Some cars just seem destined for the “Thrifties” section. Whether it’s because of cheap prices or easy financing when new, or disregard and neglect from their owners, or some unknown cosmic force, some cars just go from zero to grubby in five years flat, and go downhill from there. Such is the case with our two contenders today.
Yesterday’s Eurotrash brought a lot of comments about engine swaps, which I found humorous because both of them run just fine. But let’s see which one won:
Now that is interesting. Another of those instances where the Jag seemed to win in the comments, but the Mercedes pulled the votes. But if someone is contemplating that Jag, please leave the V12 in it. If you want to do a swap, look for one that doesn’t run. They’re not hard to find.
Anyway, on to today’s choices. I don’t know why it is, but certain models of cars just have a tendency to find themselves in sketchy situations. They’re not bad cars per se, but when you find one with two bald tires and a cracked taillight and the “Check Engine” light on, overpriced, in the front row of some Buy-Here-Pay-Here used car lot, you aren’t the least bit surprised. 15 year old Chrysler products are such cars, perpetually, and I’ve never really been able to figure out why. So let’s take a look at a pair of such sketchy Mopars now, and see if we can shed a little light on this odd phenomenon.
2004 Dodge Neon SX 2.0 – $2,400
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter inline 4, 4 speed automatic, FWD
Location: Dallas, TX
Odometer reading: 191,000 kilometers
Runs/drives? Yep
This little Neon kinda ruins my argument, frankly. It looks too nice. Originally this was going to be a beat-up 2006 Charger, but it (somehow) sold before I sat down to write this and the ad was deleted. It happens. So now, we have this little yellow number to consider.
We’ve talked about Neons before. I’m mighty fond of them, actually; I had one that I really liked until it was rear-ended. This is the second-generation Neon, whch was only available as a four-door sedan. The “SX 2.0” trim level may not sound familiar to Americans; that’s because this was a Canada-only trim level. If you’ll notice, the speedometer reads in KM/H, not MPH, which means the odometer should be in kilometers as well, so that 191,000 kilometers equates to only about 119,000 miles.
How did a Canadian model Neon come to be offered for sale in Dallas, Texas? Pirates. Clearly.
On paper, this car sounds really good: it runs and drives well, looks good, has nearly-new tires, and everything is said to work properly. I would want to know how it came to be here, and make sure all the paperwork was in proper order; it currently wears no registration, and though the ad says “clean title,” it’s unclear whether it’s a Texas title, or from somewhere up in Canada still.
However, if everything is in order, this could be a good deal on a neat little car. Yes, it’s an automatic, but at least these are zippy and good-handling little cars, so all is not lost.
2010 Dodge Avenger SXT – $1,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4 liter inline 4, 4 speed automatic, FWD
Location: Mountain View, CA
Odometer reading: 180,000 miles
Runs/drives? …I think so?
The Neon’s big sister, the Avenger, often seems to lead a rougher life, and this example is no exception. It is being offered for sale by a towing company, who received the car on a lien after it was impounded. Neither the towing company nor any potential buyer has the faintest idea how this car acquired its 180,000 miles, or how it was cared for in that time.
Now, as I write this, our rescue dog Ripley is sleeping peacefully next to me on the sofa. She was found in a Las Vegas shelter in terrible health, needing surgery, and was taken in by a rescue shelter, from whom we adopted her. She’s about nine years old, and has had puppies, probably multiple litters. We have nursed her back to health, and most of the time she’s just fine, but every once in a while some bit of bad behavior or lingering health problem pops up, and we have to fumble around and guess at what might be the cause. See where I’m going with this?
All we have to go on are a few photos and a wall of text with not much description of the car’s condition. You can run a Carfax report, of course, but that won’t tell you if the oil was only changed every 14,000 miles or if it was street-parked and broken into repeatedly. The paint doesn’t look quite right; it has a vaguely spray-can look to it in places, which speaks of badly-repaired damage. The registration being three years out of date isn’t encouraging either.
Now, the good news is that $1500 is likely very flexible, especially since the tow company has nothing invested in this car except a little fuel for a tow truck and a parking space. You can probably get it for quite a lot less, if you walk in and wave cash in their faces.
How did these cars get from the Dodge dealerships to these unlikely circumstances? There’s no way of knowing. All we can do is judge them on their current condition and location. One looks like a good deal, as long as the paperwork checks out, and the other is scruffy and forlorn, but you might be able to get it for a song. Which will it be?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Well the under 25 years Canadian looks far nicer but unless it is actually legal you’re putting slugs in the vending machine. A sat in the parking lot for 3 years beat to heck Avenger is also like buying a $100 of lottery tickets to win $50. So tell me more about the rescue dog that occasionally attacks you I think that is the best bet.
The 25-year rule doesn’t apply here. There’s an exception for cars that are “substantially similar” to ones shown in the US, which in practice means “if it’s the Canadian version of a car that’s also sold here, you can import it.” The Neon falls under that clause, although it may be a sketchy buy for other reasons.
❤️Hі) Мy nаme іs Pаula, Іm 24 yеars оld) Bеginning SЕХ mоdel 18+) І lоve bеing phоtographed іn thе nudе) Plеase ratе my phоtos аt ➤ https://ja.cat/id378076
I hate Yellow Cars, and I think the Neon is usually a non starter with an auto trans, I even am somewhat ok with the 2.4 avenger(thankfully not the 2.7 Timebomb v6). But damn, if I have to take one of these two the Yellow “Hi” machine seems like a much smaller money pit.
Yeah, if the Neon turns out to be registrable, it’s an easy choice. If not, well, I’m walkin’.
I chose the Neon because if I’d rather not have a 4 speed Avenger.
4 speeds, 4cylinders, and 30mpg was wishful thinking with the Avenger.
Neon all day.
I voted Neon because I had to choose. What I really wanted to say was I’ll take my chances with the Jag from yesterday. That is how much confidence I have in Chrysler products. These two are better off headed to the scrap pile.
I voted for the Merc yesterday, but I’d take the Jag over either of these two as well.
At least the advertising for the SX back in the day were a bit “unique”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cQKm3VhyX8
If it wasn’t yellow with the Pirate Queen decal, I’d bet money this was a drug mule car. Usually those are dull colors and unadorned, but maybe someone was feeling bold. 190,000 miles is quite a few trips up north and back.
I’d go with the neon and check the seat cushions for plastic bags before driving it.
Back story: An acquaintance of mine had a Toyota Camry for many years which was stolen from down south. A year later it was found abandoned in Washington after several months with an extra 50,000 miles on it, and the interior beat up and littered with fast food detritus.
It was not stolen for joy rides.
Stolen? Yeah right left in downtown with the keys in it.
I never thought I would say this but… I’ll take the Neon.
Neon for me as the seller will actually let me check it out and test drive it so I’ll have a better idea of what I’m getting into.
Also with the Avenger, I suspect it has been in a collision and poorly repaired based on how badly the driver side door and front fender fit together.
I’m gonna be the contrarian here. Give me the Avenger. I will hand the keys to my teenage daughter. She will be its final owner.
You’re doing the lords work. Thank you for making the sacrifice the rest of us couldn’t.
Sid why do you hate your daughter? I mean unless she is a poor driver then what ever tank is cheapest but the Avenger? I am always on the side of not giving daughters cars where sorry I’m late my car broke down. Because a few months later remember when I was late 2 months ago? Well I’m a different kind of late now grandpa.
The km/h speedo will help with the slow car fast thing. You’ll be doing 100+ on the highway all the time and not get in trouble
Give me the Neon mostly because it’s not hideously ugly but also because it seems like the much more solid choice here. The pirate queen sticker is a nice bonus too.
Even if the unknown history Avenger turns out to be fine, you’ll still be stuck having an Avenger and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone
I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it. I think that the Neon had one of the absolute BEST ad campaigns of my lifetime!
“HI!”
It made it seem friendly and just vaguely Japanese (which is a selling point, or was at the time)
Cheap and Cheerful!
That Dodge Neon is worth the extra $900, because I want to be the Pirate Queen and I love booty.
NEVER Stellantis.
Pass.
They both suck, but at least the Neon is a cool color, so that makes it the pick
I remember the Avenger as a soul-crushingly adequate rental. At the Enterprise counter, they cheerfully called it the “mini-Charger” as my eyes rolled out of my head and across the floor.
Neither of these would be great, but at least the Neon has a little character.
I would take the Neon over any Avenger, running or not.
I don’t think there’s a better example of a car that gets itself into sketchy situations than the Nissan Altima. In my experience the memes that spread around enthusiast circles about them are 100% true. You can’t get on a highway in my area without encountering 3-4 of them in various states of neglect, doing 25-40 over, fitted with temporary tags from a state hundreds or thousands of miles away, etc. The Altima is a menace to society and I believe that companies who toss out loans to subprime borrowers like candy on Halloween (Nissan is the easiest example but Stellantis and FCA before it love doing this too) are putting society at risk to a degree.
…anyway give me the Neon. I’ve always liked the look of them, particularly the second gens like this. It’s a well proportioned, cheerful little car from a bygone era when not everything had to look angular and menacing. Yellow is also the best color on these in my humble opinion…and the kid in me definitely daydreams about getting an SRT-8 (yellow of course) every now and then because my cousin’s friend had one when I was a young…and there’s something amazing about a totally unrefined FWD econo-rocket. Naturally they’ll never bring you quite the same joy of RWD, but they still have a lot of character and take practice to drive well.
Correction: SRT-4. I guess I still have that new 300 on my mind to a degree.
If you open your criteria to include SUVs, the remaining stock of Trailblazers/Bravadas/Envoys/Raniers/9-7X’s (lol) seems to give the Altima a run for its money as far as poorly maintained, poorly driven, and generally unpleasant to be around goes.
Don’t you dare bring my sweet, sweet prince Saab into this!
It’s been years since I’ve actually seen a 9-7X on the road, so I think they’ve moved on and are safe from the typical GMT360 clientele.
Phew, well that’s good. I still get irrationally excited whenever I see a nice Saab. My dad had a black, manual 93 hatchback back in the early 2000s when I was still a kid and it was definitely influential in regards to me going down the enthusiast path.
This was originally going to be Avenger vs Altima, but when I actually went LOOKING for a sketchy Altima, they all vanished like cockroaches when you turn on the light.
They’re probably already on your nearest interstate doing 30 over
Drive past any efficiency inn before 2pm and you’ll see them. Seem to be favored by the ice, meth, and heroin crowd given what I see at the place my buddy manages
When I see an Altima closing rapidly behind me I panic a little bit. I’m always trying to do my best to be aware of my surroundings but when I see a dented bumper Altima near me it jumps into overdrive.
I was out for a spirited drive in the Kona N last weekend on the highest speed roads in the area….there aren’t any shoulders (local cops don’t usually bother trying to pull folks over as a result), traffic consistently moves at 10-15 over, and the left lane is usually pretty vacant, so it’s a good place for me to get a break from traffic and give the car a few rips within reason….not to mention redlining a GDI car periodically is allegedly good for the engine.
…to my surprise, while I was mid pull and traveling at a speed I’ll decline to comment on, I got honked at. I looked in my mirrors, and it was….you guessed it, an Altima. It had expired temporary tags from several states over, was dented to hell and back, and was making some concerning engine noises.
Suffice to say, I got the hell out of the way….and I can’t even imagine how hard the guy was thrashing that thing to be keeping up with a 286 horsepower, sub 5 second 0-60 hot hatch that was liberally accelerating. BAE, or Big Altima Energy, for sure.
I’m gonna vote Neon just for that ‘Pirate Queen’ sticker
I was prepared to vote for the Avenger before reading the details, but that sticker _makes_ the Neon! Lower mileage helps, and a rustoleum matte-black (over yellow!) paint job with a Jolly Roger on the antenna seals the deal. Arrr! 😀
Good on you, Mark, for taking in a true rescue. I get a little tired of people over-using that word to describe a dog they adopted. Not to take anything away from anyone who takes in an animal in need of a home, but calling them a “rescue” is a bit dramatic in many cases. We have both a “silver spoon” (pure bred) and a real-deal “rescue” (injured, starving, heart-worm positive when we got him) in our house, so I can relate. I love automotive “rescues” as well, but I’m going with the well-sorted Neon, today.
The Neon wins for me for a few reasons.
1) I’m Canadian. I’d be bringing it back to its home and native land.
2) I loved my 1st gen Neon. Yeah it was a money pit, but it also had 350000kms on it and was still running when I got rid of it. This one still has life left (as long as you do the timing belt), and should be a comfortable fun driver.
3) 2010 Chrysler interiors were AWFUL, and the 2.4l is noisy and inefficient and will feel waaay slower than the 2.0 does in the Neon.
My thought process was similar. Never had a neon but drove a few and they were fine. Drove a few avengers when I breifly worked at an auction and wow, Chrysler couldn’t make any sort of half decent interior at that time.
I have no interest in an Avenger even before the whole unknown history from a tow company.
But I’m also wary of the Canadian Neon in TX of all places. Still voted for it cause it’s not an Avenger
The Neon would be the “winner” if it weren’t for the paperwork headache. The Avenger is terrible, yet legal.
Really I want to run away from each but if you can get the Avenger for under a grand, it could be a Gambler car.
You’re making assumptions about the paperwork.
The fact it is called a pirate car that is imported under 25 years old tends to make me nervous. Also it is not a dealership and has no plates raises redflags and alarm bells.
I would review the paperwork and then do a test run at the DMV to make sure I can register it.
In this case, the 1k or more less option removes that potential headache. I take the water approach, path of least resistance. I have enough drama in my life, don’t need to add more 🙂
If someone moves from Canada to the US (or vice versa) they can generally bring their car with them fairly easily. Some paperwork but it is treated much more like your other stuff than it is importing a foreign vehicle.
Yeah but I believe there is a time limit on having it here and it’s not transferable.