille. In addition, a wide chrome border surrounded the upper part of the grille cavity. At each end of the grille was a small arrow-shaped point which contained Ford-like parking lights.
Meteor spelled in chrome block letters above the grille identified this new car. The name also appeared across Mercury shaped hubcaps. On the deck lid, a round Meteor medallion appeared above the trunk handle. Otherwise, Meteor’s exterior was about identical to Ford’s. Inside, the Ford style instrument panel added a chrome star with a tail on the right end. Under the hood was Ford’s 239 cid V-8, now rated at 100 hp.
1961 marked the end of the Ford-based Meteor. The United States also got its own full-size Meteor in 1961. The Meteor we’re looking at today was the very briefly-lived Intermediate Meteor, which sold from 1962 to 1963. It was a counterpart to the Ford Fairlane and given futuristic pod taillights. Mercury marketed the car as being a small car with a lot of room and a dash of luxury.
Power comes from a 221 cubic inch Windsor V8 making 145 HP and bolted to a Merc-O-Matic 3-speed automatic transmission. The seller says the whole car is in original shape and is a survivor that runs and drives.
It’s $7,000 from the seller in Iron Mountain, Michigan with 91,349 miles.
1965 Honda CB160 Diesel Swap – $2,000
If you haven’t noticed, I love writing about diesel motorcycles. Sadly, every one I find is usually prohibitively expensive. Maybe if I can’t find a cheap Royal Enfield Diesel, perhaps I could buy a diesel-swapped bike? That’s what this 1965 Honda CB160 is offering.
As the American Motorcyclist Association writes, the 1965 Honda Sport CB160 is a development of the 1959 Honda CB92 Benly. That motorcycle had a tiny 125cc twin, a pressed steel frame, a pressed steel swingarm, and leading-link forks. The CB160 was a step forward with a steel tube frame, traditional swingarm, and telescopic forks. This technology was trickled down from Honda’s larger models such as the 305cc CB77 Super Hawk from 1961. For the price of $530 in 1965, a young motorcyclist could ride home on a motorcycle with modern style and a 161cc twin making 16.5 HP. This was good for a top speed of up 75 mph.
This CB160 has seen its twin removed for a 406cc Yanmar clone diesel engine. Power reaches the rear wheel through a Comet 400 CSC Series centrifugal clutch. The builder calls the motorcycle the Honda DX400 experiment. Apparently, the engine is good for 10 HP and a top speed of about 60 mph.
It’s $2,000 from the builder in Perris, California.
1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata – $7,000
I’ve been looking for a fun drop-top to replace a car currently for sale in my fleet. I keep wanting to buy a Miata, but the vast majority of them here in the Midwest appear to be modified beyond belief or total rust buckets. If you, like me, have forgotten what a stock Miata looks like, take a look at this!
Here’s what Mazda has to say about the second generation of the Miata, known as the NB:
The MX-5 Miata is a symbol of Mazda’s car-making philosophy, “Jinba Ittai,” which means horse and rider as one and expresses the type of fun-to-drive roadster engineers have intended to build since day one of the vehicle’s inception. Since its debut in 1989, the model has consistently offered driving fun that can only be experienced in a lightweight sports car and because of this, it has won the admiration of people from various countries, cultures and age groups.
The second generation MX-5 (NB) debuted at Tokyo Motor Show in 1997 and went on sale as a 1999 model year. The NB saw a number of limited editions, including a high-performance turbocharged model and a coupe version in Japan. In 2000, the MX-5 was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s best-selling convertible two-seater sports car.
Improvements found in the NB include slightly more power and a glass window for the convertible top. Sadly, the rad pop-up headlights were also lost. This 1999 NB is an example of a mostly stock Miata with minor modifications including a chrome rollbar and a cold air intake. Power comes from a 1.8-liter four making 140 HP. That reaches the rear wheels through a manual transmission. It’s $7,000 from the seller in Indio, California with 116,000 miles.
That’s it for this week! Thank you for reading.
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OK, the Diesel Honda is pretty interesting. I wonder if it would run on Bio Diesel.
I had an Austin A30 for a couple of my teenage years – it was capable of keeping up with urban traffic and quite decent to drive, but the later A35 with its wraparound rear window, bigger engine and remote gear change felt a lot more modern. It was tough enough to survive my mother reversing her Volvo 760 estate into it at some speed on our driveway. Her excuse being ‘it wasn’t parked there when I left’.
For the Honda CB160 diesel, 60mph definitely sounds like downhill-with-tailwind situation. Interesting experiment and the price isn’t too crazy if it rides mostly normal, but I’d want something with a bit more grunt.
I am not so sure. I think the basic Gas version of those was good for over 60 MPG stock with a single lung Honda motor from the 60’s. this has slightly less HP, and the Slipper clutch is possibly the limiting factor, but I imagine 60 with a little diesel is not impossible. that thing is not much larger than some bicycles these days.
As the current owner of an almost identical ’99 Miata, I approve this message.
that audi TT I almost bought 3 years ago, their son is my friend and they was going to sell it so they could make repairs to their boxer of similar vintage with a lot more miles on it. I didnt have the money, but I do wish i had been able to make that deal. as far as I know their boxer got fixed and maybe sold
The Bianchi makes me smile. A fuel tank that looks like a gas can balanced between the knees? Why not? Love the Audi interior. Dr. X will build a creature. The Honda diesel swap looks remarkably well done. That Miata looks like a screaming deal.
Strange someone would go through all the trouble of swapping in a diesel engine and not mention the MPG.
> This one is described as being in daily driver condition. The seller says the air-conditioner doesn’t work, the airbag light is on, and the header panel for the sunroof is damaged.
Par for the course.
The 164 looks a lot better IRL than in pictures.
Selling the sky? What prompted that? I thought you’d keep that one a long time for some reason
One of my Passats, actually! I haven’t written about it, but I technically have two Passat TDI wagons right now. One is manual-swapped and the other has a dying automatic. The automatic one needs to be gone like yesterday, but people are rightfully running from a dying VW.
I decided it would be replaced by an Eos VR6, a BMW E46 convertible, a new motorcycle, or something along those lines.
Oh ok. I was for some reason assuming that if you were looking for a drop top it was because you are selling a drop top. That makes more sense now. You should go E30, just because I am too cheap/scared to do so and I live vicariously through the bad automotive choices of y’all! Or I did, then I bought and imported a Peugeot, and promptly blew the engine haha.
Truly some nice iron this week.i admit to being one of the purists expecting under $10,000 ALL OF THE TIME! But now I get it. Every week would be tough. Maybe a range each week? Project < $5,000, DD under 15,000, First real car < under the current average new car price, dream car < $100,000, then fuck it I won the lottery money?
One question about diesel motorcycle engines, do they weigh much more than their regular gas counterparts? Seems a diesel in/on an entry level light weight Honda might be a questionable proposition?
I like the mix. There were some really fun cars in weeks with more open budgets. But keeping it under 10k once in a while makes sense too. I wouldn’t make it too complicated, but just keep mixing it up.
That Honda is surprisingly well done, though I have no idea what it’s like to ride with a Comet CVT. Thank goodness it has a starter motor, not sure I’d want to pull-start a 400CC Diesel.
Lots of good stuff on this list. My favorite is the CB160 since I also have a strange fascination with diesel motorcycles. My biggest concern with diesel bikes is the difficulty of finding replacement parts. I don’t mind paying a lot for an interesting bike, but I don’t want to end up with a garage ornament because parts don’t exist. It is nice that this bike uses an engine that is readily available. After seeing this, I’m tempted to try to build something like it.
Don’t think anyone could build one for what that one’s selling for. It’s very nicely done.
It is nicely done. $2,000 is a reasonable price, but I think most of the fun would be building it yourself. It seems like a project that is realistic even for someone with minimal experience and mechanical ability. It is also an affordable project since those engines are only around $500.
I suspect it is not a great bike to ride (those engines appear to vibrate a ton and rev very slowly), but it is extremely cool.
I wish I could do my own work on that TT (or have a garage space to dedicate to teaching myself to do it). Baseball glove leather is awesome. VW/Audi repair costs are not.
The Meteor sure seems like a cheap way to have a interesting car for cruising to meet ups. I almost wish it was in worse shape so you wouldn’t feel bad about putting a hotter motor in there.
That Meteor has to have some of the most understated, tasteful fins of the era. I hadn’t seen those before, so this was a treat.
This is a GREAT group: it’s hard to choose just one. So, to make things easy on myself, I’m going to eliminate just one. It’s a good thing that I post under a pseudonym here though since I’m going to eliminate the Alfa 164. I deeply and truly LOVE Alfa’s in any form, and the 164 WAS a great car, albeit being FWD (okay in a SAAB, Subaru or an Audi but not in an Alfa) and despite having been created by a bunch of inbreeding between automotive cousins.
Having said that, well, how to put this: I have a “Old-Italian-Only” specialist mechanic who maintains my 50 year-old Spider…. he refuses to work on 164’s. He used to, but no mas. The last one he would touch belonged to a car-club friend and when it dropped a valve recently that was the end. Parts are hard to find and the design has enough Fiat influence that parts…are not of the finest quality….
So while a buyer will love driving the 164, after the thrill of it’s beauty and uniqueness wears off, the relationship will begin to feel like an unhappy marriage, and I mean an unhappy marriage to a real Italian girl who has decided to make you suffer…
That Alfa is so ridiculously overpriced I don’t know what to say. Here’s a pristine 164Q (the only one anyone really wants) on BaT that recently sold for only a little bit more.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1997-alfa-romeo-164/
I wholeheartedly second this take.
A 1991 164S was the last Alfa I’ve owned, bought it for $1000 and 110,000miles in 2010. It had working AC, no airbag (or any other) light on, no sunroof, nothing broken/missing in the all-black leather interior.
It did daily duty for me for almost 2 years, then I got a new Golf TDI as the daily. The following spring the Alfa wouldn’t start, found out it needed new injectors on top of a failing wheel bearing, so it got sold ‘as is’ for $300 to a guy who needed it for parts.
Even with the current car prices and interest rates, 10 grand for this one sounds batshit insane.
I live in Colorado and have checked out that particular 164S way back as far as 2010. It’s been through a multitude of owners but never really piles on the miles since then. Like the 164S I owned, I’m sure it is unreliable, and finicky but also so much fun when things are mostly working. $5K – $7K is probably a reasonable price to pay but be ready for endless bills. I would just disconnect the AC, mine was the source of a fire extinguished just in time.
That Nissan Rasheen is awesome. If I was a Renault executive in 1999, slapping a Renault badge on that grille and selling it worldwide would’ve definitely have been discussed.
Wow that Meteor is just fantastic looking. I would love to cruise in that. Price seems reasonable to me as well. Hope someone picks it up as their retirement cruiser. 🙂
Great list and thank you for breaking $10K to show off that GMC; it’s a beaut!
Nothing here for me, thanks
Philastine
A white unmolested Miata for $7,000?!
( judging by condition and location the owner is… mature)
*checks savings*
It could be done.
*checks airline ticket prices*
Not great, but not terrible.
*checks weather for the 20+ hour drive home up Hwy 101*
Could be better but… nothings perfect.
*calls boss*
Sweet! Three day weekend.
*packs weekend road trip bag*
This is gonna be great!
*slumps down, knees jutting up into chest, cradles face in hands*
Who am I kidding. I’m built like Conan O’Brien.
*scraps the whole idea*
https://youtu.be/gkBqVVbnZ1c?si=VvOeW4FhdzkcgJeY
Miata is not the answer for me.
*single tear rolls down cheek *
“Miata is not the answer for me.
*single tear rolls down cheek *”
Oh I’m sure you can find a way.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tAPk9KZbdAE
Nah, do it. My friend, who is a large man, with a large head, has one (an NA). He looks like pumpkin head when he’s driving it, and can only do so with the top down, but it doesn’t put him off. And I don’t blame him; they really do feel like you wear them, not drive them. Everyone should have a go in one at least once. We’ll never see their like again, sadly.
I’m a leggy 6’3″ and I only have to slouch a little to drive my NB, and it has a hardtop on.
Up the 101? Anywhere near Eureka?
At 6’6″, I sympathize. I seriously considered one a few years back. Even sat in a couple. Researched modifications to lower seat and get more room.
It was just NOT going to work.:(
The second-gen Miata may have lost its hidden headlights, but you’d never know it by looking at this specific example. Its glaucoma is so bad that its cloudy headlight lenses pretty much match its flat white bodywork.
I have to redo mine every spring, even with coating them. I think it’s something about the plastic Mazda used.
That GMC is definitely worth being listed here even though it breaks your 10K rule. Thank you for showing it.
I had a stock NB Miata, and have a stock NA now. They’re very similar to drive of course… the NB feels slightly heavier but the difference is very minor from a seat-of-the-pants POV. That’s not a bad price for a mostly unmolested one these days, though the headlights will need attention.
A clean TT with the baseball glove interior (for a while I thought that was only a thing on the very first battleship grey Neiman Marcus cars, but apparently not) is always tempting, but if the timing belt hasn’t been done on the 1.8 turbo, I gather it’s an expensive proposition on a TT (heck, it’s not cheap on a Golf!). I may be misremembering, but it might be necessary to actually pull the engine to do it on the TT. The first gen TT is (of course) the only TT I find interesting too. 😉
Of everything, I guess I find that tiny Honda motorcycle with the diesel engine to be the most interesting. It’d be nice for short, around-town hops, and you probably only have to fill the tank a few times a year. 🙂
Mercedes usually finds some gems but I’m having a hard time getting excited about any of these.
I’ve been sniffing around first gen TTs for a while, the well looked after ones in my neck of the woods sell for well over $10k, and the the ones that don’t are ‘mechanic specials’ with a lot of issues to fix.
The Meteor is interesting but not really my cup of tea, so I guess this week Miata is the answer.
Yah, I’ve had to restrain myself from buying a first-gen 4 cyl hardtop TT more than once. The look great and drive decently if you have reasonable expectations (it’s not a Boxster). But the horror stories of working on them, from owners and mechanics, plus my own personal experience owning an older Audi and a few VWs always gives me pause. I’ll probably never own one at this point, despite how nice that original design looks, but they remain tempting. If it were lowish miles, in great shape, and didn’t need a timing belt anytime soon, $10K doesn’t feel too bad pricewise (I haven’t shopped them in LA in a while) and I think it’s probably a way better decision than spending half that much on a beater given service costs on these.
That’s why I have waited until I win a Billion dollars to nite on Powerball. Buy an old dealership building, hire my own mechanic, hire my own detailer, offer cars for parades because you have to run vehicles and parades are about the safest way, have a car museum to excite current youngsters because it makes no sense to save the cars if the current generation compares them to civil war museums. Not throwing shade I like civil war museums but today’s social media nanny keeps kids from being excited about anything.
Well I read her as if I was in the market for a specific vehicle in the market of this vehicle would it be a consideration. I mean a lot of people here hate pickups. So won’t like the Chevy. But in the market for a pickup for shows and light moving duties? Yeah this is a gem.
Speaking for myself only, I don’t hate pickups. But I do give modern ones a hard time for largely being fashion accessories and culture signaling. “I’m a worker. I work hard, so I drive a pickup!” While also only driving it around town to their office job, and maybe hauling a bag of mulch on the weekend.
The lifted bro-dozers are even worse. Those are just an American form of Bosozoku.
But an old classic like this? Built for actual work, and probably used that way too? Very cool.
If I needed a pickup, a beautiful old one like this would definitely be the way to go!