Latest

The BMW M5 Touring is a 717-hp Super Wagon Review: 2025 Ford Maverick XLT – Finally, AWD and Hybrid Hooniverse Asks: What’s the Greatest VEHICLE Ever Built? Build It Yourself V10-Swapped Contintal Hits the Dyno Upgrading a rock crawler scale RC style with RC4WD

Hooniverse

Cars, Trucks, Bikes, Project Cars, DIY, Travel, Adventure, Podcast, Videos

Craigslist Crapshoot

Craigslist Crapshoot

By Robert Emslie Mar 13, 2013

The World’s Worst Car Is For Sale On CraigslistWelcome to our Wednesday dumpster dive that is known as Craigslist Crapshoot. For last week’s assignment we were looking for crap in all the wrong places – obscure cars found where they shouldn’t ought to be. The winner is after the jump, but first this week’s task.

This week I want diesels. That’s right people, the smoking light in ON! I want the most miserable Mercedes’, bottom-dwelling BMW 524tds, and gawd-awful Olds’ you can find. We are going back to the dual requirement that the candidates, while craptacular, do need to be runners and able to be licensed for the road wherever  they reside.

And as usual, we want your finds to go down in infamy and not in the site’s spam filter. Follow any of  the following advice and you’re crap will be known far and wide.

  1. Easiest way to not get caught in the spam filters is to create an IntenseDebate account. If you do so and your posts aren’t appearing, let us know at ti**@ho********.info and we can put you on the whitelist
  2. If you don’t want an IDC account, you can create a wordpress.com account and do the same thing.
  3. If you’re the Ted Kaczynski type and don’t want any kind of account, then try to place only a single link in a comment and just drop any outgoing link in via its raw URL and not as a text link
Craigslist Crapshoot doesn’t work if your candidates don’t get seen, so hopefully following one of these options will ensure that the floodgates of crap are fully open. And speaking of open, follow me through the jump to see last week’s open-top Craigslist Crapshoot winner.
 
Jiminy crickets! They say we live in an era of unheard of mobility but that alone can’t explain how so many weird cars and trucks got to their current locations, and then went up for sale. Scorpions stinging in Virginia? Atlanta hawking Heralds? How about a Saskatchewan Hillman, man? But the most obscure vehicle in a weird place – and one for which parts should be even more obscure to procure – was found by I Think Not , a 1954 Austin Champ with a Rolls Royce-designed 4-cylinder located in Kansas City, of all places.
 
Well done and pip-pip cheerio y’all to I Think Not.
 
1954 austin champ like a jeep willys
 
 

By Robert Emslie

Related Post

Mighty Clean Marquis for Your Daily Driver Duty?

Jeff Glucker April 30, 2025

Wagon Wednesday: Save this 1970 Plymouth Fury and its awesome 440

Jeff Glucker April 16, 2025

Become the (Sport) King of the Overlanders with this 1959 Ford F-250

Jeff Glucker April 10, 2025
143 thoughts on “Craigslist Crapshoot”

  2. Woohoo! Very satisfying, that — more than winning a COTD on the-site-that-shall-not-be-named.
    The first thing I've found, apart from a few non-drivable (DQ'd) VW Mk1 diesels, is this 20 y.o. diesel/manual school bus. Gut the interior, cut out rear wall/door/glass, add a garage door in its place, some foldable ramps, a winch and some tiedowns, and you've got a nice car hauler that lets the car ride along with you where you can talk to it about the upcoming race.
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3G53Mf3F35N75K25Jdd369f0a10eb871615bc.jpg"&gt;
    <a href="http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/3663040998.html” target=”_blank”>http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/3663040998.html

    Reply

    1. Better than a COTD you say… Skay please allow me this time, it's topical:
      <img src="http://0.tqn.com/d/4wheeldrive/1/0/m/V/1/Dennis_Can_84Bombadier_RR.jpg"&gt;
      There even better now. School bus is awesome. Imagine a boy like 8yrs old with the hugest grin on his face sitting behind the steering wheel and then he's all telling me what everything does. He's most excited about working the lights. That's what I encountered at a cruise in geared for rat rods last year where a dad had bought an old school bus and drove it in with a bunch of r friends and family. It was a lot like that one except without the wheel chair door. It's a great idea.
      Car hauler is good idea too, talking to your car has better results than talking to your plants.

      Reply

    2. I know a guy who did that conversion to a motorhome, so he could transport collector vehicles without stopping at weigh stations.

      Reply

    1. LOL! The picture showing the headliner brings to mind my mom's old '78 Malibu Classic. Its headliner sagged, even though it had only 72k original miles, was garaged all the time, and was on its second headliner.

      Reply

        1. I am surprised, too. Especially because BaT usually is a very civilised place with focus on what's on the wheels, not behind it. At the same time, I have to admit that my instant reaction to photo-filters-hats-and-tattoo-ironic-poses is similar to that of the haters – but I'd never allow myself to act like that towards somebody I don't know.

          Reply

          2. Plus, it proved that one can make it from L.A. to Austin, without a hitch.

    2. I really want a 72 or earlier K5, and $3250 is a good price for one, even if it's a bit of a project. This is not just a bit of a project though. The price is positively crack pipe for a parts car with a bunch of rusted out parts.

      Reply

    1. There's a guy not too far from me that seems to run a business smuggling them in from Canada and selling them here (in Ohio, they don't care, so the only way you'll get caught is if Customs and Border Protection looks in Ohio's database of registered VINs).
      It's very much borderline, though, as far as whether it qualifies, IMO, given that it's in the US – it CAN be registered, but it's illegal to do so under federal law.

      Reply

      1. Why would it be illegal? Because it is not originally sold in the US and younger than 25 years?

        Reply

        1. Not certified to FMVSS (granted, CMVSS is very close, but not quite the same – the biggies are the speedometer and headlights – and for a Canadian vehicle, the manufacturer must certify that it otherwise meets FMVSS with the exception of the speedometer (everything else, it's gotta meet full FMVSS or be made in a year 25 years prior to the year of importation (which is slightly different from 25 years old – a car made on 1988-12-31 could have been imported 2013-01-01, one day shy of 25 years old, whereas a car made the very next day, 1989-01-01, must wait until 2014-01-01 for importation)) or EPA regulations (which are the bigger problem).
          It is possible to do it legally, but not with a diesel AFAIK, and it cost about $25k to buy a legal W450 ForTwo gasser in the US, before the W451s were available for sale. There were one or two shops that did importation of the gassers from Europe – I believe they retrofitted Canadian-spec safety equipment (which, as far as crash safety, already met FMVSS), came up with DOT lights from somewhere (not sure where, might've had them custom-made), and used a UK-spec cluster to get a MPH speedo.

          Reply

          1. Thanks for enlightening me! Always fascinating to see how local legislation can be so troublesome…it's aGerman car, for crying out loud!

  11. So you want a diesel. Plus you want a way to have traffic part in front of you. Well do I have a deal for you. You can own a vehicle that qualifies as an antique in Pennsylvania. So no inspection or emissions once registered as an antique. Plus the comfort in knowing if you burn your bacon salt popcorn (this is a real thing) that you can just fix this with the help of a thousand gallons a minute of water.
    Sure you can't actually see it in the picture but do you need to? Its a firetruck and its not that expensive. You know you want to go get your gear out and relive your favorite episode of Emergency! You know the one where the gym gets filled with four million gallons of foam and they heroically save the guy from drowning IN the foam they placed there.
    Credit cards will not be accepted. Bring a cashiers check and your fire 1 certification to..
    http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/3671566147.h…
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Ge3Fd3N55Kd5F25J2d3ad8593f6f9e231fd2.jpg&quot; width=600 />

    Reply

    1. The awesome thing about old fire trucks is that they go cheap. Crazy cheap compared to what a new one costs.
      The not so awesome thing- what do you do with it?

      Reply

      1. Go to parades with it I guess. My local town uses a 1985 LaFrance that can't be resold as a firetruck because it has jump seats. Which this one looks like it has as well. Its grandfathered in but as soon as its sold it loses that. Otherwise I guess you paint it up and take it to car shows.

        Reply

        1. My dad has a friend that owns a couple (an engine and a ladder), he rents them out for kids birthday parties. That's the only use I've ever heard of besides shows and parades.

          Reply

          1. A friend of mine is a chaplain for a local small town VFD, and he has a '73 Ford/Otis pumper. He got it as a wedding present, from an ex-girlfriend's dad. It makes a great parade vehicle.

      4. The obvious answer in Europe would be to take it on the Mongol Rallye. Part of the rallye is for decommissioned ambulances, fire trucks etc that will get a second live over there (If you speak Norwegian, google "Team Bachstad" – good public TV). You drive your gift. Plus Mongolia is probably one of the most exciting places on earth right now. But I digress.

        Reply

      5. Commute to work in it, obviously! It's a diesel, so it'll get great (gas) mileage, right? Right?

        Reply

    1. This one made the search especially painful. Between the diesel Mercedes and veggie-converted diesels, I was drooling while trying to find something crappy.

      Reply

      1. It seems that pretty much every day I spend browsing Hooniverse ends with me wanting, for one reason or another, something weird or insane that I previously didn't know (or conveniently forgot) existed.
        It's making my desired project list uncomfortably long…

        Reply

        2. There's a support group for that in your area. It's called Seconds Saturdays and its back April 13th. 🙂

          Reply

  13. Screw you guys, I am going off the grid.
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Eb3I43Jb5Ib5E65H5d2q254d0e276e921266.jpg"&gt;
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3K83M23J35K45F25M2d2q937460d598bf123b.jpg"&gt;
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3G93k23M95Ka5H25J9d2q8ba20c00317a1bbc.jpg"&gt;
    989 International 7.3L diesel boxtruck RV bunkhouse stock truck – $6500
    <a href="http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/3645565317.html” target=”_blank”>http://austin.craigslist.org/cto/3645565317.html

    Reply

        1. Ha, I actually tried that. Same principle if you are looking for crappy/cheap "Cameros". All I found is trailers in this case… Apparently a local trailer company put both spellings in the keywords of all their listings…

          Reply

      2. Oh I hope it doesn't run because we may have found our winner here. That is just prepper funny.

        Reply

    2. Part of me wants this. That little part tucked away in a corner that every now and then screams for me to run from all the trappings of western society.

      Reply

    1. As much as I want to like it, I submit that this truck is why we don't have small diesel pickups in the US. Here's why: out of curiosity, I checked the fueleconmy.gov website to check the gas mileage – I expected upper 20s city/upper 30s highway.
      Nope. 25 and 28. 29 and 30 if you use the old formulation.
      Huh? The 2004 Ranger 4 cylinder gas version that I had listed 23 and 28 and I would guess probably double the horsepower (and more weight too). The contemporary gas version was about the same. Other than increased torque and the attendant towing capacity, what's the point (especially considering the state of diesel technology back then).
      So, thanks a lot, diesel Ranger. Ya big jerk.

      Reply

      1. My limited understanding and research has led me to notice that 70s and 80s diesels were not very efficient at all. Even the Mercedes diesels were putting out low 20s at best. The super efficient diesels are more of a modern advancement along with reduced emissions. Those numbers for the Ranger actually impress me, if anything…
        I really hope someone more knowledgeable on the matter corrects me if I'm wrong.

        Reply

        1. I would probably do a veggie conversion, and have room in the back for hauling all that grease around. So, drive around, get grease, drive around, get grease, drive around…

          Reply

          1. Following cars that have that done is always interesting.
            *sniff sniff* "Why does it smell like In-n-Out?"

        2. That said, the EPA 2007-rerated numbers for diesels tend to be low, and the 1985 numbers were about right, maybe a bit low.
          I get my Golf's 2007-rerated EPA combined number… with 5 mile cold weather short trips.

          Reply

  19. So you say you're a GM fan. Well its time to put up or shut up. What we have here is a restored example of one of GM's bigger mistakes. Well bigger then when they let Bob Lutz go the fourth, fifth, and sixth times at least. But Fodder this is just a restored Seville you say. No my friend this is a restored DIESEL Seville. Now pick yourself up off the floor and check the compression.
    http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/cto/3622829000.h…
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Ke3Ga3J35K65Hc5Mfd2g5d3526c1acc9108f.jpg&quot; width=500/>

    Reply

          4. Oh man I'm so sorry, none of these are diesels, I'll show myself out Rob.

          5. At first glance I thought, "Is that a Firebird with batshit flares and a Geo front cap?"

      2. I feel like a terrible person saying mean things about someone's beloved project car, so yeah, uh. I really like most Preludes.

        Reply

  24. This guy is probably going to be on an upcoming episode of Hoarders.
    His headline: DIESEL Volkswagens! Caddy! Camper! Rabbits! Cabriolets!
    Here is what he has for sale (he also notes that other cars visible in the pictures are not for sale… just the ones listed in the ad):
    – 1977 Mercedes 2500 Obo: 450 SEL, ~88,000 miles, runs strong, licensed, currently licensed, insured and driven
    – 1982 red Cabriolet convertible, new piston rings, cylinder head-100 miles ago, new rod bearings, currently licensed, insured and
    driven
    – 1989 white cabriolet convertible runs $1750 Obo, leather interior + exterior are very nice, needs electrical ground work, automatic,
    cruise, A/C.
    – 1980 Diesel white rabbit $1,200 Obo , 5-spd, runs good, needs electrical work
    – 1981 Diesel red rabbit truck "cabby" $2200 Obo,
    Bed has always had a topper and bed liner–never removed!, 5 spd, second owner, diesel, needs fuel injection seal. Before seal
    began to go truck would start up in 15 deg F weather and run fine.
    – 1983 "Westy" Vanagon $1,200 Obo , beige-orange waterboxer, campmobile, last started 9 years ago. Ran at that time,
    transmission jumps out of gear, have extra transmission
    – 1984 brown vanagon $750 Obo, waterboxer, also started 9 years ago. Ran at that time
    – 1984 blue vanagon $750 Obo, waterboxer also started 9 years ago. Ran at that time
    All cars are complete; no parts missing/removed (So no "parts cars" here!)
    <img src="http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/r570/gksarmy/Cars%20-%202013/IMG_5777.jpg&quot; width=500> <a href="http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/cto/3578611933.html” target=”_blank”>http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/cto/3578611933.html

    Reply

      1. Assuming that he can get a good percentage of them running, he could form his own vintage diesel VW racing league… the slowest racing series in the wuuuurld.

        Reply

      1. Ooh. That particular hue of pink-ish purple is slowly winning me over.
        —
        /needs sarcasm font

        Reply

        1. It most likely comes with sufficient amounts of shrooms to make that color… shift…

          Reply

    1. I actually clicked on the link to see how bad a Mustang Diesel conversion was/would have been.
      I am disappoint.

      Reply

  37. I like diesel fumes and getting caught in the rain. This was originally listed as $33,300 I'm guessing it was a typo because it was re-listed @ a much more reasonable $3,800
    http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/3668296656.html
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3K73L53J95Eb5K75M3d38a7026a1d302916af.jpg"&gt;
    Also, I offer this M35A2. Permission to say "Oh Cock"
    http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/3671511457.html
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3L53Fe3H45Nf5K75F8d3a4cd44d7bd58d185f.jpg"&gt;

    Reply

  39. This is a lot of truck for $7,500. However, there aren't any pics of the engine which, considering its name, is understandable…
    <img src="http://i1190.photobucket.com/albums/z450/tango1965/dodgeram003_zpsc08f1b43.jpg&quot; width="500">
    http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/36108206…
    Or: OMG WANT.
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3I63Lc3M35N15Ia5Mdd3bf55486d0ee371579.jpg&quot; width="500" />
    <a href="http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/3674417858.html” target=”_blank”>http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/3674417858.html

    Reply

  40. Oh my… 1981 CDV with a replacement engine thrown in 50K miles ago (notice it doesn't say how many years ago that was), so chances are that it's a 5.7 DX… $1495 gets it! Street legal and clear title with cold air. This would be like driving your own papal conclave, you're blowing black smoke until it turns white and a new headgasket is elected.
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Ga3M33I85L95Gd5O0d3ada75410ad0a91346.jpg"&gt; <a href="http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/3671784292.html” target=”_blank”>http://sanantonio.craigslist.org/cto/3671784292.html

    Reply

      1. That's where the replacement engine part comes in… If it IS a DX, then it (probably) won't blow gaskets annually.

        Reply

  41. Übercrapy Isuzu Trooper Diesel (1985, 160000km, 435$ = cash for clunkers price, located in Trondheim/Norway). Engines runs and is a bit slow, yet engine and gear are supposed to be good. Technical inspection/MOT lasts another two weeks. Something tells me the car was not born like this:
    <img src="    http://finncdn.no/mmo/2013/3/vertical-3/05/6/402/043/66_2000585743_xl.jpg&quot; width="600">
    <img src="http://finncdn.no/mmo/2013/3/vertical-3/05/6/402/043/66_552387823_xl.jpg&quot; width="600">
    …and then there is this &lt;a href="http://www.finn.no/finn/car/used/object?finnkode=40184282"&gt;1991 Nissan Patrol with improved aerodynamics (470000km, 1300$). The improvement happened in November 2011, and like a good wine the seller decided it is now the car will fetch the best price.
    <img src="http://finncdn.no/mmo/2013/3/vertical-3/04/1/341/111/71_923279845_xl.jpg&quot; width="600">

    Reply

    2. That's really nice, and for $500 more than the Cadillac I posted above that's in remarkably better shape, at least visually.

      Reply

  45. <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3E83K13Lc5E85H55J3d1t3e90efd1e80d1f26.jpg"/&gt;
    Isuzu P'up diesel. I'll have to take their word for it. http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/3579376145.htm…
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Ka3I53H35L55G65Kbd2lce02c96dd86c1154.jpg"/&gt;
    $1000 300TD! NonononononoIdon'tneedthisnonononono http://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/3632099009.ht…
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3E53K33M35Ld5G85Fed1r5488527b9d431509.jpg"/&gt;
    Salvage titled 5-speed 190D. Never seen one of these for sale that wasn't crashed. Price hasn't budged in months. http://hartford.craigslist.org/cto/3575593341.htm…
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3L53N83Hd5N35Gd5F1d3b93a26d65369712b3.jpg"/&gt;
    Not diesel, but awesome: "Right Side Drive" 1971 Jensen Interceptor Mark "11" <a href="http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/3675023194.html” target=”_blank”>http://newhaven.craigslist.org/cto/3675023194.html

    Reply

  47. 1960 Mercedes…twofer!
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Gc3I13Ma5L45G25M8d28c9fa01b7e4501a34.jpg"&gt;
    http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/3603089176.htm…
    OK so that probably won't pass the drivability…and this is probably too spendy:
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3G53I13H35E55J75M1d2a0303bd153a261cb4.jpg"&gt;
    http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/3608407246.htm…
    This one's pretty sweet…a 79 MB coupe TD:
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Fb3M63m05L15F45Mbd1m27ae9d40e2bf1c93.jpg"&gt;
    <a href="http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/3565032161.html” target=”_blank”>http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/3565032161.html

    Reply

  48. Never noticed the Union Jack wasn't reflectively symmetrical. What's the punishment for that? I have to buy a British car now, right? Ugh fiiiiinnnnneeeee if I REALLY HAVE TO I've already picked out two
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3n13F93p25L65I75J7d2n72abc53b55a81572.jpg"/&gt; http://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/3638646996.ht…
    <img src="http://images.craigslist.org/3Jc3N43Ha5G25F25J5d3b238553021ee4177b.jpg"/&gt; <a href="http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/3673744924.html” target=”_blank”>http://longisland.craigslist.org/cto/3673744924.html

    Reply

      1. A bit optimistic, yeah.
        They're really positive it needs only a spit-and-polish to be a concours grade machine.
        Meth has this effect, I think.
        But look! The hood is now a contributor to engine cooling with this awesome scoop action!
        /facepalm

        Reply

    2. "23,000 on odometer but figure is 123,000"
      ….eh, not so fast, that could well be 23,000 miles.

      Reply

  51. Hello there! This article could not be written any better!
    Looking at this post reminds me of my previous roommate!
    He always kept talking about this. I will send this article to him.
    Pretty sure he’s going to have a great read.
    I appreciate you for sharing!

    Reply

  52. s a bit of truth to the mostly fiction tales we were told as kids.
    Part of the confusion about superfoods comes from the fact that they are often backed up by some legitimate scientific research; however,
    the conclusions may be blown way out of proportion, becoming dubious claims eagerly accepted as fact.
    The factors included above determine your Daily energy expenditure.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 64 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop files here

You Missed

BMW Reviews Featured Reviews Road Test Reviews Video Reviews

The BMW M5 Touring is a 717-hp Super Wagon

Ford Reviews Reviews

Review: 2025 Ford Maverick XLT – Finally, AWD and Hybrid

Hooniverse Asks

Hooniverse Asks: What’s the Greatest VEHICLE Ever Built?

All Things Hoon

Build It Yourself V10-Swapped Contintal Hits the Dyno

© Copyright 2025 Hoonigan. All Rights Reserved.