Just Hop In And Go: 1996 Toyota Avalon vs 1996 Mazda B3000

Welcome to another Shitbox Showdown! Okay, so we’ve done two major projects this week, and two minor fixer-uppers yesterday; how about today we look at two nice reliable cars you could jump in and drive across the country in tomorrow for under 2 grand each? The hell, you say? Well, you be the judge.

Yesterday’s vote was a close one. I don’t know if that’s because the vehicles were evenly matched, or because you all just flipped a coin and let the law of averages do its thing. The Caravan won by a mere twelve votes, and I think that’s the one I would choose. I’m more convinced than some of you seemed to be that the Mitsubishi’s problem is a minor one, but 120,000 fewer miles means a lot.

Oh, and about that intermittently-working speedometer on the Caravan: No, the odometer should still read correctly. It’s digital in these vans, and both the odometer and speedometer pick up a signal from the vehicle speed sensor on the transmission. The speedometer is just an electrical gauge; it isn’t like the old cars with a cable that drives a mechanism. Unless the vehicle speed sensor goes bad (which triggers a code, turns on the “Check Engine” light, and causes all sorts of other problems like wonky shifting), the odometer should be displaying the correct miles, no matter what the speedometer needle is or isn’t doing.

You’ll have no such worries with today’s choices. Just hop in, turn the key, and go – at least, if the sellers are to be believed. It does help that both of these vehicles are known to be reliable and durable anyway. Let’s check them out.

1996 Toyota Avalon XL – $1,700

Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter dual overhead cam V6, four-speed automatic, FWD

Location: Beaverton, OR

Odometer reading: 252,000 miles

Operational status: “Runs and drives great”

When the Toyota Avalon came out, I didn’t really give it a second thought – but then, a 22-year-old guy who drove a beat-up Chevy Nova wasn’t exactly Toyota’s target demographic. I serviced plenty of them at the garage, but they barely registered as anything more than a “big Camry.” But now, all these years later, this first-gen Avalon seems like one of the greatest used car bargains of all time.

I mean, it’s not a dream car or anything, but it’s comfy, reliable, and somehow often cheaper than similar Camrys. It’s basically a Buick LeSabre, only it’s a Toyota. Only one engine/transmission combination was available: a 1MZ-FE six cylinder driving a four-speed automatic, not far off from the Buick’s 3800/4T60E combo. Some early Avalons even came with a bench seat and a column-mounted shifter. Toyota was really gunning for the golf-course set with this thing.

But even a die-hard American car guy like me has to admit that this looks better than damn near any Buick that’s north of a quarter million miles. It’s clean, straight, and hardly shows any wear. The seller hasn’t had it long, so I don’t know how much history they can provide, but they do say it just passed a smog inspection, which is something. Not even a Toyota lasts forever, of course, but you could probably get another couple years out of this thing without much trouble.

That does, of course, mean that you have to spend a couple years driving a beige Toyota Avalon. But at only seventeen hundred bucks for something this nice, it feels like a sacrifice worth making.

1996 Mazda B3000 SE – $1,750

Engine/drivetrain: 3.0 liter overhead valve V6, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Newberg, OR

Odometer reading: 162,000 miles

Operational status: “Ready to use”

Mazda and Ford’s small truck history crossed paths more than once. The Ford Courier sold in the 1970s was a badge-engineered Mazda B-series truck. In 1982, when Ford’s own Ranger compact pickup was introduced, Mazda contined to sell the B-series as a competitor. A decade later, the roles reversed, and the B-series truck in North America became the fraternal twin of the Ranger. This is a Ford, built in St. Paul, Minnesota; it just wears Mazda badges, and some slightly different (and to me, better-looking) sheetmetal and trim.

Mazda B-series model names reflect the engine displacement. This is a B3000, meaning it is powered by Ford’s “Vulcan” three-liter V6, the same engine as millions of Tauruses and Aerostars.  It’s a really good durable engine, and it gives a nice bump in power and torque over the four-cylinder, without being nearly as thirsty as the Cologne 4.0 liter V6. I guess you could say the Vulcan is the logical choice here. This one is backed by Mazda’s own M5OD five-speed manual, which is a good durable unit as well.

The ad for this truck is maddeningly terse, saying only that it “runs fine” and has “no major issues.” It’s a little banged-up outside, but the interior looks nice, and any good truck worth its salt should have a few dents. It goes with the territory. A good pre-purchase inspection would tell you everything you need to know, but at this price, a quick test-drive and poke around under the hood should suffice.

And if that weren’t enough, it’s an extended cab model, so you have a little more room to spread out, and a place to keep groceries dry. It’s tough, economical, decent-looking, and a stickshift; what more do you want?

New cars are too damn expensive; we know that. You can save a ton of money by driving cheap old clunkers, but the trick is to find the right one. Start with something with a good reputation, look for a nice clean example, and you’re ahead of the game. These two would do nicely. All you have to do is choose between the cushy old-man car and the happy little truck.

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)