Another week means another entry into our series featuring the sweet cars we found for sale online.
To compile this list, I search as much of Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist as I can for interesting vehicles that don’t cost a lot. They may be hilariously unreliable, remarkably unique, questionably tuned, or maybe something else that stops me in my tracks. Prices for some particular cars are trending higher due to the pandemic, but I think some good deals are still out there.
The Subaru Baja is a weird little sort of pickup that pays homage to off-road race trucks while being a bit of a spiritual successor to the Subaru Brat. Its bed is 3.5-feet long and there’s a passthrough to the trucklet’s interior.
This Baja has high-mileage at 196,000 miles, but it sports a manual transmission and is said to be in excellent condition. It’s $5,000 on Facebook Marketplace in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
The Mazda RX-7 is a car loved by enthusiasts of all sorts of disciplines. I’ve seen RX-7s used as rally cars, drift cars, track toys and of course, grocery getters. The little Wankel rotary engine under the hood may require some special attention to keep running, but can you really say no to a car rocking three-spoke wheels, presented without rust?
This RX-7 is $5,500 on Facebook Marketplace in Perrysburg, Ohio, with 126,000 miles on the odometer.
Here’s a car that most people will probably remember dressed up in a taxi livery in any one of America’s cities. However, Checker Motors didn’t just build cars for Checker Taxi and other liveries; they built some cars for regular public consumption. This Marathon is one of them. This car is said to have never been in taxi service.
It’s said to run, but need some finishing to be perfect. It’s $5,000 on Facebook Marketplace in Lapeer, Michigan.
The Yamaha YSR50 is a rad little motorcycle that was a pint-sized sportbike. They were basically road-legal pocket bikes, and they looked a lot like the big race bikes of the era.
These adorable things are pretty rare nowadays and this one is a bit more special than the rest. The old 50cc engine is gone and a 170cc two-stroke engine sits in its place. This is a 50cc-sized motorcycle that can break highway speed limits. This sounds absolutely stupid and I love it so much.
If you’re brave enough for this much punch in this small of a package, it’s $3,999 on Facebook Marketplace in Edgerton, Wisconsin, with 3,273 miles.
I love old commercial trucks, especially when they’re cabovers. This one not only hits both of those marks, but it comes painted in a dashing yellow hue on its aluminum cab. It’s a little rough around the edges, but is said to run and drive. Under the cab sits a Cummins 400 diesel and it’s bolted to a manual transmission with 13-speeds.
These Class 8 trucks are rarely found on the road nowadays, but they can sometimes be found doing farm duty.
This Transtar II is for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Toledo, Ohio, for $5,800.
This Toyota Previa has all of the ingredients for solid fun. It’s a mid-engined minivan with a stubby nose, a supercharger and all-wheel-drive. What’s not to like? Alright, maybe it’s the horsepower. Despite the supercharger, the 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder only puts out about 161 HP. Still, the Previa is becoming a bit of a classic in this age where Radwood cars are popular. This one also has leather. These also make decent off-roaders with mild mods.
This Previa is $3,500 with 214,000 miles on Facebook Marketplace in Califon, New Jersey.
The Fiat 500 Abarth is a hot hatch that many readers love, and it’s this week’s enthusiast car. The Abarth has a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder attached to a manual transmission and it makes all the glorious raspy noises you crave from an Italian car.
This one has about 76,000 miles on the odometer and is said to have some tasteful mods. These include a Stage 3 clutch, short shifter, stainless steel exhaust and more. It’s $7,500 on Facebook Marketplace out of Pittsburg, Kansas.
The Solstice is one of the weirder cars to be produced by Pontiac in its final years. Built on the GM Kappa platform, this car shares its underpinnings with the equally awesome Saturn Sky and Opel GT. But this one is even cooler as it’s in GXP guise. That means it has the 2.0-liter Ecotec engine pumping out 260 HP. That makes this yellow roadster pretty quick.
It’s $9,500 on Craigslist in Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, with 103,000 miles.
The final vehicle on this list is BMW’s attempt at building a cruiser with BMW style. It’s not a motorcycle I’d call beautiful but it’s definitely something different if you don’t want a Harley or even a Japanese cruiser.
It has all of 6,577 miles on its odometer, so if you’re looking for a practically new Montauk, this may be the ticket. It’s $7,800 on Facebook Marketplace in Brooklyn, Wisconsin.
That’s it for this week! Have you purchased a car from one of these posts? If so, I want to know.
If you now of a weird car for sale on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, drop it down in the comments or send it along in an email! If the car’s still for sale, we may feature it on a future post.