It’s Day 4 of our quest for the perfect dirt-cheap daily, and today we’re coming back to my hometown of the past fourteen years: Portland, Oregon, the town where all the streets are named after Simpsons characters (or is that the other way around? Stupid Flanders). But before we head for the food carts, let’s see how our Twin Cities twosome from yesterday fared:
Looks like the ugly two-tone Toyota Camry beat the ugly two-tone Chevy S-10. Lots of commenters mentioned the two-wheel drive Chevy’s lack of ability to handle the weather; guess you all aren’t fans of snownuts.
Portland is, as so many people in town will tell you, loudly and repeatedly weird. But all too often it’s weird for weird’s sake, like the guy who rides a unicycle around town wearing a Darth Vader mask and a kilt and playing the bagpipes. (No, really). And the ones who aren’t trying to be weird seem to fit all the hipster stereotypes: They want you to go to the IPA festival with them (no thanks; most IPA tastes like punishment for something) or tell you all about some band they assume you have never heard of (oh, I’ve heard of them; they just suck) or convince you that the kale salad is delicious because there’s bacon on it (kale is irredeemable, and stop putting bacon on everything).
I like it here; just sometimes it’s so… damned… Portland.
The carspotting is top-notch here, however. I know of one street where I regularly see three derelict Citroëns, a Honda Beat, an original ’60s Jeep Wagoneer, a daily-driven Volvo 122, and an early ’80s rear-wheel drive Mazda 626 coupe in perfect condition — all just sitting at the curb like they’re no big deal.
In the other cities we’ve discussed this week, I’ve shown you the cheapest of the cheap — the best potential daily drivers I could find for as little money as possible. I can’t do that in Portland because I already own the best cheap beater in town – a 1995 Toyota Corolla that I bought for $500 two years ago – and it’s not for sale. So stop skulking around my driveway.
But there are two cars that are emblematic of Portland, its recent past and its constantly in flux present: the Volvo 240, and the Subaru Outback, and I found one of each in our sub-$2,500 price range.
1986 Volvo 240 DL sedan – $1,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.3 liter inline 4, 4 speed automatic, RWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 177,000 miles (and apparently still works!)
Runs/drives? Yes, but needs a battery
There is a school of thought that has spawned an entire automotove subculture — one that says that car design peaked with the Volvo 200 series, and everything since then has been an exercise in futility. You’d call them Luddites or curmudgeons, except that you look around and see that these old boxes are still everywhere, and the newest of them is now 29 years old, and they still look good. You begin to wonder if those stubborn Volvo fans are on to something.
The cars are sturdy: Volvo led the charge in safety as a selling point, and for many years the Swedish cars were considered some of the safest cars on the road — built like tanks. Volvo’s legendary “red block” engine has its roots in the Mesozoic Era, but was modernized and perfected as new technologies came along, and is still spoken of in hushed tones of reverence among the Volvo faithful.
This one features a 4 speed overdrive AW70 automatic transmission, which like the rest of the car is built like a brick shithouse [Editor’s note: I don’t know what that last line means, but I can tell you that AW, which was a partnership between transmission makers Aisin and BorgWarner, created some of the stoutest automatic transmissions of all time, including the Jeep Cherokee XJ’s AW4. -DT]. Sure, a manual would be nice, but at this price, beggars can’t be choosers. The car has new tires, but has been sitting long enough for the battery to go flat; stop at Les Schwab and pick a new 12-volt on the way. The odometer is said to work, but the seller doesn’t mention the 240’s other trouble spot: the HVAC blower fan motor, which is behind the dash and allegedly a nightmare to replace. Best to test it before you buy.
Realistically, if you want a Volvo 240, you should buy one now. These cars are starting to turn the corner from cheap reliable beater to respected classic, and they will probably never be this cheap again. This car, with a rebuilt title, probably won’t gain a lot of value, but in general, 240 prices are rising. By my count, this particular 240 is only $62.50 per bumper sticker, a bargain. Don’t miss out!
1998 Subaru Legacy Outback – $2,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5 liter flat 4, 4 speed automatic, AWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 182,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yes, but the tags are long expired
Some years ago, my wife and I were circling a parking lot, looking for a free space. “There’s one,” I said, “between those Subarus.”
“You’ll have to be more specific,” she replied. “Every spot around here is between the Subarus.”
If there is an official car of the Pacific Northwest in general, and Portland in particular, it is the Subaru station wagon. Doesn’t matter if it’s a Legacy, an Impreza, an Outback, a Forester, or that big new Ascent — you just can’t escape the Subi wagon. Horizontally-opposed engines and all-wheel-drive are just the only way to fly for a lot of people around here. Often fitted with rooftop cargo boxes festooned with stickers, Subaru wagons occupy roughly 40% of any given New Seasons Market parking lot on any given day.
Needless to say, that popularity means you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to secondhand Subarus, but they also tend to be over-valued; this Outback is the cheapest good one I could find. It’s a late first-generation Outback, based on the second-generation Legacy wagon, and by this time Subaru had stopped shoving the wheezy little 2.2 liter engine in and switched to a dual-overhead-cam 2.5 liter unit (if it’s a flat 4, is that a dual-next-to-head-cam?). This one, as most are, is an automatic; Outback buyers aren’t often the row-your-own type.
Condition-wise, it doesn’t look bad at all, though the 2018 tags don’t inspire confidence. Has it been sitting all that time? Or has someone gotten away with driving it on expired tags that long? It’s a question worth asking. At least Oregon doesn’t demand back registration fees like California does, but it will have to pass a smog test.
So that’s it for daily driver week; it comes down to a boxy-but-good Volvo sedan or a don’t-lose-it-in-a-parking-lot Subaru wagon. The winner will face our three other finalists to vie for the coveted Shitbox Of The Week title. Stay tuned.
78 242 Portland driver says go for the volvo. All the parts are available and good shops around town to keep them running.
The Volvo does appear to an exceptional deal. Parts are quite a bit more expensive for these than Subarus though. On the Subaru, it’s almost impossible that this engine still has original head gaskets. Depending on when they were replaced, it may have the same, crappy, OEM gaskets installed that will leak again.. In more recent times, MLS (multi-layer steel) gaskets are available that solved the problem. Incidentally, the engine does not have to be removed to replace them. Unbolt the motor mounts, jack the engine up a bit and shove it to one side or the other to give working clearance to pull each head.
The 1986 Volvo 240 that I traded in towards a 2004 S40 in a fit of pique is one of my great regrets in life. I had dailied that 240 for many years, teaching all four of my kids to drive in it (stick shift, of course), took it on many road trips including ski trips traversing mountain passes in snow storms (who says you need AWD?) – it was wonderful. But then it started having a few problems and one day it dropped the tailpipe on the highway (disconnected from the front of the muffler) and I was forced to pull over and crawl underneath on the side of I-25 with traffic whizzing by and tie the pipe up with a wire coat hanger. I was already late for work and it pissed me off so much that I called in sick and took it directly to the Volvo dealer that was 5 minutes from the exit I pulled off near and traded it in. I never should have done it and I regret it to this day. Oh, and to make it worse, the S40 was a giant piece of shit – I’ll never forgive Ford for diluting the Volvo brand. My current C30 is one of the early Geely Volvos and it’s so much better. 6 years into owning it and I still love seeing it and driving it every single day.
love the look of the C30, but couldn’t fit in it and see past the side pillar. Also hated that radio.
My neighbour has 4 or 5 of them in his driveway that actually look good and run (probably a few more behind the house that don’t). Just an old guy who loves a very specific car. He knows everything about them, where they were made, interesting bits of trivia etc. My vote is for him!
240’s, because who would want that many Subaru’s!
Also, when is that comment edit button coming…
That Volvo is peak 240. Only thing that could make it better is the tomato red over black you could get at the time. Those stickers…… (chef’s kiss).
Old 2.5L Subaru boxer? Yeah, no thanks, I’ll get my milkshakes somewhere else.
“which like the rest of the car is built like a brick shithouse [Editor’s note: I don’t know what that last line means”: David… “she’s a brick! …houuuse! She’s mighty mighty!” This is oooooooobviously what Mark was referencing (he totally wasn’t, but I’m sticking to my guns [with my Thunderbird!]
I genuinely want to buy the 240 (unfortunately it is about a 3000 mile trip to Portland from where I live). I drove an ’87 240 for a few years in the late ’90s. It was a car I did not appreciate at the time (it was a hand-me-down from my brother who beat the hell out of it), but the interior and exterior styling grew on me after a while. My 240 was passed through several other relatives before it was totaled around 2010 or so; had it not been hit, I would have bought it back.
This particular 240 looks to be in decent condition (hopefully the pictures aren’t deceiving?), and would look good with minimal effort. If nothing else, just getting rid of those stupid bumper stickers would restore a lot of this vehicle’s dignity. I haven’t seen one that looks decent and runs for anywhere near $1500. I am genuinely surprised to see it for sale for this price. I don’t think it even qualifies as a shitbox.
my bet is the Volvo has that weird smell cars of a certain age get here in the Willamette Valley. It doesn’t go away.
I’ll take the certain engine death that comes with the Subaru over the uncertain death of everything that comes with the Volvo. Unless it’s an obvious unicorn, walk away from anything with more than three bumper stickers. Combine a rebuilt title with that many bumper stickers and you know there’s very little there that hasn’t been abused.
When the Subaru dies, drag it to a rust belt state and get your money back from someone willing to fix ‘er right up. When the Volvo dies, the salvage title and out of state origin will prevent you from doing the same.
This one was the hardest so far! Both are extremely good prices if all is as stated in the ads, so much so that my “too good to be true” sensor is going off a little, so I’m approaching both with a healthy amount of skepticism. Subarus in this condition on Portland Craigslist usually have a blown head gasket a this price, and its been ages since I saw a 240 in running condition and with decent paint for less than 3500.
I’ve got to go with the Volvo simply because it has more potential for appreciation and you might easily have a car that will go a long way without any major engine or transmission issues, whereas the Subaru is probably nearing some engine work based on the mileage of all of the “mechanics special” outbacks I’ve come across.
Two words: Head Gaskets
I’ll take the Volvo.
At 186,000 miles, they will already have been replaced. Otherwise, the car would never have gotten anywhere close to that mileage. The replacements are much sturdier than the originals, so if the car checks out otherwise I would not worry about it.
I’ve had 4 different subarus (2 imprezas and 2 foresters) and have not had any of them need head gaskets done. Now, that doesn’t mean they didn’t leak everywhere and smell like an oil rig, but I truly believe the hype around the head gasket issue is overblown.
Yep. Just keep a couple quarts of oil in the back, you’re good to go.
Mine’s an ’03 and while it did get very expensive for a bit around 100,000 miles (gaskets, timing belt, and more) once that all got sorted it’s been pretty trouble-free. I’m at 152,000 now and it hasn’t needed anything significant for several years, knock on wood.
The only thing that made me run from the volvo:
Rebuilt title (how was it done?) and the stickers are usually rust hole covers.
Granted either one is worth a shot at that price.
Yeah, rebuilt title got me too. Volvos are either a write off or they are not. Nothing in between. Maybe it was recovered from a theft, but who would have stole one? “Hey guys, let’s steal this and go for a joyless ride!”
Portland, land of the cheap interesting cars, and these were the two? That’s fine, these could be worse. I actually found a running/driving first generation Dodge Intrepid on there. Yikes! I’d go for the Volvo in this case. Dont feel like getting intimately close to a needy Boxer anytime soon.
There are a few Explorers with the OHV engine, those are pretty reliable and cheap to fix, as are the old square body Chevys and 80s-90s Ford pickups. Bad fuel mileage? Granted. Found a decent 1996 Accord in budget, and to show I’m not biased against all Toyotas:
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/cto/d/portland-toyota-tercel-1995-runs/7469306384.html
The Subaru is just begging for an fa24 swap. It’s a moot point as it’ll be stolen in Portland before anybody can legitimately come and pick it up.
I’m a little bitter, as I just lost my Subaru to the head gasket gods. It was a 5 speed, this particular outback driver was a row your own style.
Anyway, I vote for the Subaru.
oh HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL NO I don’t want that Subaru! The EJ25D is one of the worst engines ever made, possibly the worst Japanese engine of all time.
Impossible to work on due to the engine sitting against the frame, head gasket trouble, awful gas mileage, too.
Volvo wins by default.
Subaru: Let’s build engines with chronic head gasket issues.
Also Subaru: Step one of replacing the head gasket is removing the engine.
Although they’re not perfect, the Subie engines can be perfectly reliable if you replace the failure-prone head gaskets with the revised/fixed version. As far as engine removal is concerned, if you know what you’re doing, you can get them out in 45 minutes or less. If you’re totally new to them, it will take you about 90 minutes. Not a big deal at all.
It’s a lot more work than that! You also need to have the heads machined and often a new short block too. Subarus don’t tolerate sloppy machine work.
I had an ’87 Volvo 240 Wagon that was the absolute business. I do miss that car something fierce.
Here in the OG Portland Subarus are also ubiquitous and overpriced and Volvos are wildly disproportionately represented. It’s weird to go to other places in the country and see hardly any of those.
Volvo. That Subaru 2.5 is a ticking time bomb. Unless the first stop it visits is a garage to replace the head gaskets. And the seats in that era Subaru are horrid. Flat, hard, and they killed my back for any drive over 30 minutes.
Everyone keeps talking head gaskets but I’m sure those would’ve gone about 30k miles ago. Plugs aren’t thaaaat difficult to replace on a non turbo, though the 2.5 is tighter than the 2.2. Timing belt and water pump are really easy to do. Keep topping it off with oil and this Subaru will keep running for a long time.
I endorse this comment despite being a rabid anti-Subarist. 1998 was before the head gasket debacle. Best years were 2000-2004. After that things went to shit. I gave away my 72K mile 2007 Impreza I got so sick of fixing it.
lol you don’t know what your talking about . I love subarus grew up with them but they be blowing head gaskets forever. my 92 loyale is blown after it was already done . granted its made it to about 300k miles and the engine sounds smoother than any ej25. they all had had headgasket issues . my moms 2.2 blew the head gasket at 223k .
never assume works been done . and just cause it’s been done does not mean it wont blow again. unless MAYBE tripple layer steel gasket….
Yes, I switched to BMW to make up for the seat comfort. Limited have much better support in the leather seat than the base cloth ones.
My pick is the Subie.
DT. Spend your windfall on these two cars. The God of Rust decrees this must be done.
As I daily an ’88 245, and have for 26 years, I may be biased, but 240 all day.
I’ve looked at a lot of Subaru’s in that age and price point recently. I can almost guarantee the engine needs to come out to have a long list of leaks addressed, possibly including one or two head gaskets. Also, bring a code scanner. If the check engine light isn’t on, it’s burnt out.
I still went with the Subaru. Only because I know the disaster that awaits someone.
DT, brick shithouse means GOOD.
I’ll take the Subaru please
More precisely, overbuilt and/or durable. Able to withstand some abuse.
I’ve only heard it used in reference to attractive women, which makes your description coupled with my experience weird and super creepy.
It is really creepy that it means attractive for women while it means tough for men and items.
I have never heard of it in reference to attractive women, and damn all the implications of the term make that context extremely creepy.
Only people I hear it referred to is very large men, frequently body builders, who you would not want to get into fights with.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_House_(song)
“Ow, she’s a brick house
She’s mighty-mighty, just lettin’ it all hang out
She’s a brick house
That lady’s stacked and that’s a fact
Ain’t holding nothing back
Ow, she’s a brick house
Well put-together, everybody knows
This is how the story goes
She knows she got everything
That a woman needs to get a man, yeah, yeah
How can she lose with the stuff she use
Thirty-six, twenty-four, thirty-six oh what a winning hand
…
Ow, she’s a brick house
Yeah, she’s the one, the only one, built like an amazon
The clothes she wears, her sexy ways
Make an old man wish for younger days, yeah, yeah
She knows she’s built and knows how to please
Sure enough to knock a strong man to his knees…”
I have described people as built like a brick shithouse but in the context of sturdy. Of course, many people like a sturdy woman.
It’s something my grandpa used to say, and it stuck with me.
Yep, from my Aus perspective, toilets (or dunnies as they used to be called) were often in the backyard, and so what covered them was the cheapest, flimsiest, usually corrugated iron, structure. We’re talking about times Pre-WW2.
A brick one was therefore precisely as you describe.
Never heard it used about women, but as someone else says below, some people like sturdy women. Vive la difference and all that.
Yeah, brick shithouses are much more desirable than old rickety wooden ones.
(The saying was once explained to me as a way to say “built much better than it has to be built”, which makes using it as a compliment make sense.)
Over built by far , an outhouse can only be used for so long which is why you don’t usually build them to last forever. Outhouses are like hoopties, useful, but you use them up and move on, or fill it up and start over.
I went with the Volvo but under the condition that the owner throws in a bottle of Goo Gone.
Though I appreciate the very specific image that the bumper stickers provide – a dirtbike enthusiast who also likes sandwiches and older men – I think the limit for bumper stickers is two, lest you look insane.
I’ll take it. Stickers and all. I just remarked to sweetie that I didn’t need to decorate it, cause it has it ALL!
I’d go with the Volvo (currently own a v90 cc) but the rebuilt title sent me to the Subie.
Former coworker of mine had what internet car nerds (insert secret handshake here) consider the holy grail: a brown, manual Volvo wagon. Called it the Brick. Still ran well when he sold it (pre-2004) but he wanted something different. Bought and paid for an old school Land Rover Discovery to be transported to him. Loved it for a few months before it started having all sorts of typical LR issues. Over a beer he said he never should have sold the Volvo. Hell, it’s probably still running.
Volvo all the way. Great deal with the per sticker price.
As you said, the subies are everywhere and the volvo is just the more interesting ride. My 70’s 240 wagon had a manual (and the round headlights) and was SLOW but still had tons of character. My 16 year old daughter wishes I still had it so she could get it from me cheap, supports your assertion that they are still “cool”.
I have a few significantly younger friends – met them through a play a different friend was doing – and when we parked beside 240 wagon they all said it was very cool.
Which is hilarious, because when I was in high school (late 90s to early 00s) and kids were starting to get their first cars, 240 wagons were the single least cool car you could have. They were the canonical icon of an uncool car, and we all feared that our parents would force us to have one as our first car due to their reputation for safety. I still can’t get my head around the idea that they’re desirable now, although I suppose I also don’t fully understand why they were so uncool in my day—I guess just because they were so rectangular.
If your parents like it, it is not cool. This is the law of the teenager.
If a kid drives a Subaru, they borrowed Mom’s car. If they drive and old Volvo, they found it somewhere and it’s theirs now.
I understand why they were so uncool. For all their virtues, coolness was never one of them. They weren’t designed to be cool, they didn’t aspire to it, and the only cool people who drove them were the kind of cool that cares less than nothing about a cool image, which may be supremely cool on paper, but you’re still driving Aunt Janet’s cat-rescue taxi. They’re not fast, they’re not loud, they’re not showy. They’re sensible. They’re practical. “They’re boxy, but good.” Using “cool” to describe them is a perverse meta definition of cool that values Adlai Stevenson over Steve McQueen.
All that said, I ended up picking it over the Subaru, after briefly preferring the relative newness of the Outback. I usually won’t pick anything mid-80s over mid-90s, just because of smog issues, but that Volvo’s seats are so clean… and that Subaru engine is not something I want to deal with. Like, ever. My only Volvo experience is with a ’97 960 wagon, and it was kinda great.