{"id":128031,"date":"2026-08-21T16:58:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T16:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/128031\/"},"modified":"2026-08-21T16:58:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T16:58:39","slug":"dodge-daytona-hyundai-sonata-isuzu-oasis-mazda-323-or-the-new-kid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/128031\/","title":{"rendered":"Dodge Daytona, Hyundai Sonata, Isuzu Oasis, Mazda 323, Or The New Kid?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m trying something new today. Instead of a straight Friday runoff like we\u2019ve done in the past, or two new outrageous or expensive cars, I\u2019m giving you the choice between one of the week\u2019s winners, or a new, fifth car. No scenario, no criteria, just pick the one you like best.<\/p>\n

I guess you really like the idea of a cheap extra car to mess around with, or it\u2019s totally lost on you. There\u2019s no in-between. For those of you who like the idea, the comments yesterday<\/a> were split pretty evenly between the Mazda and the Subaru. Those who were just looking for a decent cheap car overwhelmingly chose the Mazda, giving it an easy win.<\/p>\n

\"Vidframe<\/p>\n

\"Vidframe<\/p>\n

I like the idea of having something to mess around with, but I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s worth the extra hassle and insurance to actually buy one. If I did, though, the Mazda is the easy choice between these two. I\u2019m not a huge Subaru fan anyway, and that little Mazda 323 just feels more honest and trustworthy. That Subaru has been for sale for a long time, and based on the reactions to it here, I\u2019m not surprised.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s quickly recap the week\u2019s winners, and then I\u2019ll introduce you to the new guy.<\/p>\n

\"774184607Image: Facebook Marketplace seller<\/p>\n

This basest-of-base-model Daytona is by far the most expensive car here, but it\u2019s also by far the lowest mileage. It has just seven thousand miles on its odometer, and it sounds like most of those came from the second owner. What\u2019s the going rate for a thirty-six-year-old new Dodge? They don\u2019t come up for sale often enough to really establish an average price. It\u2019s a cool car, at least I think so, but you\u2019re either willing to pay almost ten grand for it or you aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"774787611Image: Craigslist seller<\/p>\n

If your favorite flavor is \u201cPlain\u201d and Cat Stevens is just too darn loud for you, I think I might have found you the perfect car. This Hyundai Sonata is so inoffensive that even Tipper Gore couldn\u2019t find fault with it. It\u2019s in excellent shape, has low miles, and is being sold for a decent price. What\u2019s not to like? Well, there\u2019s the danger of falling asleep at the wheel.<\/p>\n

\"774165409Image: Facebook Marketplace seller<\/p>\n

Used minivans can be really good used-car bargains, as long as you\u2019re willing to be seen in one, and as long as you can find one without half a box of Cheerios between the seats. This Isuzu Oasis seems to fit the bill. It\u2019s got a lot of miles on it, but it\u2019s a Honda in all but name, so miles aren\u2019t much of a concern. And if you don\u2019t need all those seats, you can always take them out and use it as a cargo van.<\/p>\n

\"774001002Image: Facebook Marketplace seller<\/p>\n

This little Mazda 323 looks like the perfect amateur rallycross car. It\u2019s cheap, lightweight, nimble, and already a bit beat-up. It wears snow tires that would work well as all-terrain tires too, and I have a suspicion it may have been lifted an inch or so already as well. Don\u2019t want to rallycross? No problem. Use it as a cheap commuter car.<\/p>\n

\"776305355Image: Facebook Marketplace seller<\/p>\n

Engine\/drivetrain: 1.0 liter OHC inline 3, five-speed manual, FWD<\/p>\n

Location: Cookeville, TN<\/p>\n

Odometer reading: 120,000 miles<\/p>\n

Operational status: Runs and drives \u201cdecent\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, you\u2019re seeing this right: Someone took a Metro and painted it like a Little Tikes Cozy Coupe<\/a>. Cute, right? I mean, I think I\u2019ve seen something like this before, but that\u2019s fine. I\u2019ve seen I don\u2019t know how many Herbies and General Lees (Generals Lee?) over the years; there can be more than one real-life Cozy Coupe. And of course, if you\u2019d rather just have a regular Metro, you can always take the emblems off and repaint it.<\/p>\n

\"778728001Image: Facebook Marketplace seller<\/p>\n

Power for the Metro comes from a suitcase-sized three-cylinder that I\u2019ve heard can be wrestled out of the engine bay without a lift by two strong guys, or one big weightlifter. It punches way above its weight, though; no one would ever call a Metro quick, but it feels quick, and you can mash the gas pedal into the floor and hold it there as long as you need to, and this car won\u2019t care. The seller says it runs \u201cdecent,\u201d but that it \u201cneeds a tune up.\u201d The check-engine light appears to be on, which indicates something might be going on. \u201cNeeds a tune up\u201d is starting to become the new \u201cair conditioning just needs a recharge,\u201d I think. Bring a code scanner, and proceed with caution.<\/p>\n

\"775998571Image: Facebook Marketplace seller<\/p>\n

The seller says the interior is almost perfect \u201cexcept headliner.\u201d It\u2019s falling down. But if that\u2019s the biggest issue inside, that\u2019s pretty good for a car as old as this. It\u2019s a pretty fancy Metro; it has air conditioning and a CD player. There\u2019s no word on whether either of them work, though.<\/p>\n

\"776253041Image: Facebook Marketplace seller<\/p>\n

Apart from the Little Tikes paint job, it\u2019s in good condition outside. It looks like they started with a red Metro and just painted the roof yellow, so returning it to red should be easy enough if you wanted to. Or just lean into the bit and let people point and smile as you go by.<\/p>\n

So what do you think? Is the Cozy Coupe-ified Metro a better deal than one of the week\u2019s winners? Or are you sticking with one of your earlier choices? And if so, which one? Take the weekend to decide, and I\u2019ll see you back here on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m trying something new today. Instead of a straight Friday runoff like we\u2019ve done in the past, or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":128032,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[46080,65516,65517,295,294,293,2282,65518,65519,46083,46084],"class_list":["post-128031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hyundai","tag-cars-for-sale","tag-chevrolet-metro","tag-dodge-daytona","tag-hyundai","tag-hyundai-group","tag-hyundai-motor-group","tag-hyundai-sonata","tag-isuzu-oasis","tag-mazda-323","tag-nosyndication","tag-shitbox-showdown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=128031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128031\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/128032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=128031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=128031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=128031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}