Good morning! Well, yesterday I promised you cars that were ready to go. I have made good on that promise. But even though these both run just fine and have had some recent maintenance to keep them that way, they’re not what you’d call desirable.
Yesterday we looked at two broken Ford Escorts, and it’s no surprise that the much nicer and generally more reliable later generation took the prize. Add in the fact that it’s a wagon, and this seems like an obvious choice. It’s only a hundred bucks more to buy, and it should be cheap and easy to fix.
But I will add this caveat: it’s an Ohio car. The leaking brake line in question may very well be one of the steel lines, and it could have rusted through. If that is the case, it would be worth checking the rest of it for underbody rust as well. If it’s more or less clean, then you’re good to go. But if it’s Swiss cheese underneath, and the older ’86 is rust-free, that tips the scales the other way – or at least it does for me. I hate dealing with rust.
Internet classifieds below a certain price level are littered with “easy fixes” like those two Escorts. Sometimes the fix is actually easy; sometimes not. Sometimes the car in question goes on to be a nice reliable driver for a good long time; sometimes not. A lot of folks would rather just shell out a bit more for a car that already runs well and doesn’t need anything right away.
There are two typical schools of thought when it comes to looking for cheap reliable cars. The first is “just get a Toyota,” which is often good advice; you won’t fall in love with it, but it will get you to work and back. The other is “look for an older person’s car,” which usually means something domestic, with fewer miles, but maybe a bit stodgy. We’re going to check out one of each, and you can decide which way you’d rather go.
1993 Toyota Corolla DX – $3,000
Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter dual overhead cam inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Mountlake Terrace, WA
Odometer reading: 225,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
A common trope in science fiction is the idea of a “food pill”: All the nutrients your body needs, distilled down to one little pill. It’s an intriguing idea for convenience, but it ignores one simple fact – people like to eat. Food is not simply a means of acquiring energy and nutrients; it’s pleasurable and social, and providing it in the most efficient way possible deprives us of that pleasure. Toyota has spent decades developing the Corolla into the automotive equivalent of a food pill, while largely ignoring the fact that driving can be pleasurable, as well.
I used to own a Corolla of this generation, and while it was utterly reliable and got respectable gas mileage, it was devoid of personality and balked at any attempts at spirited driving. And mine was even a five-speed manual, but that just turned it from a food pill to a plain rice cake. This one, with an automatic, is probably about as much fun as the DMV.
It has been well taken care of, though, and the seat covers are there for protection, not to hide anything. The seller just cleaned and detailed the interior, and it does look mighty nice in there. The car runs well, and comes with some parts for future use; the seller worked at an auto parts store for a while and collected some stuff. The speedometer is wonky, but it has an aftermarket GPS speedometer to supplement it.
Outside, it’s straight, and rust-free, but we should talk about those reflective tape stripes. I mean, safety first, I guess, but on the roof, even? Really?
1988 Plymouth Sundance – $2,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2- or 2.5-liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Everett, WA
Odometer reading: 71,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Come to think of it, I have a food analogy for this car as well: When I was in college, we noticed a pattern at the cafeteria: One day we would have hamburgers, then the next day we would have Salisbury steak, which was leftover burgers covered in mushroom gravy, then the day after that they served us Tater Tot casserole, when they chopped up the remaining burgers, doused them in cream of something-or-other soup, added some frozen green beans, covered the whole thing with Tater Tots, and baked it into oblivion. Chrysler’s K platform may have started out as a hamburger, but what we have here with the P-platform Plymouth Sundance is nothing but leftovers.
To be fair, while the cafeteria leftovers went downhill fast, Chrysler did manage to improve this basic architecture with every generation. The Plymouth Sundance and Dodge Shadow were available with either the basic 2.2 liter K car engine or the larger and more refined 2.5-liter version. I can’t tell them apart by sight; the only way I could tell you which engine this car has is to read the VECI label under the hood. Either way, it drives the front wheels through a good old A413 Torqueflite automatic.
This car is apparently part of an estate sale and had a bunch of work done to it to get it ready, including new tires, an oil change, and a full tune-up. There may be more to do, depending on how long it was sitting, but it’s a good start. Most of it looks decent, but I get the feeling that Nana didn’t have a garage; there is some badly sun-scorched paint on the roof and rear deck and a little surface rust. Inside, it’s pretty good, but there is one tear in the upholstery. You could probably stitch it up, or throw a seat cover on it.
The Sundance’s claim to fame is that it’s a hatchback, even though it looks like a small sedan. And there’s quite a lot of room back there if you fold down the seats; in fact, I can tell you from experience you can fit a full-sized futon frame and mattress in a Sundance if it’s taken apart.
Yes, they’re both automatics again. I’ll try to find a couple of stickshifts for tomorrow. These will both get you around just fine, though not with any great deal of excitement. One stands out in traffic in the worst way, and the other would have been completely invisible twenty years ago; it stands out now because it’s rare these days. Which one would you rather be seen in?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
I like the Corolla and all as a basic car, but the Sundance has a trunk emblem that brings joy with its “dancing” letter font, oh and hatchbacks rule, even weird little K car ones.
The Corolla wins by default
OK Mark…you finally got me to choose a K-platform, dammit. I have no idea why, but these things always appealed to me at some level. The Toyota is obviously a better all around car, and will outlast the Sundance 2x over, but that’s for rational thought, and I’m going to irrationally embrace the little plymouth and maybe give it a new coat of lovely light metallic blue paint. Damn you, Mark.
Corolla. This is the 2024 version of a 2010 $500 beater car. You’re easily going to get $800 more daily commuter use out of the Corolla than the Sundance. Also, IF anything breaks, I’m betting Corolla parts are going to be much easier to find since there are still so many out there and Toyota generally doesn’t change things until they need to.
Corolla is the segment benchmark for a reason. However, I’d haggle hard on that $3K given the age, mileage, and stripe job.
I do see the striping as advantageous. The car is so bland as to be nigh invisible.
Except for color and stickers, the Corolla looks — I mean, but exactly — like my ’07. Therefore, I expect it to run and run and run, stopping only when some niggling bit (and Toyota parts can be costly) wears out.
The Sundance looks like the odometer must have rolled over. I have nothing good to say about it.
So I’ll take the boring cheap ride I know over the boring cheap ride I don’t know.
Corolla because it’s halfway to being a Gambler 500 “(un)ofishal pase carr”. Shove a crash test dummy in the pax as the co-driver to max out the gimmick, get a Mr. Lahey security light and roll it.
Corolla stickered up for blizzard conditions is the way to go here.
I’ve known quite a few people who had both of these over the years and both were pretty durable rides. However I haven’t seen a Shadow or Sundance in 15 years at least in my parts while I still see Corollas of this age around. Going Corolla based on this alone.
K-car because of those stickers. There are way more bad decisions hiding in that thing.
Corolla. Just pick up crash test dummy for the passenger seat, and cruise in the HOV lanes forever.
But seriously? Who besides a paranoid Grandparent covers their car in this kind of crap tape? This stuff goes on the garage door, neighbors cars, etc…Not the actual car you are driving, Biff.
Thanks for the laugh Mark.
Gotta go Corolla. Even with the disparity between odometer readings, I think the Toyota has more miles left in it. The “racing stripes” would be easier to fix than the baked-off paint on the Sundance, too.
If the Sundance would’ve been a stick, I’d be in.
When I was a wee lad, we had a black Dodge Shadow 2-door stick with ZERO options beyond a radio, as our family car.
It was advertised for 9 grand, and the dealership had a promotion of “drive, drag it, or tow it. We’ll give you $1000 for ANY trade-in”
My parents tested the limits of that agreement. We had an Oldsmobile that had slowly been sinking into the driveway for a few years. 4 flats and a dead racoon in the trunk (literally).
They had a tow operator that owed them a favour, so they got their $1000 for a vehicle they’d have had to PAY someone to take.
We drove that Shadow for 11 years until the floor literally gave way under the driver’s seat. They had to hold the driver’s door shut when taking hard corners by the end. Still ran like a top. I believe their mechanic bought it for $100 and pulled the engine to drop in another car.
Sundance, because I’m terrified of Corollas. They’re always driving in the most bonkers way.
And they seem to lead the world in reflective stickers added. My theory is that they are such horrifically poor drivers that they think the problem is *everybody else doesn’t see them* instead of an apparent allergy to using mirrors or checking blind spots.
My friend used to have a Shadow (the sporty one) so I’ll go Sundance.
I’ve made the K-car mistake in the past, and I’m not making it again for such a mediocre example of K-car mediocrity. The Toyota may not be exciting, but having owned one in the past it was dead reliable and I’d rather have another one covered in ridiculous reflective stripes than deal with that Sundance.
I went Sundance, even though I know it’s a bad decision. It’s just more interesting to me, and would immediately be the only running Sundance in all of Upstate NY. I always found this and the Shadow to be reasonably good looking for what they were.
In defense of the Corolla, I would bet it’s a hell of a lot more entertaining to drive than any crossover, even if it’s slow and soft. Anything that isn’t booster-seated into the sky gets fun points from me these days.
Tater tot “casserole”????
Mark, I thought you lived in Minnesota for a while, I expected you to know the real name of our state food!
Gotta get that hot dish!
I did, but I grew up in Chicago. Besides, I was afraid most folks wouldn’t know what the hell “hot dish” was.
Corolla it is. Sorry Sundance but nothing is sadder than driving a 3 speed auto in an econobox. The stripes don’t bother me though I’d love to hear why. Are they to repel biting insects and confuse would be predators (cops?) like a zebra?
It would ordinarily take a lot for me to vote against (arguably) Peak Corolla, but in this case all it takes is about ten yards of vinyl reflective stripes, plus the concern about other potentially unwise choices.
We’ll take the Sundance, name it Butch, and get to rattle-canning that hood and decklid. At these prices, who cares about color correction?
I am a Sundance/Shadow person. Yes, we exist. Don’t buy this one. I’m fairly certain it’ll be the 2.2, I don’t think they were doing the 2.5 until ’89 but I could be wrong on that.
I would say there’s dozens of you, but I doubt there’s even that many.
To be clear I don’t own one (anymore) but I still look fondly on them when I see a nice example. Was never a fan of the pre-’89 look though.
Well, there’s no pride swallowing with the Sundance, it’s the best value of any car in its class, with 47 standard features. Clearly, the pride is back
Hidden Hatchback Versatility!
And quality that’s guaranteed to equal or exceed anything from Germany or Japan, backed by the confidence of Chrysler-Plymouth’s 5/50 buyer protection plan
Looks like today is a Nope day.
I’m a mopar guy, but I’ve owned enough Aries, Sundances, and Acclaims with this engine and trans to tell you unless it’s exceptionally well maintained, chances are this thing might be putting out about 50 horsepower to the tires, and it wont be all that great on fuel either. That leaves reliability as the sole virtue, and even that is middling at best, especially against a Corolla.
The real answer, though, is Cavalier.
I quite agree with your first paragraph.
Cavalier is only the answer if the question is “what is an overrated American compact car?”. Yes, some of the engines can take some abuse, but there are so many better choices it’s not even worth consideration.
I reserve the right to switch my vote if those ugly stripes are not removable.
I worked for a sign company that specialized in highway signs for nine years. I can tell you that reflective vinyl is very much not removable, especially if it has been there for a while.
The stripes are a selling point to me. Imagine painting up the wheels black and yellow like a crash test vehicle!
Those sticker removal wheels you put on a drill should make short work of removing those stickers. Yes, it may take more than one wheel to do the whole car.
They add some character, even if that character is “retired roadway construction signaler car” and/or “elderly owner who street parks”.
Add some tape stripes over top of them if they don’t come off.