Two Very Different Approaches: 1985 AMC Eagle vs 2004 BMW X3

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)