This is gonna be a polarizing take because 1) they don’t actually make cars, so much as heavily modify them and 2) very very few people here will actually agree, but it took me a really long time to get to this point and I have to give credit where credit is due.

You’re probably thinking of one car company but it is definitely not that one. What I’m thinking of is Mansory.

Now you’re probably thinking, “dude, nobody should be buying these statement pieces for insecure egocentric blowhards with money that outnumbers sense 1,000,000-to-1″ but lemme tell you, there are very very few people who are willing to hack apart rare, exotic unobtainium and turn it into even rarer, exotic (and oftentimes uglier) unobtainium. If I was buying a completely bespoke one-of-one car that can be a better representation of my flaccid and shallow personality than I could ever be, I’m asking these guys to hack apart my nonexistent Ferrari or Lamborghini into a hodgepodge of forged carbon, chameleon paint, and unnatural cyan-colored leather that nobody else will have.

Let’s be real too. There are tons of car companies that do this, and they are specialists. There’s at least a dozen for classic Porsches and Ferraris and other niche cars like Subaru (Prodrive), Lancia (Kimera, Automobili Amos), Alfa Romeo (Totem), but when you’re talking about so many different rabbit holes for people doing what is essentially the same exact thing, who among them is standing out when the color-shifting widebody Urus Coupe shows up? Drive a Matchbox car or a Hot Wheels car. They’re both relative versions of cool, but very different types.

There is a rarity for sale on Facebook Marketplace. It’s a triple threat of a car that not only is cheap, but also controversial and pretty clean. The car in question: A one-owner 1983 Cadillac Cimarron with just 38,000 miles on it that’s listed for just $3,000.

If you’re a car enthusiast, you likely know the story of the Cimarron all too well. If you aren’t, here’s a brief history. By the early 1980s, Cadillac wanted a car in the lineup that was smaller than the Seville to meet the demands of a buying public that wanted compact vehicles. Rather than properly invest in a ground-up design for the brand, Cadillac went and developed its own version of GM’s J-body, which consisted of the Chevy Cavalier, Buick Skyhawk, Pontiac J2000, and Oldsmobile Firenza. That’s not exactly a lineup of cars you want to develop a small luxury sedan from, and it’s said that General Motors president Pete Estes warned Cadillac’s general manager at the time against making a J-body into a Cadillac.

Despite that, the Cimarron was born. Aside from a different grille, a few plastic panels and new tail lights, the Cimarron was identical to the other J-body cars. And it was not well received. Somehow, though, it managed to stay on sale for six years before it was axed in 1988. The Cimarron has been called one of the worst cars of all time, and it’s one of the reasons Cadillac lost market share going into the 1990s, something the brand would ultimately come to regret.

Despite that rather dark history, this Cimarron is pretty clean, and the seller says that it’s a one owner car. Whoever owned it must’ve not liked driving (or maybe not liked the car) because it’s pretty remarkable for any 40-year-old car to have just 38,000 miles on it.

The interior looks to be in pretty great condition as well – the leather(?) on the seats doesn’t even look that worn. Don’t think about getting anywhere fast, though. While the Cimarron debuted with a 1.6-liter inline-4 making all of 88 horsepower for 1982, that decklid badge on the trunk says this one is powered by a 2.0-liter engine. Despite being bigger than the previous year’s engine, its tuning meant the 2.0-liter motor lost two horses for a whopping 86 HP.

If any of this appeals to you, the Cimarron is still listed as of this writing, though it’s been updated to say that a sale is pending. Apparently someone bit.

Took our Kona in and for 4 recalls(3 inspections & upgrade the diagnostics). The day after we get it back it throws a check engine light. I put a code reader on the car and get P0326- knock sensor failure. Huh…I was advised this was a potential outcome, but the car is driving fine in Safe mode..so I drag my feet scheduling another appointment.

Eventually the dealer sits on it for nearly a week conferring with Hyundai tech support. This get a biy annoying as no loaner is available so I have to take 1.5 hrs off work every day to take my wife to work.

The direction from Hyundai is to redo the recall inspection. With no improvement/insight from that, they recommend we replace the knock sensor. They want >$600 to replace the knock sensor. Also, as the fault is assumed to be a non-recall, non-warranty(expired) covered part, we also have to pay $200 for the “diagnosis”.

We take the car to a local guy to save money on replacing the knock sensor on our out of warranty car. He calls me back and says, “the knock sensor was disconnected. Still wanna replace it?” Of course not. He plugs it in clears the code and we drive 600miles. No more Check Engine light.

I paid the dealer $200 dollars to figure this out.

Apparently, as part of the recall work, the knock sensor is disconnected from the ECU and a direct reading taken from it. It seems the tech forgot to hook it back up.

I understand how it could have happened the first time around, but I’m not sure how they missed this if they redid the recall.

From where I’m standing, it seems that the tech either for got to hook it up 2x, or didn’t perform the second inspection-the one i paid $200 for.

I only have my mechainc’s word that the sensor was disconnected, and I didn’t return the car immediately after the check engine light came back on, but I’m hoping that I can still persuade the dealer to refund me my diagnosis fee.