Good morning, and welcome to another week of cheap cars! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. The All-British Field Meet was a blast; I got sunburned, saw a ton of cool cars, and took a wild ride around the off-road course in an old beat-up Range Rover. This is a far less serious event than the Goodwood Revival, where Jason, Beau, and Adrian spent the weekend. How much less serious? Check out one of my favorites from the weekend, a Jaguar XK140 fixed-head coupé with a blotchy, runny, rattle-can paint job:
Now that’s my kind of classic. I’ve posted a bunch more photos to our Discord server; if you haven’t joined yet, now is as good a time as any.
There was no poll on Friday, and very little consensus either, so I guess we’ll just get straight to the business at hand.
When you think of cities with a thriving car culture, New York City is not the first locale that comes to mind. Between the traffic, the lack of parking, and the terrible weather half of the year, New York sounds like a tough place to be a gearhead. But as much as “nobody walks in LA” isn’t strictly true, “nobody drives in New York” can’t be true either. If nobody drove, there would be plenty of parking, right? Stands to reason. So I wanted to see if I could find a couple of cheap, fun-to-drive rides for enthusiasts in the Big Apple. And wouldn’t you know it – the first two viable candidates I found were convertibles.
(Just a quick aside: It didn’t occur to me what today’s date was when I started looking for cars in New York City. I hope no one is upset by it. Just know that I would never exploit one of the worst days in American history for this silly little column. It was completely subconscious; I guess New York is on everyone’s mind to some extent on this date.)
Anyway, let’s check out some cars.
2004 Ford Mustang convertible – $2,200
Engine/drivetrain: 3.8 liter overhead valve V6, five-speed manual, RWD
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Odometer reading: 180,000 miles
Runs/drives? I assume so…?
If you’re looking for cheap and fun, no matter where you’re looking, you can do a lot worse than a stickshift Mustang. And right now, if you’re looking for a cheap Mustang, you’re going to find the “New Edge” style. This one has the basic 3.8 liter “Essex” V6, powering its good old-fashioned solid rear axle through a five-speed manual. Add in a convertible top, and you’ve got a recipe for cheap thrills, no matter where in the country you are.
We don’t get a lot of information to go on in this ad. Actually, we don’t get any information to go on. Year, make, model, mileage, and the fact that it’s a one-owner car; that’s it. I’m assuming it runs and drives, because selling a non-running car without saying it’s a non-running car is a way to get a lot of people angry with you. And these are generally pretty reliable and durable cars – the Essex V6 had some head gasket issues, but mostly earlier ones. The rest of it is about a complex as a can opener.
It looks pretty good too; just a few typical city blemishes, and no obvious signs of rust. The inside, with leather seats in place of the standard-issue cloth, looks great, but we all know photos can hide flaws. Also, all the photos show it with the top down – I assume it goes up, but maybe that’s a question you should ask. Leaving a convertible with the top down in any city is asking for trouble.
The photos in this ad are all a little strange anyway; why is the car parked on the sidewalk? It’s keeping some cool company, though, from the whale-tail Porsche next to it to the old 6-Series BMW across the street.
2008 Volkswagen Eos – $1,950
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.0 liter dual overhead cam inline 4, six-speed manual, FWD
Location: Stamford, CT
Odometer reading: 119,000 miles
Runs/drives? Sounds like it
Moving a little ways outside of the city, we find this Volkswagen Eos, a two-door coupe with a retractable hardtop. Retractable roofs date all the way back to 1957, when Ford installed the option on its Skyliner convertibles, but the option saw a bit of a resurgence in the 2000s, with everyone from BMW to Chrysler offering a folding metal roof. Even Pontiac offered a retractable hardtop convertible version of its G6. And VW offered the Eos, a two-door based on the Golf/Jetta platform, with not only a retractable hardtop, but also a power sunroof.
This Eos has VW’s 2.0 liter turbocharged four under the hood, and six forward gears in its manual transmission. It’s a promising combination, but we know what Volkswagens of this era are like. It’s bound to have some electrical gremlins, and in fact the ad for this one says “Convertible top may not operate.” Well, at least it’s up now. But it is disappointing that its best party trick might not always work.
Otherwise, this ad is also maddeningly light on information. They do tell us it has new tires and brakes, and like the Mustang, it’s a one-owner car, and has a stack of service records going back to day one. It does look pretty good, except for a spot of rust on one front wheel well, and rust spots are like ants – you see one, you know there are more.
I do have to point out one funny thing on its dash: the information center shows that the left front and right rear doors are ajar. On a two-door car. Oh, Volkswagen…
Cars in cities tend to get used and abused; there’s not much point in having something “fun” if driving is going to be a chore, and there’s even less point in having something nice if it’s just going to get banged up. And yet, here are two reasonably fun, reasonably nice stickshift convertibles, right in one of the most densely populated areas onf the country. It goes to show that enthusiasm for cars can’t completely be damped by unfavorable conditions. Gearheadedness is a permanent condition, and we must have the fun cars. Which one of these are you going for?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
A really nice car from a rich suburb or a throwaway mustang that is probably some body shops hide and sell rusty heap.
Mustang for me due to parts and service likely being way easier and cheaper.
And the Eos always looked really bland to me.
Would rather have the good looking Eos vs that generation of Mustang…especially since it’s a
Fix Or Repair Daily/Found On Road Dead
Wait! Is that a car that’s actually painted in a color? Nice!
(Although steel gray Porsches from the 80’s are pretty sweet!)
I’m already not going to touch a VW of that vintage with a 10 foot pole, and add the complexity of the hard top and I’m running for the hills.
Clearly my choice is the Mustang. If it’s anything like my Toyota convertible, the top can be opened/closed manually though it’s a two person job. But at least on my car, all of the convertible motor bits are easily accessible if a motor does need replacing. I would assume the Ford is going to be similar in that regard too.
I used to own a new edge. All the convertible parts are right behind the rear seats. Just remove the back part of the seat and that’s about it. Simple car to work on.
I never knew the EOS had a retractable sunroof in its convertible top. That is…absolutely ridiculous, lol.
VW was like, “We felt that our incredibly intricate folding hardtop did not have enough points of failure, so we cut a hole in it and added several more.” (And that’s leaving aside the inherent absurdity of it all — who was asking for that feature in a convertible?!)
Despite all that, I actually liked the Eos. I just don’t think I’d ever want to own one.
They called it a CSC in marketing materials “Coupe-Sunroof-Convertible”. It’s not really the sunroof that adds sooo much complexity to the mechanism, it’s the way they did the headliner and the multiple small moving parts of the boot cover. My former power hardtop convertibles (Miata and a M-B SLK230) were not nearly as complex in those areas
This has got to be an incredibly tough day for many thousands of people for obvious reasons. Not to ignore today’s shit box contest, yet my thoughts are on other things today.
Mustang, meh.
VW? Hell no.
Thank you for this post.
Drove a manual ’98 Cobra convertible and it was slower than expected, a terrible, rattly thing that felt worn out at 65k, but it had personality. This one as a V6, I wouldn’t expect to have much personality, but it’s a rare bear that I wouldn’t pick over a VW.
I’m shocking myself and taking the Eos.
I normally wouldn’t trust a VW, especially one with a malfunctioning top (yikes), but this is a sub 2k car that’s cosmetically in great condition for the price. Honestly, it seems like it might be worth the substantial risk at this price.
I would never, ever own a soft top in NY. And honestly, you’re better off leaving it down, as it’s better to get robbed than get robbed AND have your soft top destroyed.
Tough choice, I hate them both. The interior of the VW looks a little nicer, and I’d hope the hard roof would be a bit quieter than the soft top.
It feels odd picking a VW over anything, I typically hate VW. In this case though, I hate that Mustang more. It’s funny how GM did such a great job with their 3.8L, while Ford managed to create one that is utter garbage.
I do find the Eos more interesting, but for the price, and no more, the Mustang is the one to go with. The collision shop doesn’t install confidence, but the price is about right for a beat Mustang. Fiddle with it a bit, and even if the top is crappy, it’s okay for a cruiser.
I can’t believe I’m voting for a Fox/SN95/whatever era V6 Mustang…
They weren’t bad cars, they were just ok.
Same here. But I’ll take OK over huge money pit.
Mustang because Y2K American cars just work on me – Sincerely, the Buick LaCrosse Owner
I would have voted for the Mustang, but the photo being taken in front of a collision shop and the lack of history makes me suspicious…
I voted for the Eos, but then thought to myself that I’ve never seen a guy driving one.
Imagine me driving this Eos, because I am the guy that bought it on cars&bids.
What a beautiful car you purchased! OK, I now know one guy driving an Eos! Frankly, I have always found them interesting cars, but when I lived in the St. Louis area and commuted I never saw one piloted by a guy-person. Any issues with your purchase or has it been a happy car so far?
It’s a VW, so yeah, ABS sensors are flaky, but other than that, it’s been freaking awesome. It is scary fast. Totally agree though, I’m not sure I’ve ever seem one being male driven before, but I’m cool with that. I figure I’ve got basically a convertible GTI with a 6 speed and some go-fast mods. It’s a lot of fun, I don’t give two shits what the stereotype is.
As long as you enjoy it!
I’ll take the Mustang all day over the “cheap” Eos. I’m not a VW hater but this generation of VW’s were known for their electric foibles. The Mustang’s Essex 3.8 is dead simple to work on and the split port head definitely was an improvement over earlier ones. On a side note, the 5 speed in the Mustang is the only car I’ve driven that begged for a short shift kit. Those throws are long. You will get used to the power steering whine. Parts are cheap. You can eke out more power with a proper exhaust and a Windstar/Freestar intake manifold. Still a cheap realizable cruiser. Only thing that scares me is the life in NYC is brutal on cars and the Eos looks better by comparison.
I’d buy the Eos and pretend it’s a coupe. Most Manual ‘Stangs at that mileage have been beaten within an inch of their lives, and that one looks no different.
Pretty much just assume that what you see is (mostly) what you get here. If the Eos’ top went down (or if they had any confidence that it would go back up) then there’d be a top-down pic. Ditto the Mustang- they didn’t do all top-down pics to evoke fun in the sun, that top is roached or the motor is fried and they can’t be arsed to disengage it. Plus I guarantee that the interior pics on the Mustang are shot to hide a ripped or worn driver’s seat bolster.
Still gotta go Mustang here though. Buying the Mustang is like opening a can of worms, but the Eos would be like jumping headfirst into a barrel of snakes.
I’m a VW guy, this is an easy choice, especially with that color. Oh, and the best mechanic in the city is one block down the alley from me. Come to think of it, maybe I’d just leave the Eos parked there…
I have a 2011 VW Eos.There, I admitted it in a car forum. Of course, being a car guy, it’s hardly stock, APR tune stage 3, full H&R suspension, Big brake upgrade from Stoptech etc. The 6 speed manual shifts very nice, the 300ish horsepower is damned addicting, ant car has great build quality. Previous owner, who did all the pricey upgrades, hit 139mph at Road Atlanta during an HPDE.
At the same time, a $2k used VW scares the bejeezus out of me. And that top is a seriously complicated choreography, and infamously hard to diagnose and repair. Plus rust. Ugh.
And the other car is a Mustang for sale online, so it is almost certainly crap.
Poll needs a “Nope, neither one” option for me today.
Meh… I’ll take the Mustang. At least it’s the restyle. The original blobby style was just offensive compared to the simplicity of the predecessor Fox-body ‘Stang. And the interior is inoffensive compared to prior Ford blobbiness. I can’t say this generation was ever outstanding from a quality standpoint, but at least parts have stayed available. All in all “the devil you know” compared to unknown electrical gremlins and VW parts cost.
“why is the car parked on the sidewalk?”
Walked when parked.
haha funny! its on the sidewalk cause likely the body shop is selling.
I voted 6 cyl Mustang. That is the environment it was designed for and parts are easy to find.
If the Mustang was a 2005 or later, this would have been a different choice. As is, I prefer the Eos.
Can’t stand the new edge Mustangs, and the EOS is so goofy, it’d have to be that. Preferably with enough drugs I could pretend I’m in the 911 behind the mustang
with the service costs you’ll pretend you’re in a 911 😛
funny enough, of all the VWs I’ve owned, the Porsches have been by far the cheapest to run
You are not the first person I’ve heard say this, which makes me want a Porsche now haha