But first, let’s see which scooter you chose on Friday:
Yep, I suspected as much. And I agree. But to the commenter who voted for the Honda and invoked The Legend of Billie Jean in doing so, bravo. Fair is, indeed, fair. Now, to new business. You all like station wagons, right? How about broken ones? How about, um, colorful ones? Well, you’re in luck, because that’s what we’ve got today.
2005 Dodge Magnum R/T – $2,100
Engine/drivetrain: 5.7 liter OHV V8, 5 speed automatic, RWD Location: Milwaukee, WI Odometer reading: 110,000 miles Runs/drives? Nope, blown head gasket, and has been sitting for years The Dodge Magnum seems so good on paper. A rear-wheel-drive station wagon with a Hemi V8, and Mercedes-derived suspension? Where do I sign up, right? But the styling is weird. It always looked sort of squashed, like the front is too big for the rear, and the roofline is too low.
While lesser Magnums had either 2.7 or 3.5 liter V6s, this R/T model features eight hemispherical combustion chambers under its oddly-shaped hood. Unfortunately, this Hemi isn’t going to be lighting up any tires anytime soon; it has an unspecified leak in a head gasket, and has been parked in that state for a couple of years. I can’t imagine what leaving a car to sit with water in the oil for “a year or two” does to it, but I can’t imagine it’s anything good.
This car is also filthy inside, and the exposed speaker wires (or whatever they are) don’t speak too highly of its condition either. It’s all fixable, I imagine, but is it worth it? You decide.
But first you’ll have to extricate it from a garage full of crap. [Ed note: A V8 wagon for $2,100. Hot damn. I’d almost be willing to deal with cave-wall-hard interior plastics. -DT].
2001 Ford Focus Wagon – $1,500
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter inline 4, 4 speed automatic, FWD Location: Decatur, GA Odometer reading: 138,000 miles Runs/drives? Yep, great! You don’t see too many Focus wagons. And it’s kind of a shame, because they’re a good useful size: not too big and not too small. The Focus’s styling isn’t to everyone’s taste, but it doesn’t look nearly as weird today as it did when it first came out.
At least, most Focus wagons don’t look weird. This one? Well, as you can see, it features an interesting custom paint job. Someone attacked it with three cans of Krylon, and the results are not attractive. I thought maybe the colors were meant to represent some country’s flag, but to what end I can’t be sure. Food delivery, perhaps? But is it likely there is a Guinean restaurant in Georgia that delivers? In any event, you’re not likely to lose it in a parking lot. Okay, you’re thinking: Yes, it’s painted in three different colors, including the rear windows. I can live with that. You can’t see the crazy colors from the inside, right?
Guess again. Whoever painted this thing was dedicated.
The good news is that it runs well, has low miles, and is a just-right-sized wagon. You just have to accept a little spray paint in your life. But hey, at least it isn’t beige, right? One of them could be fun to drive, but doesn’t run. The other runs great and is very practical, but hurts to look at. Sorry, you gotta choose one. What will it be?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers) So, I would definitely choose Magnum over Focus. But we gotta choose. And one actually runs, which pretty much does it. Plus most Magnums have been used to kill a guy. Also, I owned a Focus wagon, and it was wonderful. Way more personality than you would think. Mine had a manual, which goes a long way, but still. I’ve still never encountered anything that’s not a van with more useable cargo space. Electrical gremlins popped up and forced a sale, but that thing was a goddamn smile-mobile. Miss it. And at the end of the day, you’ll have a much more enjoyable vehicle than the Focus Wagon. And I say that as someone who previously owned a Focus Wagon. The Focus Wagon is a decent practical car… but the Chrysler LX cars are way nicer in every way. The only downside is you’ll spend more on fuel.
