The joys of good beaters

[fdcg27]

We have a number of 10 year old+ sub-$4K cars in the family fleet that are perfectly reliable and that are mostly daily drivers.
Our younger son uses a '99 Legacy AWD 2.2 to drive to work six days a week with no problems.
Our older son is currenly driving an '01 Focus to work every day with no problems.
I'm driving an '02 Accord on my fifty mile a day commute without a care.
The old BMW goes back into this use around the first of May.
Then there's also our hauler, a '94 E350 that I bought at auction for $900.00.
I drive it to work now and then just to run it on a semi-regular basis.
These are all good and reliable vehicles, all of which look decent but none of which are pristine.
I drove our '12 Accord to work for the first few months that we had it and was apalled to find a couple of small door dings after only a few months.
My wife mostly uses it now and we use it on weekends and for trips.
No more daily driver commuting use for me.
I'll drive something old and cheap that doesn't make me feel badly when some careless slob hits it with a door.
Too bad you can't park anything new outside of your own driveway without some hapless slob damaging it.
OTOH, good that there is a plentiful supply of inexpensive used cars out there at fairly cheap prices.
Who else has a couple of nice cars but favors something old and cheap for the daily commute?

 

[thunderfog]

I was definitely intrigued by the title of the topic.

 

[53' Stude]

Well fdcg27, my new to me 01' focus has a lot of dings too! What may I ask are you using for oil in your Ford van? Maxlife "lime or cherry"?

 

[fdcg27]

It had it's oil changed last July and hasn't done 3K since thus far, so I won't change it until this summer.
It got Service Pro 10W-30 and a Service Pro filter at the July change.
I'll probably give it QTP 10W-30, since I have a few $9.00 jugs of it and a Wix filter that I happen to have that's correct for the 351W.
I could use Nextgen 10W-40, though, or maybe the Durablend 10W-40 I bought on clearance.
I also have some Delvac 1300 15W-40 and...
Lots of oil in various grades, so lots of good choices.
Most engines aren't at all picky about grade used, although I try to stay with the recommended one in our younger vehicles and in colder weather.

 

[bullwinkle]

That describes my '93 Sierra-it's always hauling something around, scrap ice cream machines to the scrapyard, firewood & mulch in the utility trailer, tires to be repaired or changed, everything. It gets driven more than the Ram or the F-450, & I don't have to worry about the local idiot drivers trying to hit it!

 

[Tdbo]

Unfortunately, my newest is my commuter car.
Basically, I live in it until I retire next month.
It also gets the best gas mileage in the fleet.
It has almost as many miles on it as our '06 Odyssey.
However, I enjoy my Ranger.
It is my yard cart and serves as my Menardsmobile.
The Mustang comes out of hibernation next month.
Finally will get some time to play with it.

 

[JustinH]

I agree, I am looking into a cash car in a few months and getting rid of a car payment.

 

[jacky]

the word beater sounds insulting to some people
you would consider the car in my sig a beater but its all i can afford
just guessing by your list of vehicles you can afford new cars but choose to drive older ones

 

[19jacobob93]

I bought my 2000 falcon 3 years ago for $4k with only 100k on the clock. It was my first decent car that wasn't a true $500 beater. It's service history suggested nothing has ever gone wrong with it, just disposables so I hoped that would continue.
In the past 3 years I've put another 100k on it and it hasn't once let me down! Now that I am earning ok money and have a permanent job Inwas thinking about getting a new car on finance but then I thought why when it has been so faithful and is running and almost looking like new still bar a few dings. I can't fault the thing and now it's only worth about $1,000-1,500 is see no reason not to keep it until something major fails, which would surprise me if that happened in the next 200k
Reliable beaters all the way!

 

[spasm3]

I drive the 93 olds to work. It only has 69k on it. The paint is bad, no dents. The headlight lenses are orginal glass so no fading. But a hospital parking lot is no place to keep a car in good shape.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: jacky
the word beater sounds insulting to some people
you would consider the car in my sig a beater but its all i can afford
just guessing by your list of vehicles you can afford new cars but choose to drive older ones


I would never denigrate you for the car you're driving, my friend. The car you have in your sig is not noted for its long life or reliability, but if the one you drive has worked well for you in your use, then good for you.
Anyway, the key to being able to afford new cars, or nice vacations or a retirement lies in buying something older and using it until it's done, not in leasing something new with a German accent.
Nothing wrong with driving something older if it can do what you need it to reliably.
Reliability is also a flexible concept.
If you're willing to fix the car often enough to use it as a daily driver, then it's reliable enough for you.
I used to do this when I was twenty something.
A few decades on I no longer care to.

 

[Nick1994]

I now hunt for parking spots on the ends where I can park on the edge of it and have plenty of room on each side so that no one can hit my car with their door. I also don't squeeze into parking spots anymore. 4 nice dings on the passenger side and 2 on the driver side from people who are too rude to care to get in nicely without slamming their door into mine. But at this point I don't care too much, it's getting old and the paint isn't as nice as it used to be.

I miss my 97' Camry where I'd park anywhere and couldn't care less about if it gets a ding or scratch. I'd push the shopping carts with that one!

Even if I could afford a car payment for a nice car (I'm currently a college student) I wouldn't buy a nicer car. Why should I? I'd probably buy another car but it would either be an old truck or a Jeep.

 

[cashmoney]

Buying brand new cars in the last 20 years has become a luxury that few can actually afford if they were savvy enough to really understand how much more expensive it is to buy new cars than reliable 3-4 year old used cars. Most folks that buy new also don't really understand how much that added expense on a cumulative basis damages their ability to retire with any kind of financial security. Repeatedly leasing new cars is the extreme example of how to overspend on new cars - it is basically slow motion financial suicide.

 

[andyd]

Heh heh, the secret to daily driving beaters is to have a spare.

 

[bama7x57]

Originally Posted By: andyd
Heh heh, the secret to daily driving beaters is to have a spare.

VERY true!!

 

[eljefino]

After this winter and now into pothole season I can't imagine bashing a nice car against these roads.

I've been hitting snow drifts with my front bumper only semi-accidentally that cause snow to break over my hood and up over my windscreen.

Sure money equals freedom, but a new car is something that requires more protection, which takes freedom away. I have the mechanical ability to handle what known problems affect a 10-year old car, what new unforseen issues are in showrooms now? What Fear, Uncertainty, or Doubt does one skip by buying new?

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: jacky
the word beater sounds insulting to some people
you would consider the car in my sig a beater but its all i can afford
just guessing by your list of vehicles you can afford new cars but choose to drive older ones
Drive older ones long enough and be otherwise careful with money and you WILl be able to afford a newer one later on. By then the wisdom of letting someone "important" eat the depreciation may be clear to you.

 

[sicko]

I used to have a beater SUV and it was great. Literally having a vehicle you could load up stuff into it, or take it down gravel roads without a care, was a nice luxury to have. I might look into picking up another one, but I'm worried b/c reliability is crucial. If it's not reliable and you're constantly worrying about it when you use it, that's not a good beater to have.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: andyd
Heh heh, the secret to daily driving beaters is to have a spare.

Yep!

 

[morepwr]

I actually like driving my 91 Ford Escort! Park it anywhere, no need to lock it, leave the windows down on a hot day. I bought it 3 years ago for a $1000 and the only necessary work I have had is a timing belt and front brakes. I tinted the windows and put a better stereo in for my own comfort.