Honda Beat, FireAero Trike, Ford Taurus SHO: The Dopest Vehicles I Found For Sale Online

PublishedDecember 8, 2020

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Image for article titled Honda Beat, FireAero Trike, Ford Taurus SHO: The Dopest Vehicles I Found For Sale Online — Photo: Craigslist (Other)

Another week has passed and that means another week of sweet cars found online that I wish I could own. I like finding cheap used cars that can either be daily driven right away or daily driven after minor work. Over the past couple of years I’ve turned it into a bit of a skill.

I search as much of Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist as I can for interesting vehicles that don’t cost a lot of money. They may be hilariously unreliable, unique, tuned or maybe something that stops me in my tracks. While I am based in the Midwest, I also see what I can find across the country. Sadly, prices for a few models are trending higher so it’s getting really hard to find absurdly cheap cars, but I’m trying anyway.

Here are nine vehicles I’ve found that I’d drive or that I judge to be solidly Jalop in one way or another. I really have an itch to try to buy one of these.

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2009 Nissan Cube

The Nissan Cube is a properly wacky car. Take a boxy toaster shape, add in a ton of squircles and asymmetry. In a world where every car looks similar, I think a car like the Cube is still a breath of fresh air. These are pretty roomy as well. A more expensive Cube was deemed No Dice earlier this year, so how about very cheap?

This particular example has a few problems, but none of them seem like that huge of a deal. You could drive it as-is or have those issues repaired and still have a cheap car. It’s $2,500 on Facebook Marketplace in Mt. Pulaski, Illinois.

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1999 Porsche Boxster

The Porsche Boxster is a solidly fun way to get into a Porsche without going bankrupt. Prior to COVID-19, I’d seen some beater Boxsters hit that magical $1,000 mark. While used car prices have spiked pretty much across the board, Boxster 986 prices remain pretty affordable.

This example clocks in at about 122,000 miles and comes with a gorgeous interior. It looks like the driver seat needs repair, so you may be able to use that in negotiating a better price. This Boxster is $5,800 on Facebook Marketplace in St. Louis, Missouri.

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1984 Honda VF1000F Interceptor

There aren’t many V4 engines in the world, but one place you’ll find them is lodged into a motorcycle frame. This 1984 Honda VF1000F Interceptor has Honda’s 998cc, 113-horsepower V4 engine, and the whole motorcycle comes wrapped in a gorgeous red, white and blue color scheme. I just love looking at these motorcycles. They don’t just look good, either; listen to the noises they make!

Definitely a departure from the sound of an inline four. This beautiful machine is $3,400 on Facebook Marketplace in Jefferson, Ohio.

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1976 Fire Aero Trike

This one is pretty far out in left field, for sure. What you’re looking at here is a 1976 Fire Aero trike. (Actually a reverse trike, with the two wheels in front.) The Fire Aero was a kit sold in the 1970s and designed to be paired to the powertrain of a motorcycle. This one has the heart of a Honda Goldwing GL1000. That flat-four engine gives it around 82 horsepower. It’s in remarkably good shape for its age, though the interior leaves much to be desired.

The seller wants $9,500 for it. When the kit was new it was $1,995 (about $9,000 in today’s money) and the donor Goldwing would have been at minimum $2,960 (about $13,545 today). In theory that makes this a deal, but it’s hard to gauge the value of a DIY kit vehicle like this. I found a Facebook group of Fire Aero owners and it seems the price is about right, if not cheap for one of these. Either way, it’s $9,500 on Facebook Marketplace in Irwin, Pennsylvania.

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2001 Volkswagen Beetle TDI

I want to refrain from adding too many Volkswagens to these things. However, through the post about my silly bagged Jetta I learned you readers actually have an interest in diesel Beetles. Here’s a cheap Bug that I think is a decent deal.

Of the diesel Beetles I’ve found around the nation, the super cheap ones were some combination of worn out, rusty and broken. This one is reportedly none of those things. It has 130k miles on it (nothing for these engines) and spent most of its life in Florida. It looks good and comes with a manual transmission.

I’d ask the owner for more photos, but I think it’s a winner for the price. It’s in Bourbon, Indiana, on Facebook Marketplace for $3,200.

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1991 Honda Beat

It recently hit me that I could actually import a car from Japan if I wanted to. Cars like the Suzuki Cappuccino and the Autozam AZ-1 are great, but they’re skyrocketing in value. The Honda Beat is relatively cheap while being an awesome car. I’m still debating between importing one myself — I have a lawyer for all the hard stuff — and buying one that’s already Stateside.

The Beat is an adorably tiny convertible with a mid-rear engine, and it’s so much fun you probably cannot hop in it without a smile on your face. This example is pretty cheap and reportedly only needs a couple of minor cosmetic fixes. It’s being sold by the Import Guys on Craigslist for $5,950 in Ferndale, Washington.

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2008 Chevrolet HHR SS

I think the Chevy HHR is a cooler car than we all remember. This one is even cooler than a regular HHR with its 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. That engine lays down 260 horsepower through a manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. It’s good for a 6.3-second sprint to 60 miles per hour. That’s not bad for a vehicle officially classified as an SUV. These have a pretty typical mid-2000s GM interior, so temper your expectations there.

This example has just under 100,000 miles and is in remarkably good shape. I found a few SS-badged HHRs for less, but all had some catastrophic issues. It’s $5,100 on Facebook Marketplace in Bloomington, Illinois. It’s been for sale for a while so you may be able to get a good deal on it.

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1996 Ford Taurus SHO & 1989 Ford Taurus SHO

To round out this list we have a couple of oddballs. The third-generation Ford Taurus SHO is an interesting vehicle. It has a 3.4-liter V8 engine developed in part by Yamaha and Cosworth. The end result is a pretty quick sleeper of a family sedan. It should be noted that camshafts in these engines can separate from their sprockets, causing an engine failure. However, that’s an issue rectified with a weld.

This car was the first and last time the Taurus had a V8. The styling and lack of a manual aren’t for everyone and that may be part of why these aren’t as valuable as previous generation Taurus SHOs. That said, it seems well-sorted examples are beginning to sell for far more than the asking price of this one — $1,300 on Facebook Marketplace in Chicago, needing only minor work.

If that ’96 is too much of a jellybean, there’s a very clean 1989 first-generation SHO for sale on Craigslist in Sacramento, California, for $5,100.

This one has a manual transmission and a Yamaha-built V6. This example only has 50,000 miles. According to the owner it was a promotional car for Ford but I haven’t been able to find anything to back that up. (H/T to Nick Allain)

That’s it for this week! I have quite the urge to retire my Ford E-350 Powerstroke rally van and pick up that Honda Beat. I’ve wanted one for a while, and I can actually swing it now. You must save me by buying it first!

If you have any sweet car finds on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, drop them here or in my email.

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