Welcome to Craigslist Crapshoot, our weekly search for the most bizarre, awesome, and/or terrible vehicles that the online classifieds has to offer.
Okay, I’m now ready to get my fall on. That’s because you all provided a marvelous mix of convertibles that I, and a close cadre of friends, can potentially take to view the trees changing color, take in the smells of roadside pie stand offerings, and generally cause one to wonder if life could get any better. We’ll start that road trip in just a sec, but first I know you’re itching to once again dive into the classifieds so we need this week’s quest.
Do you remember High School? And I extend that question especially to those of you who are presently in High School as it’s probably something you block out come 3:30 each weekday. One thing’s for sure, and that is that High School is a microcosm of real life, with all the interactions and intersections you would expect, only with people who have raging hormones and only the threat of Juvie to keep them from doing extraordinarily terrible things.
It’s also a world of status and cliques and one of the most important status symbols is the car you drive, and that’s why this week we want to find the coolest cars under $2,000 a High Schooler could buy. What’s going to impress, and what’s going to not get giant penises spray painted on it after every football game?
As always, we want your finds to go down in infamy and not in the site’s spam filter. Since we’ve changed commenting systems, you may need to update your commenter account. Make sure you have a Disqus account – they’re free and easy to get – and then comment away.
I first started thinking about last week’s quest when Pink Moon by dead folk-you singer Nick Drake rolled around on my iPhone’s playlist. That was the song used in Volkswagen’s moody ad for the Golf Cabriolet a decade or so back, and that made me think about taking a fall trip in a top down car. Add to that having watched A Few Good Pie Places on PBS and I’m lacing up my driving gloves and slipping into my Pilotis.
You all provided a cornucopia of great options for a sun-dappled drive, and while a few were fright pigs, the Swedes came through with a couple of top-notch options that while perhaps in need of a little lovin,’ were priced right for an impromptu purchase. Both this Saab, found by PotbellyJoe, and this Volvo, uncovered by 1977ChevyTruck are a pittance, and potentially could be sold for the same asking come next spring.
Even cheaper, and even closer to that VW ad in actual metal and a musical connection, is thisGermany-located 1997 Rolling Stone Edition VW Golf Cabrio, discovered by ManicKing. At only 550€ and sporting what look to be an extra set of BBS wheels, this is what I think I’d like to drive to watch the leaves turn, see the sun set, or just discover some new place to get some good pie.
Congrats to ManicKing, and thank you all for the excellent offerings. Now, let’s go back to school.
BCAS approved 1968 Le Sabre
http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/5179185667.html
And it’s pre-beaten.
This is important as the student parking lot of my school often looked more like county fair bumper cars and not so much the semi-coordinated chaos of most parking lots.
Easy to fix, room for all of your friends and cool in only the way an old gunboat Buick can be. An excellent choice.
Ah…memories. I rode on my Grandma’s lap in the front seat of one of these for years….we didn’t believe in seat belts or car seats back then…..
Excellent find. My high school beater was Grampa’s ’68 Belair 4 door post. Roughly the same size and condition. Sadly instead of this beautiful hue, mine was cream with rust colored accents.
Actually, the schnoz on this one isn’t beat in at the prow, which is very unusual, so while it fully qualifies for hooptie status, damn, that’s a good find.
2000 Jetta VR6, 5 Speed, 200K only 130K on engine!, $1950
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5213378318.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00v0v_adQRumScGs5_600x450.jpg
Interesting marketing. The first engine lasted 70K, this one has nearly twice that.
I like your comment… but playing devil’s advocate, was it a “brand new” engine, or did the car just get “another” engine? Perhaps the first lasted 150,000, and was replaced with one that had 80,000 on it already.
Didn’t think of that. Not sure if that makes it more or less risky.
Maybe it was pushed for 70K miles.
This may be the winner.
$800 ’89 CRX Si! Yeah, you’re going to need that extra $1200 to make this into an actual car again.
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5212953374.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00H0H_aSe3umlFqbz_600x450.jpg
Every HS kid needs a Jag. 230K miles, what could go wrong? Seller says “High miles but it a Jaguar they run forever.”
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5187186427.html
http://images.craigslist.org/01010_1obVaxSQKX8_600x450.jpg
I admire the chutzpah.
1992 Camaro. T-tops!
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5212814472.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00W0W_itfRPtouxsr_600x450.jpg
94 S10 with flames! What kid wouldn’t want flames!
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5208850251.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00z0z_c0SRMqZFCEm_600x450.jpg
http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/5212886562.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00R0R_i9bJGM44fwX_600x450.jpg
1998 Jeep Cherokee – $1700 (Bound Brook)
1998 Jeep Cherokee , white, gray interior, 6 cyl engine, auto trans. It has the police package, certified speedometer,ext idle switch,rubber matting, HD skid plates, 3inch lift kit,31 inch tires, recent brakes, remote starter, new battery. The jeep has 126,000 miles and 2016 inspection. It will need a neutral safety switch, possibly a starter,A/C compressor and has a minor power steering leak. The jeep runs ok. Ideal for jeep lover…… Well worth $1700.00
So it has what it needs and it has a few projects for your kid to start working on right away. It is a vehicle that gives them something worth driving now and gets them comfortable with working on their own car.
It’s basically a HS Internship as a mechanic.
The XJ Cherokee is also a classless vehicle, meaning it would be a suitable high school ride regardless of your clique.
This one by me looks pretty nice but has “a problem in the bottom” of the engine. Think someone could drop in a junkyard 4 liter for the $500 remaining budget?
http://images.craigslist.org/00g0g_isTRP4B24K0_600x450.jpg
http://toledo.craigslist.org/cto/5179090571.html
Why stop there? Just find a 318 and call it a day.
Then make a month out of getting everything to work. No different than regular XJ ownership.
OK, not sure this is a cool kid car, but it strikes me as a deal, even at 256K miles.
2000 Insight 5 speed, $1000
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/5212662174.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00L0L_i7mWUQjfABt_600x450.jpg
Geeky cool is cool nowadays. Needs Star Trek decals.
1984 Toyota 4×4 for $1500 , with a cowcatcher bonus http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5209314703.html
Even for CL, the lack of actual information in that ad is impressive.
Ramcharger for $1800 http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5187633373.html
It’ll make your girlfriend’s dad nervous, but a shaggin’ wagon is the way to go.
http://images.craigslist.org/00l0l_90tRVpB0h4n_600x450.jpg
http://toledo.craigslist.org/cto/5190426485.html
Trust me, as a male who had a long-wheelbase FC ’67 Dodge passenger van in ’85-’86, my junior & senior HS years, this makes parents more nervous than you think.
1985 Porsche 944 for $2000 http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5192498130.html ( bonus includes an extra 1984 Porsche 944 !! )
Also, what kind of High School is this? I mean I went to a few schools that a $2000 car is nice compared to the parking lot and then i graduated from a place where new $25k cars were the norm for the school lot.
If you’re the poor kid at the catholic school thanks to an athletics scholarship and you need a car… Consider this:
http://cnj.craigslist.org/cto/5211352708.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00e0e_6Ix6pgcJM5Y_600x450.jpg
Maybe then people will just think it’s you grandparents who have money.
Some sensible kid jumped on it right away – ad deleted.
Wish folks would put the price on the Hooniverse post,ad deleted and going back and forth is a pain.
Caddy STS for $2k. He has some pretty confusing verbiage in the ad:
come let’s deal!! but price is firm thank you!! otherwise buy a scooter and frezze ur ass off tbis winter. thanks!!
http://images.craigslist.org/00B0B_h4uAYl4g0gD_600x450.jpg
Ad link: http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/cto/5208247656.html
Headgasket replacement training included!
2005 BMW ragtop for $2k … http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5203019205.html
How? Flood repair? These cars are usually 2 to 3 times more.
Not sure PBJoe, kinda tempted to go down the road and spy this one ….
It’s a fake ad. Reverse image search turns up nothing, but a Google search on the listed VIN reveals the same ad verbatim on San Diego craigslist [flagged for removal] and a completed ebay auction from Virginia that ended 2 weeks ago for $6410.
There you go. Oh well.
CARP – OK moderators – Kill this submission please ….
If your high school is Hoon-Tech, than this Alfa fits the bill at only $1900
http://images.craigslist.org/00S0S_gQSPxDQF5ng_600x450.jpg
http://bemidji.craigslist.org/cto/5190698263.html
I’d buy it just to stare at the engine.
That’s dangerously close to me…probably a good thing I don’t have the room for that.
A (admittedly very nice) Milano sold for more than 10x this on eBay in the past week. 164s are at the bottom of the curve. This is your opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a very solid investment.
1948 Chevy coupe, runs and drives, asking $1800. http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/5177756818.html 5 cans of flat black Krylon and what kid wouldn’t want to drive this …
I “fixed it a bit “
When I was in that situation, I came so close to buying a six cylindre Datsun build with unobtainium parts. Bought the Volvos I liked since I was a kid, and they were very kind to me. Today, I’d probably be a tad more wrench-willing, with the internet available as an all-knowing encyclopedia. Therefore:
1989 Ssangyong Koriando, 1570$:
http://finncdn.no/mmo/2015/6/vertical-3/21/3/608/470/13_1417894328.jpg
1982 Lada 1200, 1200$:
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODk5WDE2MDA=/z/ALcAAOSw3ydV5zAU/$_1.JPG
2007 Lada 1118, 892$ (imagine the wings the rest of the money could buy!):
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/z/ZJYAAOSwDNdV7VFv/$_1.JPG
1969 GAZ 21, 733$ (which is actually a great deal; car comes with a lot of spare parts):
http://img7.autonavigator.ru/picscarsnew/0991/4785/695194_1440.jpg?max=1600
http://img7.autonavigator.ru/picscarsnew/0991/4785/695196_1440.jpg?max=1600
If I was cool 20+ years ago (at least in my mind I was) with a ’65, a ’66 would be just as cool. Bonus that you could “teach” the girls how to drive a 4 speed.
http://images.craigslist.org/00g0g_85N6hB0GWeV_600x450.jpg
http://fargo.craigslist.org/cto/5181033488.html
Murdered-out 5.0/5-speed Fox Body convertible for $1,595. Are kids these days making Vanilla Ice related wisecracks?
http://images.craigslist.org/00606_oVOnQJk2Iy_600x450.jpg
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/5210147715.html
Do today’s kids even know who Vanilla Ice is? I mean, a kid looking for their first car right now was born after The Slim Shady EP came out, and long after Mr. Van Winkle’s 15 minutes were up.
The girlies will be on standby, guaranteed.
A special for only $1450! You provide the free candy.
https://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/5208816576.html
http://azr.cdnmedia.autotrader.ca/1/photos/201509/0817/0652/802dedc0-ad02-4f1d-94ab-20e6a4308a9a.jpg?w=800&h=600
With only 71k and an $1800 asking price, I’d actually want this for myself, if I had anywhere to put it. And, I’m sure the kid that wants a Benz this old for their first car probably wants a diesel, but I mean, it’s still sort of cool, right?
http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Mercedes-Benz/300/NORTH+YORK/Ontario/19_8968765_/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=15_15_22
Only problem, I think 1993 was part of the biodegradable wiring years. I had a ’95 E320…excellent car, had to rename myself Baby Beater Benz, and while reverse still doesn’t work, this is not an impediment to my 30 year old stepson.
In fact, the house we bought in 2010 was influenced by whether or not I could get in/out of the garage with no reverse.
I have never known what’s cool but a kid could have fun with this, I think.
http://nacogdoches.craigslist.org/cto/5185665731.html
’88 Cutlass (last of the RWD G-bodies!)
https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5213998968.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00C0C_lt39VXhTR4r_600x450.jpg
Someone should be beaten for this.
I’m just surprised that it has the stock hubcaps.
Nothing repels bullying quite like the implicit “my whole family likes fist fights” a muddied up lifted truck communicates. Bonus – it is a diesel and a “manuel”, but you can call it manny, I’m sure.
https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/5213818125.html
http://images.craigslist.org/00K0K_gTVlaqFqqvm_600x450.jpg
You can never go wrong with a pick up truck…
http://images.craigslist.org/00x0x_7D78Ii8LfY5_600x450.jpg
http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/cto/5205547030.html
As a current high schooler, I bought a 1990 Ford Taurus SHO for $1600 a year ago.
Of course it cost another $1500 to get it to past inspection…
Want to get on your Social teacher’s good side? Drive a Soviet-era Lada.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODAwWDYwMA==/z/cGUAAOSwDNdV5RV-/$_27.JPG
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/regina/1982-lada/1099251980?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
Want to pick up chicks? Drive a BMW.
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/z/JokAAOSwQPlV8Kfp/$_27.JPG
http://www.kijiji.ca/v-cars-trucks/edmonton/1987-bmw-325is-e30-coupe/1101481065?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
It’s $2500, but the exchange rate from CAD to USD saves me, and leaves a slim margin to figure out that “tapping”.
Yeah, but you’ll get the status-fixated ones, and you can get a lot more of them in the van that smalleyxb122 posted above:
http://hooniverse.info/2015/09/09/craigslist-crapshoot-137/#comment-2244668175
1982 GS650E ( $600 why not ) It is model and year I drove to high school from 1984-1986 ! ( I had the go fast red one) http://columbus.craigslist.org/mcy/5183221194.html
1984 sophomore year of highschool ….. neener neener
It is freakish how much you looked like Steve Dallas. Maybe just the shades, but the “attitude” in the photo is what really does it.
https://img1.etsystatic.com/065/0/5155531/il_570xN.801035753_cqq5.jpg
HA HA thanks 1977ChevyTruck – very close indeed.
I used to smoke cigs also ( why not, we grew 3 acres of tobacco back then )
I tried to find a 1973 R60/5 toaster BMW for sale ( since I drove it to school as well )
but there are none of those no where under 2K anymore.
1997 Saab 900S with 3 pedals, 115000 km’s and 4 months registration for 1700 South Pacific Pesos (aka Australian Dollars).
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Saab-900-1997/SSE-AD-3574722/?Cr=153
http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/carsales/car/private/cp5459642515209970870.jpg?height=700&aspect=FitWithinNoPad&width=1050
http://up.craigslist.org/cto/5190789770.html
What kid wouldn’t want an old cop car to pull pranks with?
1973 Ford Ranger pickup?
http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/5183389395.html
Stick station wagon. Probably could get the seller down a couple hundred bucks. If my kid had $2k, I’d make up the difference.
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/sat/cto/5216256107.html
Here ya go.
Land-yacht Panther, it’s tough to kill these, and the rear suspension is either still fully-functional air, or it’s been converted, ’cause that’s the near-correct height.
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5178501068.html
This is a dangerous CL CS…I’m finding vehicles I want to save…and I know better.