Good morning! My goal for this week is to present you with what I consider to be legitimately good cheap used cars. That’s right; those of you who hate it when I make you pick from absolute garbage can rest easy for a week. They won’t be perfect, but they’ll be worth some actual consideration.
Friday’s obnoxious V8s were anything but good choices. I expected that absolutely ruined Conquest to ruffle some feathers, and I was not disappointed. Nor was I surprised when it fell to the badly-repaired Porsche by nearly a three-to-one margin. Honestly, I don’t know what the builder of that Conquest was thinking. I’ve got nothing against a good 350/TH350 combo, but there are definitely places where it does not belong.
The 928, while not pretty or pleasant, is still at least an intact and functional vehicle. If you really wanted a car with a V8 and that level of performance, an SN95 Mustang is probably a much better choice, but then you couldn’t brag about driving a Porsche.
All right, let’s take a look at some decent choices. Neither of today’s cars will break the bank at only $2,500, and they both look like something you could buy on a Saturday, spend Sunday tinkering with, and confidently drive to work on Monday morning. And you really can’t ask for more than that. Let’s see which one you prefer.
1993 Honda Accord LX wagon – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2-liter overhead cam inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Olympia, WA
Odometer reading: 281,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
There are some cars that always come up whenever someone asks, “What’s a good used car?”, and the Honda Accord is on that list. It’s a hell of a car, and has been for nearly half a century now. Even better, unlike some cars known for reliability, an Accord is actually kind of a fun car to drive – as long as you get one with a manual, like this one.
The fourth-generation Accord came with a 2.2 liter inline-four, nothing that anyone would call high-performance, but it’s powerful enough to get the job done, and like most Honda engines, it’s lively and likes to rev. And front-wheel-drive manual shifters don’t get much better than Honda’s. This one has a lot of miles on it, but it has had a lot of recent work, and the seller says it runs and drives well. It could use an alignment, and there is a squeak over bumps in the front end, but front-end work isn’t a huge deal.
It has a couple of other little issues inside, like a driver’s side window that’s a little off-track and some gremlins in the power locks, but it looks clean enough. Oh, and the cruise control doesn’t work. But on the plus side, this is one of the later fourth-gen Accords with an airbag instead of those horrible motorized seatbelts. And, strangely, this has always been one of my favorite Honda color combinations. You wouldn’t think champagne beige paint would go with a burgundy interior, but I think it works.
It’s straight and rust-free outside, though again, not perfect. It has a crack in the windshield, though if I’m seeing it right in the photos, it’s on the passenger’s side, so I don’t think it interferes with visibility.
1994 Buick Park Avenue – $2,500
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8-liter overhead valve V6, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Easton, MD
Odometer reading: 115,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
While the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry get a lot of attention on used-car lists, they are by no means the only good choices. General Motors has a whole line of cars worthy of consideration by virtue of an excellent engine: the 3800 V6. Refined over the course of decades, this simple cast-iron engine is a marvel of low-revving lazy torque, perfectly suited to GM’s full-sized front-wheel-drive H platform sedans like this Buick Park Avenue.
You wouldn’t think it, but the 3800 is not only durable and reliable, but it’s also pretty efficient in these cars. The 4T60-E transmission has a really tall overdrive fourth gear, which keeps the revs down and the fuel economy up; you can top thirty miles per gallon on the highway with these cars if you’re careful. This one has only 115,000 miles on it, and the seller says it runs and drives well. It needs a couple of little things: the rear valve cover gasket leaks a tiny bit, and the coolant level sensor is faulty, so the “Low Coolant” light is currently on all the time. But if that’s the worst of it, that’s nothing.
The interior of these cars is very comfortable, and this one is in good shape. Unusually for a Park Avenue, it has cloth seats instead of leather, but they’re still sink-into-them soft, and the “Dynaride” self-leveling air suspension just makes bumps disappear. The one thing that always makes Buicks of this era look grubby before their time is the steering wheel; the coloring comes off the rim. It also has a sagging headliner, like every other GM vehicle of a certain age.
It looks pretty good outside, but the seller says the paint on the roof is not great. But how often do you look at the roof of a car, anyway? You set your coffee up there while you open the door, and that’s about it. I don’t see any rust, but you should check underneath, especially the front subframe and engine cradle; they did have a tendency to catch water and salt and rust from the inside out.
Twenty-five hundred dollars, once upon a time, was quite a budget for a used car. These days, however, it’s barely enough to find something that runs. These two not only run, but actually look pretty decent. Sure, they need some things here and there, but they have good bones, and they both have some life left in them. So the choice is yours – will it be the manual wagon, or the comfy sedan?
(Image credits: sellers)
Swap a lower mileage engine into that Honda and snick-snick down the road for another few decades. It’s a rare car, being both a wagon and manual.
The Buick is a decent specimen, and if the Honda were rattier or more expensive, I might’ve been persuaded to vote for it. Or if the 281k mileage wagon were a less robust brand. But this Honda is all right.
It’s a good thing that Honda isn’t close to me or else I might be calling about it today.
Hard to argue with either of these. For once we have two decent choices.
Buick wins this one, due to what most folks would call very high miles on the Honda. If the miles were even close I’d take the stick-shift wagon all day long.
Buick had a bit of a quiet renaissance in the 90s with this Park Ave, LeSabre, Regal sedan, they were all handsome cars that wore the jelly bean look well. They also took some design risks with the last gen Riveria(weird but cool) and the oh so ugly pointy beak Skylark. The cars were well made with great interiors. Then GM had to cost cut and the replacement models were uglier with inferior interiors.
That being said Ive owned several 90s GM sedans including a 1991 Regal. Gimmie the Accord, Ive never owned a Honda and this one is special. The interiors on this gen Accord are really nice and indestructible. The Park Ave, Id take one of them if it were in good shape. Old, worn car from Maryland, you know its a rust bucket.
I’m not one bit surprised that the manual wagon in good shape is absolutely crushing the vote here, and I love it as well. I can’t say no to a clean H-body Buick though. They’re such good cruisers! The blue cloth interior really sends it home for me.
You know how many dead bodies you can put in the trunk of the Buick? The Honda is tired, you can drive cross country in the Buick and still love yourself when you reach your destination.
Brown(ish) manual wagon?? Or a FWD barcalounger? This was legitimately tough.
You had me at manual wagon, even though the only thing that tops maroon velour is blue crushed velour.
I am in Accord with the others.
I’m on the Honda Wagon.
I wouldn’t be caught dead in that grandpa Buick. Unlike most of its owners.
A friend had a ’91 CB9 EX, inherited from his stepfather, in the same color combination. His was an automatic, and the automatic was the worst part of the car, even over the motor-mouse belts, because (if I recall correctly) its control module being faulty was the reason the car was in permanent limp mode and would hard-cut fuel at 3500 RPM. He spray-bombed it matte olive with white wheels, since the factory paint and wheel finishes weren’t in good shape and he wasn’t a fan of the beige: https://i.imgur.com/S8Ula.jpeg (He’d rather not have had a maroon interior, either, but I liked it.)
Having also driven one of the manual sedans he owned and enjoyed rowing through the gears on a back road, yeah, I’ll figure out/live with this one’s gremlins for nostalgia’s sake. The one big question is whether and when that head gasket’s been replaced.
Certainly not a vote against the Buick, though.
Longroof Accords with manual transmissions must be fairly rare, so gimme. I’m not put off by the mileage; Hondas seem to rack it up pretty well.
No opinion of the Buick, but it just doesn’t stack up in this particular comparo.
Not over 75. Don’t have blue hair or a walker. (actually do have a walker, just not needed, yet.)
Don’t do lots of freeway cruises but if I did would would still choose the Honda every time over the “modern Driving Miss Daisy” sled.
YMMV
Boy, it takes an awful lot to make me vote against the venerable GM 3800 V6, but I have wanted a manual transmission 1993 Honda Accord wagon since… well, since 1993. And with a sumptuous burgundy velour interior? Shut up and take my money. Nothing personal, Buick. You just came up against the wrong opponent.
What a toss up. I mean, manual wagon? YES!
But…My mom was a real estate agent back in the day and she HAD a 1993 Park Avenue – white with maroon leather interior. Nostalgia wins the day. Especially since Park Avenues had THE BEST HORN EVER that sounded like a tugboat.
YEAH THEY DID! TOOT-TOOOOOTTTTT!!!!!!!
Shame the accord needs sound insulation to added to be a decent 1993 car, but still voted for it.
Manual wagon? Yes, please. If the accord has spent it’s life in Washington, it is probably less likely to have all the plastics baked to a crisp. Maryland is not terribly hot either, but the paint failing on the roof makes me think this thing may have been sunbaked.
This is gonna be a blowout. I voted for the wagon mostly because there is an older lady in my town that has an Accord wagon of this era and it appears to be in mint condition. One day I’ll be at the gas station at the same time as her and I’ll ask her how much she wants for it.
It’s really good for my wallet that this Accord is so far away, adding another Honda that ends in 3 to the fleet is very tempting. Already have an 03 Civic Lx and a 13 Si, a 93 Wagon would round that out nicely.
Manual wagon vs a non-V8 buick? I expect a blowout here.
My family doesn’t need another comfy sedan. My wife’s Accord handles our long range cruising just fine. A wagon to haul the things that are too long for my hatchback would be useful though. In my situation the Accord wagon makes more sense. If I just needed a cheap beater though I would go with the Buick.
I want the wagon, but it’s got over a quarter million miles. Not a huge fan of the GM luxobarges of that era, but at only 115k, it should have a lot of life left.
1 BILLION % HONDA!!!
Owned a 1991 that was stolen. Would still be dailyin’ today if I could.
I owned a 92 that was totaled when Atlanta flooded in 2009. It was at the shop for a timing belt change and the owner of the shop called and told me his lot was flooded and my car was up in water above the windowsills.
What happened? Did they total it and you got a new one? You lose everything?
Totaled it out. It had 289,000 miles on it, and was not worth trying to salvage. I got $500 from insurance for it. I ended up buying an 08 Civic coupe a couple days later. I sold that to a kid in the neighborhood 2 years ago, and he is still driving it. I’m now in my wife’s old 2011 CR-V, which has a VTC actuator issue (one model year too early to be covered by the class action suit). Trying to decide if I just drive until it dies or bite the bullet and have my mechanic friend replace it. Also means a replacement of the timing chain most likely…yay!
I’ve been through every thought process and devil’s advocacy angle, and I can’t see NOT choosing Accord here.
I mean, a manual wagon with a reputation for bulletproofness at an affordable price? I can’t tell you how many years it’s been since I’ve even seen this gen Accord wagon.
The Buicks seem to be still around in decent numbers, but I don’t think it’s a testament to durability. More like “I only drive this car when I sneak out of the retirement home once a week”
My grandma had a ’90 Park Ave until the mid-oughts and it was comfy and nice enough, but nothing special. I’ve drive both of these cars plenty of times, which is a rare thing for me in the Showdown.