It’s time for the Thursday edition of Shitbox Showdown! Today is September 1st, which means autumn is just around the corner, and the more winter-prone parts of the country are mere weeks away from potential snow. So today we’re looking at a couple of rusty-but-trusty beaters with heaters. First, however, there is the small matter of a couple of Fiats to settle:
Wow. Only a two-vote difference. I’m guessing that’s because they’re both awful, no sane person would bother with either one, and you all just flipped a coin? Yeah, I thought so. For what it’s worth, in good condition, I’d rather have the 850, but between these two I think the 1100 is the more viable project.
Now then: If you’ve never experienced a winter in the upper Midwest/Great Lakes region, you have no idea just how miserable it can get. That first snowfall is fun; it makes all the Christmas (or sometimes Halloween) decorations sparkle, and the kids have a blast with sleds and snowmen and whatnot. But by mid-January, the magic is gone. The temperature hasn’t risen above zero in a week, you can’t tell who anyone is because everyone is just a parka with feet, and you’re sick to death of keeping track of whether it’s a plow day on your street or not. A cool car is the last thing on your mind; you just want it to start reliably, not get stuck, and possess a heater that can cook you medium-rare.
With those criteria in mind, I present to you these two cheap piles of shit. Both run well, both have their share of rust, and both cost just $1,200, which seems to be the floor for a winter beater these days. Let’s see what we’re dealing with.
2000 Pontiac Grand Am – $1,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4 liter inline 4, 4 speed automatic, FWD
Location: Woodbury, MN
Odometer reading: 239,000 miles
Runs/drivers? Yep
Well, it was bound to happen eventually – a $1200 Grand Am has found its way to Shitbox Showdown. I’m surprised it took this long, actually; our pal Mr. Gossin is right, these things are everywhere. And really, you can do a whole lot worse for a cheap beater. In fact, if pressed to choose the official Best Cheap Shitty Car In America, the GM N-body, along with the slightly smaller J-body and slightly larger W-body, might just take that crown. Not because they’re great cars, but because they’re great at being cheap cars, and that’s a totally different set of criteria.
This Grand Am is equipped with a 2.4 liter dual-overhead-cam four-cylinder, a descendant of Oldsmobile’s Quad 4 engine (one of my personal favorites). It’s a solid runner and has decent fuel economy. Backed by a four-speed automatic, as this one is, you can’t expect a whole lot of performance, but it’s good enough.
The seller says this Grand Am runs well, has good tires, and new front brakes. It has a pile of miles on it, and a couple of dead power windows, but you aren’t likely to roll the windows down in the winter anyway. It has a little rust, but really not much at all. But just to be safe, double check those rear suspension links.
Honestly, for a cheap winter ride, this is just about ideal. Front-wheel-drive automatics are not much fun in spirited driving, but they’re brilliant in the snow. And if there’s one thing General Motors knows how to do well, it’s heaters.
2001 Nissan Sentra – $1,200
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8 liter inline 4, 4 speed automatic, FWD
Location: St. Paul, MN
Odometer reading: 260,000 miles
Runs/drives? Indeed it does
Just can’t bring yourself to choose a GM car? Rather trust something Japanese? We’ve got you covered. Here we have a fifth-generation Nissan Sentra sedan, the pride of Aguascalientes, Mexico. What? You didn’t think most Japanese cars sold in America actually came from Japan, did you?
This particular Sentra is equipped with the base 1.8 liter four, sending what power it has through a four-speed automatic to the front wheels. Again, it’s not what you’d want on a twisty back road on a nice summer day, but on a snowy Thursday morning in St. Paul, it’s just the ticket. And it gets great mileage.
It has even more miles on it than the Grand Am, at 260,000, but these cars hold up the “runs forever” reputation of Japanese small cars. The seller says you have to fill the gas tank slowly; not sure what that’s all about. Blocked vent line maybe, making the auto-shutoff on the pump kick in? But it has good heat and functional air conditioning, which is always nice for defrosting the windows on cold mornings.
But there is one potentially fatal flaw on this car:
Zowie. That’s a lot of rust. The entire dogleg area behind that rear door is just gone. And the rocker panel isn’t far behind. The Sentra uses a beam rear axle on long trailing arms, and that rust is making inroads into where I imagine the mounting points must be. The underside structure of this car might not be long for this world. Choose this car, and you’ll probably be looking for another beater next winter.
Either one of these would be a decent sacrificial winter ride to keep your “nice” car out of the snow and salt. It’s not a glamorous role in the automotive world, but it is a noble one, and we should appreciate the sacrifices of cars like these, fighting the battles of winter to get us around. Which one is your choice?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I’ll go with excitement builder–Poncho all the way (or at least til spring).
Never Nissan.
The Grand Am appears to have a much cleaner interior.
Also, it’s listing is down, so it’s probably sold already – and the Sentra is still up.
The market decided before the votes were in.
The thing with that generation of Grand Am is I’m pretty sure you can’t kill them. I’m pretty sure 90% of them on the road are covered in battle scars and have been used to do things that no family sedan should ever do, but they keep on working.
Also the Sentra is going to collapse if you breathe on it.
That Sentra will wad-up like a beer can smashed against a frat boy’s forehead in an accident. There’s nothing left.
The post is gone for the Grand Am. I chose it based on the less rust in the pictures. The Nissan is held together by hopes and dreams.
Considering these are use a couple of seasons and boneyard when it fails, the Grand Am fits the bill of a beater. Though I have had the beaters be the best car in the fleet.
You thought yesterday was a coin flip? Nah, that’s today.
Still, glad I don’t have to deal with this in Florida.
That’s where you’re wrong. Grand Am all the way for the following reasons
1. Less rust. A constant spray of salt will corrode your car fast. The Nissan has 1 maybe 2 winters left in it. The Grand Am is less far along that path.
2. GM is good at heaters. I don’t know how or why but 90’s to 2000’s GM vehicles heat up fast and keep you really warm.
Winter Beaters are a proud Northeast tradition. There is something freeing about barreling down a snowy road in a vehicle that you don’t give a shit about.
In my completely anecdotal experience it always seems like the Grand Ams that stand the test of time are the V6 models. Even so, I’ll take this one over that Sentra any day.
Grand Am because I prefer cars that aren’t about to break in half.
Question for you toque-tops out there. How often do you really buy winter beaters? Do you budget for one a year? Or do you expect to get 2-3 years out of one?
Are there businesses that specialize in collecting unwanted southern cars and selling these rust-free beauts in WI, MI, OH, IN?
When I bought true beaters I always hoped for 2 years. One made it no problem and if it weren’t for the required e-test Ontario had at the time I would have kept it. I mean it was rotten but it started every time and mostly drove fine. Next one I bought based on price only and it lasted me a year. Again, ran strong but the radiator support rusted out and I free impreza came my way. Would have fixed it and kept driving it for a while but hey, AWD in the snow looked to be more fun. That one lasted a year and a half until the midpipe rotted out and before spending a couple hundred getting it replaced I decided to look over the car to make sure I wasn’t wasting money. Softball sized hole in the rear wheel well told my why the trunk was always wet and also that I should get a better car to put my child in. Bought a 6 year old Kia Soul and now my winter car is actually a decent car that I use for family duty all year.
TL:DR Version: Most people hope for a few years if they can store it for the summer.
“Are there businesses that specialize in collecting unwanted southern cars and selling these rust-free beauts in WI, MI, OH, IN?”
There are, but it’s an expensive proposition to locate, acquire, and transport them up north, and that’s before any make-ready-for-sale work. On top of that, rust-free Southern and Western cars often have damaged interiors, either from sun exposure or short-trip wear and tear (more ingresses and egresses means more wear).
The problem is, cars old enough to be rusty up north but not down south aren’t worth enough, and newer cars that have lived up north don’t show the rust until about 10 years old. So there might not be enough $5,000-range buyers in the north who are rust-savvy to make a good business case.
Uh, I knew a guy in the mid ‘80s who used to buy mid-tier‘classics’ (a lot of 4-door Novas, some less-popular Monte Carlos) from a decade or 2 previous, drive them up to NY, then take the bus back with the, um, say, more compact-type drugs he bought up there with what he sold them for. May not have worked out so well for him, cause he stopped being around after 3-4 years. He tried to recruit me as a 2nd driver, but, even back then, I wasn’t quite THAT dumb.
Growing up in Upstate NY, there used to be used car dealers who advertised “southern” used cars. Not sure if it is as much of a thing today.
Most people used their winter rats until something major broke or certainly if something rusted beyond hope.
I drive my beater year round for utility stuff and family hauls, and being a rav4 I expect that it should last forever.
I picked the Grand Am based solely on a song: “Plastic Fantastic Lover” by Jefferson Airplane.
OK, I will say Sentra because I am sentimental (sentramental?): My wife bought one of these in that exact colour just after we started dating. Hers was a stick (at my suggestion), and it was just a great little car — decently peppy, good on gas, comfortable, and never gave us a lick of real difficulty. We traded it in when we needed a minivan due to having wee beasties.
That said, hers NEVER rusted like that.
As for the Grand Am, it might be totally Swiss-cheesed with rust, but you’d never know because of the plastic cladding. Which, on the upside, would also cover up Bondo.
I had a ’97 Grand AM I bought for $1 from my ex father-in-law when I just moved back to the country and was penniless. He had used it for work and depreciated it to nothing, so he actually made money. That car changed my mind about American cars. It was buttle-proof and never gave me a problem. Very comfortable and even looked good in teal over grey mouse fur. I sold it at 270,000 but should have kept it.
On the other hand, that rust-heap Nissan, gag.
*bullet-proof
(edit button please)
I fully expected to bypass the sedan with the obnoxious body cladding, but that Nissan, yeesh. The interior is as hard on the eyes as the exterior. Here’s how it breaks down:
1.) Power (winner: Pontiac)
Nissan: 126 hp (94 kW) and 129 lbâ‹…ft (175 Nâ‹…m).
Pontiac: 150 hp (112 kW; 152 PS) and 155 lbâ‹…ft (210 Nâ‹…m)
2.) Comfort (winner: Pontiac)
This is subjective, but these vintage GM seats are known to be overstuffed and comfortable. Plus, it doesn’t look like someone consumed a bottle of ipecac and let ‘er loose inside, unlike the Nissan.
3.) Condition (winner: Pontiac)
We don’t know what hides under the cladding, but at least on the surface, the Pontiac doesn’t have any obvious weight savings and the interior is in fair shape. The Nissan looks like it was on the losing end of some parking lot battles and either had a fender rust out or require complete replacement.
4.) Durability: (winner: Nissan)
The LD9 is known to have the potential for timing chain issues, which are also a problem for the water pump, which is also driven off the timing chain.
The QG18DE is a solid little engine that uses a timing chain. There’s not a lot of known issues with this one.
All things considered, I’d roll the dice with the Pontiac.
the Nissan is pretty reliable, but not completely without it’s faults.
1. The engine consumes too much oil. That is the unique feature of that engine.
2. There is a problem with the idle valve gasket. Eventually, antifreeze starts leaking directly into the engine control unit. Replacement of the gasket fixes the issue.
3. The timing chain is unreliable. It is better to replace the timing chain at 100,000 mileage.
Good to know, thanks for sharing.
don’t these Sentras blow head gaskets? or was that only the hotted-up SE-R versions?
I owned a Grand Am, mine was an ’01 GT 2 door, so I was already primed to vote Pontiac before I saw a pile of rust with a Nissan badge on top.
I think this will end up being the biggest blow out in Shitbox Showdown’s short history. The rust on that Sentra makes it a total no-go.
This is the similar conclusion I came to. The Pontiac has more re-sale value after it serves you through the winter, its important to not be stuck with your winter beater and recoup as much of those costs as possible. GrandAm > Sentra all winter long
Disagree – the styling of the Sentra makes it a total no-go for me. One of the ugliest cars ever styled from a time when all Nissans looked like potatoes.
The fact that an old GMs are the best winter beaters (always start, great heater/defroster and cheap parts) is icing on the windshield.
I was all in on the Sentra until that last picture. Yikes! I’d never normally choose a Grand Am for pretty much anything. But in this situation, it’s kind of a no-brainer. Would love to have at least one of the broken power windows working. But if you’re picking a car to drive until the wheels fall off, you’d at least like the wheels to stay on until you’ve gotten the car home the first time. Not sure when that Sentra is going to fail, but I doubt it will be long without some serious intervention.
I’ve thankfully never had to invest in a winter beater (having lived my whole life so far in the sunny south half of the country), but if I did I would want one that could last more than a single season. That Sentra isn’t David Tracy levels of rusty, but when compared to the relatively rust-free GM it looks downright gangrenous.
Grand Am for me, despite the fact one of similar vintage stranded a friend of mine in Los Banos, CA for three days.
The Sentra is too rusty, and it is the really really cheap base model with the black door handles.
Also, the Grand Am has already been sold
Grand Am all the way. Less obvious rust. Larger car which suits my family better. The best thing about the winter beater Buick I had was the heat and AC worked amazingly well. Friends have owned both and from I remember the Nissans had more problems.
The body cladding on the Pontiac may be hiding a lot of rust but as it stands it seems to be the far better deal.
I was all set to go Sentra, since around here the Grand Am seems to be the official car of miscreants that can’t afford a clapped out former cop car, but that is not a livable rust level, even in the midwest.
The Grand Am is likely hiding rust under the plastic covers down low, but at least it is not missing parts.
The Grand Am looks less awful, I guess.
Grand Am solely because it’s weirder. I actually don’t mind 2000s Pontiac. At least they were trying something different with their styling…the same can be said of Saturn. Knock my taste all you want…but in this era of grayscale blobs I think a maroon, kind of overstyled, pointy sedan stands out…plus these remind me of when I was a kid.
I definitely was not expecting to take a Grand Am over a Sentra for my pray-it-lasts-5-months beater, but here we are. That particular Sentra looks like the the next pothole could break it in half.
Or the after effects of a trip to Taco Bell. 🙂