Since most people buy normal new cars, the majority of what you’re going to see on a used car lot is just older normal cars. It’s not exciting, but at the same time, most normal used car buyers are also just looking for less expensive normal cars. It’s good for business to have a bunch of Nissan Rogues, Honda CR-Vs, and Chevrolet Equinoxes.
But every now and then, you spot something interesting sitting on a used car lot. On Wednesday, we asked you what cars you saw for sale that made you do a double take. Here are some of your answers.
If a manufacturer-dealer’s used car lots counts, then I would have to say the 2016 Volvo V60 Polestar in Rebel Blue at the Volvo/McLaren dealer near my office in 2020.
I say had, because I bought it the day after I first saw it, and I love it. After several years of causally looking for a fun daily, I wasn’t going to let this one pass.
Immediately took it on a 250 mile trip down PCH, and then a 1,000 mile trek into the Sierras the next weekend. What machine that someone abandoned at the dealer, their loss my gain.
We’ll allow it because, well, it’s a blue V60 Polestar. And great job buying it, too. It wouldn’t be surprising if whoever owned it before you spends every day regretting their decision.
Suggested by: Zach
A few months ago in CT, a friend and I were driving by a lot and he nudged me to notice a Lancia Montecarlo (Scorpion) sitting in the back. I’d never seen one in the wild before and had to stop and take a look. I don’t remember the price, but if I had anywhere to park it, I might well have driven it home.
Buying a used Lancia off a random car lot is probably sketchier than buying a used Lancia at all. But you never know, you could have gotten lucky.
Suggested by: Mungo Shuntbox
Great timing! This wasn’t because of the car itself, but the quantity. I was driving out to WV this past weekend and a random dealer just south of Cumberland, MD had no less than 10 New Beetles on their lot. I actually couldn’t count them there were so many. Unfortunately, their website only has two listed.
Now, you might say that is just a bit odd. But if you know Cumberland and the area to the South or really any direction you know that selling a New Beetle in this area can’t be easy. So to have 2 or 3 would be weird, but 10+? That makes no sense to me.
That’s just so many Beetles. Arguably, it’s too many Beetles. I wonder what ended up happening to them.
Suggested by: Big Block I-4
I saw a Bradly GT II a few weeks ago, thought it was some kit car and it was lol.
Looked it up and it’s based on the old Beatle, but looks like a poor man’s Porsche.
Kit cars are pretty much all sketchy, especially if you’re buying one that someone else put together themselves. But the Bradley GT II looks good enough to make it tempting anyway.
Suggested by: killerhurtalot4
I live in a semi-rural area and stopped by my favorite local “imports” used car dealer. They always have some interesting things on the lot but it’s usually things like older BMWs, Mercedes, etc. This time I ran across a Taycan GTS Sport Turismo in a gorgeous shade of bright blue. Not the type of thing I expected to see at a small, independent used car dealer...woof!
So you immediately bought it, right? Right? Please tell me you’re now the proud owner of a blue Porsche electric station wagon.
Suggested by: akkocha
There was a small dealer in Cumberland County South Jersey that specialized in air cooled VWs, and on occasion the odd rear engined Renault or Fiat.
One day (shortly before Christmas IIRC) I spotted something odd among the usual assortment of Beetles, Busses, and Type-3s.
Much to the annoyance of my then-girlfriend in the passenger seat, I turned the car around to get a better look.
What I saw was a Type-34 Karmann Ghia, something I had never encountered before.
I knocked on the door of the office, but no one was in.
When i went back a few weeks later, the Type 34 was gone. The dealer told me he sold it for less than he bought it for because the car was missing some parts unique to the car that were difficult to find.
Maybe a year later, I drove past the same dealer and again saw something odd. At first I thought it was a Corvair and dismissed it. A week later, I drove past again and noticed it was NOT a Corvair. It turned out to be a Hino Contessa:
I talked to the dealer (who remembered me asking about the Type 34) and offered to sell the Hino to me for $650.00. After noticing the rusty rocker panels, I passed on the car, because rust is the tool of the devil.
The place was gone by 1990. I think they built a Lowes or Home Depot where the lot used to be.
If only you’d come back the next day instead of waiting a couple of weeks, you could have been the owner of a gorgeous Type 34 that was missing some unique parts that are hard to find.
Suggested by: Earthbound Misfit I
Thats how i ended up with my Pajero. I was driving by some dealerhips near my house and saw the great RHD beast parked out fron of a used car dealer. Flipped around, dropped what i was doing and went and test drove it that minute.
I waited a week to buy it to make sure i wasn’t getting into something terrible, but all my research showed it was a great car. So far I’ve had it 2 years and its been trouble free and i just smile ear to ear driving it. My wife drives it to work every day, and gets compliments almost every time
Pajeros are awesome and still underrated. Glad to hear it’s been reliable, too. It gives the rest of us hope that one day we’ll find a trouble-free JDM import to buy ourselves.
Suggested by: the_AUGHT
A Zimmer Quicksilver in the used car lot of a Ford dealer in Kentucky.
i was extremely disappointed when I realized it was just a Fiero in drag.
At the time, the market for these things was probably at best slightly larger than the Quicksilver’s total production run. But come on. These things are zany and cool in their own way.
Suggested by: The Old Man from Scene 24
Unimog. I really, really wanted to ask for a test drive, but I didn’t have time to memorize the transmission diagram first.
Unimog!
Suggested by: Gubbin
Spotted this thing at a roadside lot (yes, that trailer was the lot office) on I-80 outside of Sacramento years ago. My parents bought an ‘81 Fairmont wagon (jalop special - brown, manual trans) new and they had a Durango in the showroom. I sat in it for at least an hour while my parents signed all the papers. I called the lot and they wanted way too much for it at the time. I have one now, but its a basket case.
It’s time to bring it back, Ford. You have a good thing going with the Maverick, but you can go smaller. Fight Dodge for the name. We believe in you.
Suggested by: dustynnguyendood
There was a small used car lot on the way to my in-laws. It’s small town Ontario, so everything was either an old Chrysler minivan or a pickup. They had a small amount of land across the road as overflow, and one day while driving by I saw it: a Z31 300zx (that looked exactly like the one pictured below).
It’s one of my favourite cars of all time, so I went way past double take and into “almost took out a mailbox driving off the road” territory.
I still think about that car to this day. It never sold. It just sat there in that overflow lot and was eventually overtaken by weeds and grass. I rationalize it by telling myself it was probably in the overflow lot because it was dead, but then I immediately think I could have gotten a deal and fixed it. Ugh.
Sure, you might have had to evict a family of rats, two possums, a raccoon and 10,000 spiders, but you know it would have been worth the effort to get it back on the road. (There’s a good chance it would not have been worth the effort to get it back on the road.)
Suggested by: dolsh
There was a Ferrari Mondial in what appeared to be in perfect condition at a small car dealership by me in St. Louis, MO. My kid and I would always gape at it when we drove by. It was there for years, and the other day we noticed it was gone. I’m still kicking myself for not at least stopping by to look at it and ask about the price. Now that my kid can sit in the front seat, having a functional back seat is much less important these days.
You probably dodged a massive bullet by not going in to ask about the price. Because it was probably low enough that you might have been able to talk yourself into buying a cheap Ferrari. But oh, what a fun bullet that could have been.
Suggested by: paradsecar
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