I Was Totally Wrong About California Craigslist - The Autopian (2024)

Making the move from Detroit to California is wild as a car enthusiast, because it’s a shift from one Motor City to another, and it wasn’t immediately clear to me which elements of car culture would be stronger where. So far, I’ve found that the junkyards in California offer much better vehicle options, though at ridiculous prices that make Michigan yards slightly better overall. In addition, I’ve found that, while the cars are nicer at California car shows, the car shows themselves aren’t as inclusive/accessible as they are in Michigan. But what about actually buying cars? Coming to California, I was almost certain that finding good deals in the state would be way, way tougher. For one, Michigan’s Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace was absolute fire, filled with smoking hot deals that pretty much fueled my life and career for a decade. Two, everything is expensive in California, so surely the cars are, too. But boy was I wrong. Way wrong. California’s Craigslist and Facebook Marektplace are the best on earth.

California is expensive. Rent for my two-bedroom apartment is over two grand, eating a meal for under $20 is borderline impossible if you’re not buying from a food truck, gas is $5.40 a gallon, taxes are ridiculous, and I could go on and on. Michigan, meanwhile, is cheap; I paid $835 a month for a two-bedroom, two-garage house on half an acre. That’s just amazing. Gas is currently $3.70 a gallon, you can get cheap food at Coney Island diners, taxes aren’t absurd — it’s an amazing place to live if you want space and nice things. And it’s also an amazing place to buy cars.

Trust me, I would know. Buying cars was almost a monthly occurrence for me back when I lived in Troy, MI:

OK, so lots of my were crusty, but they were dirt cheap and still awesome despite their ferrous weight-savings. And did I mention they were dirt cheap? Because that’s the ticket, here. In Michigan, you can buy interesting cars for pennies.

And you know what? You can do the same in California. Maybe the price “floor” is a tiny bit higher, but the value — the amount of car you get per dollar — is way, way better in LA, and I wasn’t expecting that.

The fact that you can get a Jeep Wrangler this good for $6000 is incredible to me given where the vintage Jeep market has gone.

4.0, 5spd, beautiful paint, zero rust: The YJ remains the ultimate Jeep deal despite the wacky car market. pic.twitter.com/DMkJi1g2Kt

— David Tracy (@davidntracy) October 30, 2023

Take my Jeep Wrangler YJ, which I bought for about $6000 once I sold the hardtop and full-doors it came with. Six grand. That’s an absolutely insane deal for a 4.0-liter, five-speed YJ, especially without rust. You will not find that deal in Michigan. I’ve looked.

The one above looks in decent shape, but it’s modified and costs $9000. Then there’s this “showroom” condition one for $10,900:

And even it appears to have some rust on the frame:

Oh wow, what about this 1991 Jeep Wrangler Renegade for only $5000? It looks nice; was I wrong about Michigan Craigslist/Facebook Marketplace after all?

Oh wait, no, this picture is just a photo “showing goal when finished.” Classic.

The rest of the listing barely shows the car in its current state; it instead seems to focus on the seller’s children (?), one of whom is apparently fixing a motorcycle behind the Jeep? It’s an odd listing.

But my point spans beyond my Jeep; just look at this amazing Nissan Stanza:

It’s not perfect, with a failing throwout bearing, but $2800 bucks for a rust-free Stanza with only 100,000 miles ain’t bad, especially given the shape of this interior:

Check out this Isuzu Trooper. Does it cost a bit more than a typican Michigan Trooper? Yes. But it’s clean, it’s got relatively low mileage on the clock, and if you can negotiate a few hundred off, you’d end up with an awesome, unique overlander for a good price:

Or you could buy this Pathfinder for just over four grand — stickshift, 170,000 miles, looks awesome:

If you want to be a bit more efficient,here’s a decently low-mileage (for a Toyota) five-speed Toyota Rav 4 for just $5,500:

I like those early Japanese manual SUVs; the CR-V is cool, too. Here’s one for $4,500:

If you need even more efficiently, this 1977 Honda Accord CVCC in what appears to be awesome shape is just eight grand:

Another way to save money at the pump is to pick up this sweet Peugeot 505 Diesel for only $3,500!:

Or you could snag this Plymouth Colt in gorgeous condition for only $2,850!::

If sporty vintage luxury is more your speed, here’s a 1970 Volvo P1800E in OK shape. These are usually way, way pricier:

Actually, hold on, I just found an absurd deal in Michigan; the engine isn’t in the car, and there’s tons of work needed, but for Michigan, this looks like a smoking hot deal and one of you, dear readers, needs to buy it:

If air-cooled is the only way you like your engines, California rules. Look at these nice VW Type IIIs for about seven large:

And here’s a Type 4 for just $3,800; when was the last time you saw one of these?

And of course the Beetles are just downright hilariously cheap out west:

Cars Survive Here, But They Can Also Be A Burden. Therefore, They’re Cheap

My assumptions about things being more expensive is LA were right. Food and housing and all that isn’t cheap. But this really doesn’t apply to quirky enthusiast cars that aren’t really considered classics, but rather just cool machines that we weirdos love.

The truth is, space in LA is at a premium. Between that and the absurd price of fuel and the high price of vehicle service (and difficulty of servicing a vehicle yourself, since few folks can afford garages), for many a car is just a huge burden. I’m not saying people sell their cars so they can take public transport, because LA public transport is not great. What I’m saying is that broken cars or second cars that have to be street-parked are often just a huge pain in the ass, so people need them gone. Add the fact that the extra cash helps pay exorbitant bills, and the fact that there’s less scarcity here since the vehicles didn’t rot away into a pile of rust 25 years ago, and it makes sense why California vintage cars are so affordable.

I got a free Nash Metropolitan because its owner wanted it gone. That happens a lot in LA, and if you’re looking for a smoking hot deal, someone else’s inconvenience can mean a great deal for you.

Images: Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace