As a Jalopnik auto buying expert and a professional car dealer, I get emails. Lots of emails. I’ve picked out some of your questions and will try to help. This week we discuss incorrect entries for new Toyota Supras and find an “old school” but recent car.
First, how come I see a lot of four-cylinder Supras listed as six-cylinder cars?
I recently looked at 2021 Supras on AutoTrader and saw a lot of $ 42-45k I6 Supras. I was excited until I read the details. Many of these dealers list the Supra as a 2.0L 6-cylinder.
I count 17 within 300 miles of Austin, TX. Is this stupidity / ignorance or a tactic?
This isn’t just a Texas problem for Supras. I conducted this search nationwide and found a similar pattern of suspiciously cheap six-cylinder cars. When the options are filled in, you will see offers that look like this:
Then when you click on the listing, you’ll see the details – and that’s where the possible explanation comes into the picture.
G / O Media can receive a commission
It seems Autotrader is somehow labeling these cars as a 2.0-liter turbocharged six-cylinder, when we all know this is a four-cylinder model. If I do that nationwide search for six-cylinder Supras through Cars.com, and then sort by price from lowest to highest, I don’t get false matches for four-cylinder cars. All cars are correctly listed as Supra 3.0 models.
As for the explanation of whether these Autotrader entries are “stupidity / ignorance or a tactic”, it could be all of the above, but I suspect there is some bug in the Autotrader system mislabeling these cars. I contacted Autotrader to get an explanation and I will update the post if they respond.
Then, is it even possible to find a modern car without a lot of electronic functions?
“I’m currently driving a 2003 VUE that I bought two years ago, and I don’t really like driving an SUV. It was cheap ($ 1200 and roadworthy), but I want to drive again. I’ve never owned a car that was less than 10 years old in my life, and I despise all the technology I see in cars today. I want a basic FWD manual (NO CVT PLZ) preferably with manual windows and locks, no bluetooth / heated seats / cameras / GPS / sunroof. I keep looking around and I can’t figure out how to find vehicles that match my criteria. I can choose all of these options, but I cannot rule them out. Can you give some advice on where / how I search for cars that fit my preferences? Most sites have all these cool features that I hate, and I just want a simple barebones car, the less electronics the better. “
I don’t think you can buy a car made in the last four years that would meet those requirements. Reversing cameras have been mandatory for several years now and I am not aware of any modern vehicle sold new in the US without power windows. Bluetooth has been a feature on most vehicles since 2010. There are some “base” cars that are FWD and a manual trans shifter, but they will have some technical and features you don’t care about. Almost anything built even slightly recently won’t meet your requirements, so you may want to buy something from the early 2000s.
Do you have a problem buying a car that you need help with? Email me at [email protected]!