Post your favorite beater cars

[GMFan]

Every car lover deep down loves beaters. Those cars that you don't mind stepping into with muddy boots. Cars that you can redline every shift and it just never seems to die...and more importantly you don't feel bad about doing it. The cars you never care about washing or parking too close to shopping carts. The cars you have to remember to top off the gas when you fill with oil. Everybody has a different definition of a good beater car.

I'll start:

- Saturn SL/SC (will never quit unless you run them out of oil + dent free plastic sides)

- Late 80's Oldsmobiles with the plush interiors (extremely comfortable + great highway cruiser)

- Buick Roadmaster Wagons (wood paneling a +, supercharged ++). Nothing laughs in the face of style than proudly driving one of these. Plus, you can drive these to inches of its (yours) life when you feel the need to. I have an uncle who proudly drives two of these jewels. Keeps his Remington ammo in the back for his hunting expeditions which he sometimes fires through the open driver window. Has had the engine rebuilt in them both (GM 350 I believe?)

 

[LS2JSTS]

Lately I like to keep a Windstar around for mud/junk/dog hauling purposes. You can buy them for cheap and they run alright but they aren't worth a dime for trade, unless the government wants to get one off the street.

Before the Windstar, a beater truck was worth it's weight in gold to me. Even better if it has one of those old corny aluminum caps on it...lol. I'm always looking for an old beater truck, but people usually want to much cash for a decent one, or they are true junk.

 

[Drew99GT]

My 94 Corolla. Dented hood and all. I've taken it down some roads to get into fishing holes that some people probably wouldn't take their clean shiny SUVs, and I've scraped the heck out of the undercarriage doing it! I've been on some completely mudded out roads in the midwest while storm chasing, to where the undercarriage was so packed with mud, once I got on dry pavment, I was shooting mud clogs 20 feet in the air. I don't beat on it, but in order to keep up with the crazies out there that drive like it's the Indy 500, I take it close to redline occasionally. It's just a great little solid beater car! I've done a lot of stuff in it that I'd never do in a newer car, but it hasn't hurt it at all. I do enjoy not worrying about the paint, the bodywork, or the interior, but I don't purposely damage things.

It starting to look fairly rough these days - the factory steel wheels are starting to rust a bit, the paint is not bad, but far from glossy, and it has some slight body damage. but mechanically, it's probably in better shape then 99% of the cars out there on the road.

 

[karld]

I drove a '69 Toronado for a winter car in the early 90's. An absolute tank.I swear the hood alone weighed 100 lbs.A fun car to drive,but very dicey on icy roads!

 

[ls1mike]

I like my 89 1 ton, does everything to include towing my fifth wheel for the past 7 years.

But my Buick is the true beater. Drive it all winter so the WS6 dosen't get dirty.

 

[Falcon_LS]

I cannot really have a 'beater' car, because I'm so anal about maintenance and appearance. I think of 'beater cars' as reliable daily drivers that are durable, cheap and easy to maintain. So the MCV20 Toyota Camry (1996-2001) with the 5S-FE tops my list.

They're dead easy to work on, parts are relatively affordable and they get impressive mileage for what they are, and performance isn't shabby at all.

I've got a base model '01, with just ~62,000 km (38,750 miles) on the clock, and although it doesn't get driven a lot, I just love taking it for errands. It's also super smooth on M1 0W-40.

 

[cornfused]

My little tacoma is just as much at home in the mud on the trails or the freeway taking me to work.

Goes up to and sometimes past redline all the time, and still runs like a top.

Beat on alittle and scratched to heck but has never failed me yet!

 

[moklock]

A cheap Saturn SL2/SC2/SW2 with its combination of the twin cam motor, firmer suspension and speed-sensitive P/S does makes a suprisingly sporty beater car.

 

[silverrat]

 

[davefr]

My BIL was a GM mechanic for many years. When asked about the most dependable car he always said GEO Metro.

They easily go to 250k mi and never seem to break. They get mileage comparable to a Prius.

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

I like my 94 Camry LE V6 daily beater! 112K miles & puuurrs like a kitty!!!

 

[brianl703]

I just got a 1997 Crown Vic Police Interceptor. It runs pretty well, I use it for commuting in the [censored] traffic we have around here.

The odometer says it has 261k on it. I think it might have even been a taxi at one point, but I'm not finding any evidence of a taximeter installation. Two odd holes on the roof might have been for the top light, though.

 

[c502cid]

Since I travel for a living I always have a car at the airport. I got tired of nice vehicles getting airport parking lot dents so it was time to get a beater. I have two, a 94 Corolla and a 98 Escort. Both are world class beaters but will always start and are actually pretty good in the snow (both have aggressive studded snow tires). Both get 34-35 MPG easy with a combination of freeway and around town redlines. My twin daughters are approaching driving age so I'm doing all the normal things like timing belts, clutches, brakes, etc so they have decent, if ugly, first cars.

 

[defektes]

for long commuting trips that I dont use my 4.3, I use my 07 corolla. it is hideous and cheap inside but it gets the job done and it has a tough little fuel efficient motor.

Before that it was my 94 pontiac sunbird with a 2.0l motor 3 speed automatic. It used to pull 30-35mpg. Got rid of it when the transmission blew up.

 

[Scienceman]

1991 Toyota 4cyl Pickup truck is my pick.

 

[af0h]

My old '87 Toyota Camry has been a good, reliable 'beater'.

I bought it 3 1/2 years ago for $700, put about $500 in it for front-end work and a set of tires.

So, for a $1,500 car - can't complain too much, especially since April will be 4-years on it. Heh, first year it paid for itself. Not pretty, but cheap and reliable. Dang good gas mileage too (37-mpg on highway).

 

[OilNerd]

My '89 Olds Delta 88 Royale is still in the daily-driver pool.

It still runs great and gets nearly the same mileage as newer GM 3800 engines. No worries about salt, as the paint is heavily peeled and oxidized and it already has a few rust spots. I do wash it on occasion, just to keep the cancer in check.

It starts easily in sub-zero weather and handles great in snow with my set of mounted winter tires.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Tauruses (Tauri). We call them movie cars, because we can go to the movies and park as close as we want to. If we take my pride and joy (2002 Maxima SE) it has to be the back row or distant closed store parking.

We had a 1993 Mercury Sable and replaced it with a 2000 Ford Taurus Wagon. It's our family car for long trips and daily errands.

 

[Shannow]

My E30 323i is a great beater.

Cost me $1,300, then got into a massive hailstorm and became all golfball aero on me. Problems to date, lower control arm bushings and a fuel pump.

Great fun to punt into corners, and enough poke to make going to work fun(ish)

 

[wirelessF]

90's Toyotas and old Ford trucks are some of my favorite beaters. I had a beater before but would like to find one of these.

All my vehicles are daily drivers but I would like to have a beater that I can gas it up and go.