Best car to sit at the airport

TexasAviation

TexasAviation

Pre-takeoff checklist
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TexasAviation
Right now, I keep an old '94 Mazda Miata parked at the airport in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It's a pretty place to fly to (about a 90 minute flight from my home base) and it's nice to have a fun sports car to drive around the hills there any time I want.

Plus old Miatas are so cheap, it doesn't bother me to have it rot uncovered in the weather (free parking in the airport parking lot!) It's crazy reliable. It starts right up every time, even if it's been a couple of months since I've driven it. And it's a convertible :)

So it's pretty much the perfect sit-at-the-airport car for me. Doesn't look like much, but puts a smile on my face.

What's your favorite car to play that role? I think an airport car should be interesting/fun, somewhat reliable and dirt cheap, in that order. If I ever wanted a four-seater on the ground, some I'd think about (all old cars):

— Saab 900 or Volvo wagon
— Jeep Wrangler or Land Rover Discovery or maaaaybe a ratty Range Rover (not sure it would meet the reliability need, though)
— This awesomely nerdy Toyota Tercel with AWD, a manual transmission and PLAID SEATS!!! http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-toyota-tercel-sr5-4wd-wagon/
— A late '90s/early '00s pimpin' grandma Cadillac
 
1970 Ford Galaxie Town and Estate wagon with simulated wood grain on the sides....

With a solar power battery charger to keep the battery up.
 
A 1951 Henry J that smokes, has a loud hole in the muffler, a baooga horn and wont shift without grinding.
 
The Miata is a good choice for everything you described but they're just so... Miata-ish. I'd go for a first or second generation MR2 instead if it were me.
 
TexasAviation said:
Right now, I keep an old '94 Mazda Miata parked at the airport in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It's a pretty place to fly to (about a 90 minute flight from my home base) and it's nice to have a fun sports car to drive around the hills there any time I want.

Plus old Miatas are so cheap, it doesn't bother me to have it rot uncovered in the weather (free parking in the airport parking lot!) It's crazy reliable. It starts right up every time, even if it's been a couple of months since I've driven it. And it's a convertible :)

So it's pretty much the perfect sit-at-the-airport car for me. Doesn't look like much, but puts a smile on my face.

What's your favorite car to play that role? I think an airport car should be interesting/fun, somewhat reliable and dirt cheap, in that order. If I ever wanted a four-seater on the ground, some I'd think about (all old cars):

— Saab 900 or Volvo wagon
— Jeep Wrangler or Land Rover Discovery or maaaaybe a ratty Range Rover (not sure it would meet the reliability need, though)
— This awesomely nerdy Toyota Tercel with AWD, a manual transmission and PLAID SEATS!!! http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-toyota-tercel-sr5-4wd-wagon/
— A late '90s/early '00s pimpin' grandma Cadillac
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Saab 900 or Volvo wagon <---pricey if they do need service
— Jeep Wrangler or Land Rover Discovery or maaaaybe a ratty Range Rover (not sure it would meet the reliability need, though) <--Wranglers hold their resale very well and would not be good candidates; LRs are hideously expensive to repair
— This awesomely nerdy Toyota Tercel with AWD, a manual transmission and PLAID SEATS!!! http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1983-toyota-tercel-sr5-4wd-wagon/ <--that might work
— A late '90s/early '00s pimpin' grandma Cadillac <--that too, although too many electrical things to break

My recommendation would something like a PT Cruiser. They're not very popular, cheap to acquire, parts are available, and you won't have to worry about the locals wanting to joyride it or lift it for its rims. It's a four door so it can carry more than just you and a friend.
 
rachelk.tailwinds said:
The Miata is a good choice for everything you described but they're just so... Miata-ish. I'd go for a first or second generation MR2 instead if it were me.
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Si! Senor de dos. Bueno.
 
Zeldman said:
1970 Ford Galaxie Town and Estate wagon with simulated wood grain on the sides....

With a solar power battery charger to keep the battery up.
Click to expand...

I've owned, or been a partner in, half a dozen airport cars over the years. The best one, by far, was a '73 Ford LTD. Four of us threw in $200 apiece to buy it and we kept it at GTF from 1980 until the early '90s.

Big car, comfortable, dead nuts reliable and the AC worked.

Mark
 
coloradobluesky said:
A 1951 Henry J that smokes, has a loud hole in the muffler, a baooga horn and wont shift without grinding.
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I didn't know any were still alive!!!. About that time, I lived across the street from a Henry J distribution lot in KCMO. One of my high school friends had one. It was interesting to get three of us and three Sousaphones into it to get to high school band parades.

Thanks for stirring some memories.
 
Whatever is cheap! I don't go to any one airport often enough to need my own car waiting, though.
 
mkosmo said:
Whatever is cheap! I don't go to any one airport often enough to need my own car waiting, though.
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Cheap...and resellable.
When I used to ride a motorbike to the office and needed transportation from there to the three hospitals I rounded at (and needing to carry stuff) I bought an old 3 series BMW and was able to sell it a few years later at no loss
 
wrbix said:
Cheap...and resellable.
When I used to ride a motorbike to the office and needed transportation from there to the three hospitals I rounded at (and needing to carry stuff) I bought an old 3 series BMW and was able to sell it a few years later at no loss
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Bigger saddle bags would be cheaper, but a doc needs a beamer ;-)
 
Started with a 1980 Olds Omega, lasted a few years. Then an '88 Rivera that ate itself one day leaving the airport on the interstate, timing belt/chain went.Then a land yacht 80s-something Olds Delta 88, last American car I have owned since, except for an old El Camino. Best was, ready for it Rachel? A 1999 Miata! Lasted a long time, reliable, and traded it in on a truck (Frontier)after 12 twelve years of use. Last car was a 2008 Honda S2000, which I only used occasionally for no more than a 4 day sit at the airdrome. What a car, a "super Miata" if you will. And fun fun fun!
 
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wrbix said:
About as old and faded as I. :yes:
Bimmer, BTW.
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I personally prefer the look of the older ones, anyways, but they're not my style anyhow. Around here, most folks but a 3 series when they get their first grown up job as a rite of passage, it seems... Lots of money around Houston lol
 
I tried to keep one at an airport for convenience, but it's just not good for any car to sit.

In the end, I gave up and just take the courtesy car. The airport I frequent has three, so I tell them I need to keep it a few days and then tip the manager a hundred bucks cash when I bring it back clean and full of gas. They don't mind at all.

Much cheaper and many less headaches than trying to maintain one.
 
NoHeat said:
Yes, since you're talking about cars in this thread.

Bimmer = BMW car

Beemer = Beamer = BMW motorcycle
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I didn't know BMW made cars! - that, of course, being our old rejoinder to the un-informed.
 
2001 VW Cabrio. Actually we are listing our airport car for sale since we moved to the beach. No longer a need for weekend transportation.
 
I left a 1993 Mazda protege sitting in a field for a year or two. We hooked up jumper cables, pulled the center cable on the distributor cap, cranked for 10 seconds, connected the center cable, then cranked it again. It started right up!
Stick shift, crank windows, and reliable.
 
When I worked line service two that stuck out to me were a Plymouth Prowler and an Audi R8 that guys kept in their hangars.
 
TexasAviation said:
— Saab 900 or Volvo wagon
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Funny. I used to have a Volvo 245 at the airport.



Whatever you use, the less electronics the better. Some cars eat their battery just from sitting.
 
Kiddo's Driver said:
I left a 1993 Mazda protege sitting in a field for a year or two. We hooked up jumper cables, pulled the center cable on the distributor cap, cranked for 10 seconds, connected the center cable, then cranked it again. It started right up!
Stick shift, crank windows, and reliable.
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Used to have one of those as spare car. 190k miles, no maintenance but it kept running. Valve stem seals were shot, so if you started it up after a week or two, it would envelop the neighborhood in blue smoke :lol:
 
1991 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser (see avatar at left). Most reliable car ever. Sits for weeks and months at a time, untouched, solar panel, always starts, always serves, smooth, quiet, big, comfy, not terribly bad on gas mileage, coolest car in the county.

Also favor Ford Crown Victoria / Mercury Grand Marquis.
 
I keep a 03 Buick Century at the airport which I fly to weekly. Bulletproof.
 
I'll cast a vote for any of the Buick LeSabre model years with the 3800/3300 series V-6.
 
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We seem to be drifting away from the OP's desire to have a car that's fun to drive. Old Amurricun Iron - not so much.
 
Non turbo saab 900 hatchback. 1992 or earlier.

I had one I should have kept as an airport car. They can be bought for $1500 in good shape. Lots of room, good handling.
 
Mercedes 300D W123 ... Not sure if this is cheap or cheap to fix now, but reliable and cool :) Wagon for the extra coolness factor.

Anything Japanese from the late 80s to early 90s is simple, usually cheap, and super reliable. Rust holes only give it more character! Or something like a Ford Ltd.
 
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EdFred said:
Wagon Queen Family Truckster.
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Heh. Beat you to it. See post #4.

The upshot, and I'm actually serious about this, is to use the ugliest POS you can find that can actually survive the conditions. Like a $500 fuel injected Bronco II. I had one of those once, and I occasionally parked it in front of junkyards in Oakland with a broken ignition switch that would start the vehicle with no key. And it never got stolen. Really ugly, and surprisingly capable. The best part is, I got it for free 'cause the previous owner didn't want to be seen in it. I put almost 200K miles on it before I had a kid and my wife made me get something with four doors.
 
rachelk.tailwinds said:
The Miata is a good choice for everything you described but they're just so... Miata-ish. I'd go for a first or second generation MR2 instead if it were me.
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Well, you have good taste, I will say that. Both are pretty bullet proof, and a lot of FUN!
 
The Bronco II's didn't look *that* bad. The F-150 version did look better however.
 
Anthony said:
Well, you have good taste, I will say that. Both are pretty bullet proof, and a lot of FUN!
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Are they *really* bulletproof? I mean, I am pretty sure a .40S&W would penetrate any of the body panels.
 
Can a normal healthy American male actually fit in a newer Miata?
I remember trying to sit in one at the Auto show a few years ago, and could fit as long as the door didnt close and the top was down.
 
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