Good morning! Today, with our price cap all the way up to $4,000, we’re looking at two cars that you might have trouble telling apart. I mean, they’re both wagon-y things, they’re both 4WD, they both have inline sixes, and they both mention camping in their ads! They’re practically the same car. Hopefully you can keep them straight.
Yesterday’s cars were pretty similar too, though one needed a few more questions answered about its condition than the other. But even with dashboard warning lights and a dinged title, the Scion xB pulled off a decisive win. Quite a few of you seemed to think the warning lights were not a big deal, and easily fixed. I hope for the buyer’s sake you’re right.
Me, I’m sticking with the Escort. It’s a car I already know, and it’ll be easier to get fixed if something goes wrong on a trip. The air conditioning should be R134a, so refrigerant is available anywhere. And I’ve got the vacuum setup to fill it properly, so even if it needs seals or something replaced, I’m not scared of it.
(And I just now noticed I should have waited for six more votes to come in before I took the screenshot. Oh well.)
So as it turns out, shopping for cars in the $3,000-4,000 price range is where things start to get boring. Everything runs all right, and nothing seems like a terrible deal, but it took me a while to find two things that really jumped out at me. And when I did, I was amused by the fact that they’re not only the same price, but also advertised as being suitable for the same purpose. They’re twenty years apart in age, however, and go about things in a very different way. Let’s see which one is more your style.
1985 AMC Eagle – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 258 cubic inch inline 6, three-speed automatic, 4WD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 95,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
If you’re looking for the start of the crossover craze, you may very well be looking at it. Around the same time that Audi figured out that driving all four wheels was the key to winning rallies, AMC grafted a Jeep driveline onto the underside of the Concord wagon and created, well, this thing. It sold pretty well, for a while anyway, mostly because there wasn’t really anything else like it back then. These days, the AMC Eagle is something of a cult classic: a few people love them, many more think they would love one if they had one, but I think the general public has more or less forgotten them.
Perpetually broke AMC had to make the best of things with a few simple ingredients, and one of those was its simple but sturdy inline six. This one displaces 258 cubic inches, and is backed by a three-speed automatic, a Chrysler Torqueflite if I’m not mistaken. Two 4WD systems were available in the Eagle; this one is part-time, as evidenced by the little 2WD/4WD slider on the left side of the dash. It runs and drives great, according to the seller, and just had a bunch of suspension and brake work done.
It only has 95,000 miles on it, and the interior is surprisingly nice. Most of these things are absolutely trashed inside these days; they ended up as hunting rigs or off-road toys, and that’s not easy on carpet and upholstery. This one is beautiful, and the seller says everything works, including the air conditioning. And it is very well-equipped – it has everything including the kitchen sink. Check it out.
The seller has it set up for camping, and it has a sink and a two-burner propane stove in the rear cargo area. From the looks of it, the propane tank and water tank are where the back seat should be, so there isn’t room to sleep in it, but if you pitch a tent next to it, you could make yourself a nice breakfast in the morning.
2004 BMW X3 3.0i – $4,000
Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter dual overhead cam inline 6, six-speed manual, AWD
Location: Seattle, WA
Odometer reading: 174,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives great
By now, every luxury automaker has joined the SUV market. BMW was a little late to the party, with the X5 first sold in 1999. This smaller X3 was introduced for the 2004 model year, with all-wheel-drive meant more for snowy parking lots in Breckenridge than for trails in Moab. And while you might expect an automatic transmission in a family hauler like this, the original buyer of this X3 opted for a much more BMW-appropriate manual.
It’s powered by BMW’s 3.0 liter M54 inline six, and the seller says it runs like a top. It has been a family adventure vehicle for quite a while, from the sound of it. It has an aftermarket add-on touchscreen with a backup camera, bringing it up to more modern specifications. It also came stock with the cold-weather package including heated seats – a nice feature on cold mornings.
It’s a little dirty inside, but it’s in good shape. The seller doesn’t mention anything that doesn’t work, but if I know BMWs of this era, I bet there’s something. The 3 series sedans of this generation absolutely ate power window regulators, and when they fail, the “bang” from the cable breaking will scare the crap out of you. Just be warned.
It’s clean and straight outside, and probably rust-free underneath, considering it’s a Seattle car. Too bad it’s Default SUV Gray, but that’s hard to avoid in this market. At least it’s a stick. And it has a big-ass sunroof, which is cool.
The Pacific Northwest is full of folks who like to “get away from it all,” and the default getaway car is a Subaru Outback. But as these two show, they’re anything but the only choice. The Eagle is a good choice if you want to be able to fix stuff with baling wire at the campsite, but the BMW will be a lot more fun on the curvy roads to the wineries down past Tualatin. It’s all a matter of what you want to do outside, I guess.
(Image credits: sellers)
All my heroes drove Ramblers.
And who can forget Mark Donohue in his Trans-Am Series Javelin? Any company who had the stones to chance the two-seat AMX, Marlin, Rebel Machine in red/white/blue/, Gremlin X, Any version of the Hornet, and the Pacer of course…gets my nod.
[We don’t need to mention the Matador Police Package]
Also, the fresh thinking and timing behind the Eagle concept is to be admired–at least my me.
Ramble On!
I’m not sure about the long-term maintenance costs of this era of BMW, but it does sound like a decent asking price. Still, I’m in for the Eagle, and like others, getting rid of the corny stove & sink. What’s the point of a wagon that can’t carry anything?
AMC, based simply on the cost and availability of parts.
AMC, I can get parts at any local NAPA, AutoZone, etc. And, they probably have most of the basics in stock at all times.
The BMW: “It’s going to cost how much!?! It has to ship from where!?!”
I’d be afraid of a BMW from that era. They’re just not good cars 🙁
so I voted for the AMC. The stove in the back should be easily removable.
That propane stove in the trunk area as ‘bad idea’ written all over it.
And I know enough about these to know that they suck to drive… at least compared to that much newer BMW.
So in this case, I’ll go for the BMW with the manual transmission.
I voted for the AMC because it is interesting. The trunk “kitchen” is a minus, but I presume that can be removed relatively easily.
Honestly, I hate this BMW. Grey, car-based SUVs make me sad. That this one is a BMW with a manual transmission only makes it worse. I have no idea why someone would want a 3 series stretched in the vertical axis. If you want a small SUV, just buy a damn Toyota. At least the RAV4 is willing to admit it is a practical transportation appliance and not the ultimate driving machine.
I hate this BMW so much that I want to buy it just so I can torch it without getting arrested.
I almost abandoned the Eagle after seeing that it had no backseat and no trunk, but a 20 year old BMW with a sunroof is one of the scariest things I’ve ever heard of. I think I would take a risk on finding a back seat for the Eagle and cleaning out the trunk.
Oh look! A full AMC Eagle wagon back seat is available on eBay for $300.
Sold. Eagle.
Well, the AMC is interesting and brings back some memories of when those were new. But I have a feeling that the low miles aren’t necessarily because it just didn’t get driven as much. I bet it was broken a lot and in the shop like every neighbor who had an AMC where I was growing up. And while the rolling trunk bomb hack job is cool, I’d probably want a back seat.
Voted X3 for the ‘reliability” an d the manual transmission.
As an Eagle Scout, I have to go with the AMC. Not to mention the fact that if anything breaks on it, you just need a hammer, a screwdriver, maybe an adjustable wrench, and some duct tape to fix it.
I actually saw an Eagle a couple of days ago, and could believe it was still on the road. I thought time and poor build quality had killed them all off. I told my kids it was basically a cross between a wagon and an SUV, they pretty much just thought it was ugly. Conceptually it was way ahead of its time, but in execution? It was very much of its time, and not even a decent version of its time.
I don’t want either of these, because as ‘neat’ as the Eagle is, having driven one I know better. As much as I love a manual, I pretty much see any 2000s plus BMW as a timebomb waiting to explode my wallet, depite it not even having enough tinder in it to combust. I suppose that after owning a number of VWs, my supply of torx and triplesquares is full enough that I could probably fix the majority of the issues that would come up with the BMW, so I’ll go that route
The Eagle has landed , and with a kitchen sink no less! 😉