Who Owns A Beater?

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Originally Posted By: Reggaemon
A beater is freedom that must be experienced to fully appreciate.





Agreed. I felt so free in college from my beater a two week euro ski trip turned into 3 months and never picked up the Amc eagle with slight rod knock with 300k miles. It regularly got parked in tow zones and questionable parking in college yet never got towed or touched.
 
My wife's legacy turbo wagon seems to be approaching beater status but remains a hoot to drive(grown up wrx with 5spd manual and 250hp turbo engine)

200k miles:
-Scratched up bumper
-needs suspension work(factory struts and bushings etc) as it clunks
-Broken rear power window(motor)
-Hatch harness pinched so wiper quit along but defroster remains, no reverse lights or hatch light
 
Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: Donald
beater = a car your wife will not ride in to go out to dinner


At the end my Jetta was like that. She didn't care for how it looked (rust painted over, patched up) but more importantly, she didn't like how loud it was (I guess Camry's are more quiet). Probably bugged her how much it cost to repair after the summer it died twice ($4k in repairs? something like that).

She got stuck taking the kids to school one winter morning, and apparently my daughter all but had a screaming fit, yelling at some bit that was squeaking/rubbing/"making noise that mommy's car doesn't".

The last winter I had it, a coolant line blew. I drove it the 15 miles home, wondering if it'd make it. It did, but I always wondered if I took some life off doing that.

I think I was the only one in the family sad to see it go.


Don't all VWs have coolant loss protection?
 
My wife's Blazer was definitely a beater: smoked like a tire fire (6.2 Detroit), 33" tires, about 200,000 miles, and the body was pretty much gone. Both doors rotting, several holes in the floor (as well as already having three patch panels), both rear wheelhouses dissolving. The last year she had it, the tailgate couldn't be opened because on of the hinges had rotted away and there was a piece of plastic (a recycled political yard sign) on the driver's floorboard because otherwise, spray from the LF tire would get the driver's feet wet. Despite all that, it was reliable, mechanically sound (though, as usual for a 6.2DD, it was a struggle to start below freezing if not plugged in), and surprisingly, the A/C worked perfectly with the original compressor!

She still has it...now has an aftermarket body and a turbocharged Optimiser 6500 engine.
 
My wife's 2000 S10 Blazer ZR2. We bought it new, it now has about 150K on it and it is her snow vehicle. Factory paint is coming off of the plastic flares, It has 2 pretty good size rust holes ahead of the rear wheels in the quarter panels, and it swills gas. Runs good though.
 
2001 Subaru Forester. Paid $150 for it 5 years ago with blown head gasket and alot of neglect. Was a delivery vehicle for the coal mines in WV with 250K miles showing and a broken speedometer/odometer. I think its currently showing 390K miles so ive gotten over 100K miles on it. It still drives like a dream and goes where i point it.. brakes are getting worse with time.. i have put a new master cylinder on it and that helped a little. I have towed alot with it over the years, mostly heavy loads of trash and also supplies, and 4wheelers. It can sit for a month and still start within a few seconds.. I will give up on it before it gives up on me.

The tires on it are 3 years old with around 75000 miles and still look newish. It uses a quart every 3000 miles but there are a couple of leaks. The driver seat is well broken in and has a small hole probably from someone wearing a keyring.

Any repair at this point will have to be debated.. the insurance costs more than the car is worth and i will have to decide from here on out what is worth fixing or letting go.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
I think the xB in my sig attained beater status this week, thanks to Tuesday's hail. Up to then, I hadn't really looked at it that way.

Before this week, it had accumulated minor cosmetic blemishes over the years, most notably a couple of scratches and door dings, and some rock chips in the paint. The windshield showed similar wear until I replaced it last year - the pitting diffused the sun enough to make it difficult to see when driving toward the sun. The previous owner had a roof rack on it and definitely used it. Someone in a large SUV did the parallel-park-by-feel thing a few years ago, with its front bumper leaving just enough of an impression on the rear hatch to see. The ball joints are a little loose, the corrosion underneath becomes a little more noticeable with each passing Midwestern winter, and I keep waiting for the original clutch to give up the ghost.

Hail is what ultimately did in the xB's predecessor, but I'm going to keep this one going as a daily driver, at least for another couple of years. At that point, I may demote it to winter duty and buy something nicer for the rest of the year, or I may buy another beater to fit a different function.
Did you have comprehensive coverage on it? The insurance value might surprise you. They said my 2000 Camry was worth $3500 when it was totaled last month.


I do have comprehensive coverage. The damage this time wasn't widespread like the car before it had - we filed claims on both cars and the house with that earlier storm. I'm not sure I'd get much money after meeting the deductible, and I think I can get most of the dings out with a hair dryer and ice cubes.
 
I was given a 1994 chevy lwb, c1500 regular cab for free by a friend that let it sit up for 2.5 years. Its an awful baby blue color and every body panel is dented and/or scratched. The odometer shows 110k but I see now that and the speedometer no longer work but I doubt that's far off judging the rest of the truck.
He wouldn't drive it due to the manual trans and lack of A/C. When he tried to start it,it would only turn over and he refused to put money into it.(he just replaced all 4 tires before he parked it) So he offered it to me. After pumping 20+ gallons of old gas from the 34 gallon tank I replaced the fuel pump,battery and the distributor and she fired up and runs fine. It still needs a few things, windshield, turn signal stalk is broken, speedometer or speed sensor. I'll treat it to a used replacement bumper to help polish the turd.
 
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle


Don't all VWs have coolant loss protection?


Dunno. I don't recall it being talked about. It was a 2004 diesel, maybe they added it later? Maybe it had it. I know it had full power all the way home.

The coolant sensor never indicated over anything "bad" (210? 220? been too long now to remember). A coolant line at about headgasket level popped, and it didn't take much to refill. I think once the level dropped below a certain point it either stopped pumping it out that line, or stopped altogether--I do know it had no heat, which was the second indication something was wrong (the first had been the smell of coolant, which I had ignored).

It was 10F that night, so I really didn't feel like stopping!
 
Great post so far guys. Keep them coming.
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Originally Posted By: Red91
Great post so far guys. Keep them coming.
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Well in that case, I'll post my mom's beater.

2003 Buick Rendezvous 3.4L AWD, 147k miles. Been sitting for 1-1/2 months, she has a 2012 Jeep Patriot now. This thing is total beater status. Hasn't had a full set of 4 new tires in about 80k miles. Always been used tires since. The lower control arm bushings were really bad and wore out tires real quick. Installed some new Moogs and it wore tires perfectly. It's never had an alignment. Original transfercase fluid & rear diff fluid. Original transmission fluid. Only 1 headlight bulb has ever burned out, all other bulbs original. Rear 3 spark plugs and wires are original. Always gets brake pad replacements, rarely rotors except last year when she took them beyond metal on metal. Have gone through about 5-6 sets of AutoZone Gold brake pads. They keep wearing out with the scored rotors, they keep replacing them under lifetime warranty. Rear differential has howled like you wouldn't believe when turning for 70k miles. Head gasket is blown from thermostat getting stuck last year and engine overheated. Consumes about 2-3 gallons of coolant (tap water) a month. Sometimes more. Coolant and exhaust gases are mixing, so oil is fine. Always overheats in traffic. Always. A/C compressor sounds like a dirt bike. Never been touched. Water pump needs replacing again, super loud too! Now it leaks coolant out of a metal hose, it'll empty the system in a matter of minutes. Fixed with electrical tape for now. Rear windows don't work. I think its because we replaced the main window switch with the wrong one. Interior is absolutely disgusting. My moms a smoker and more sodas have been spilled inside than I can count. Glovebox is missing and broken off. Latch got stuck one day so I tore it off. It's a trooper though. Besides the overheating it's been really reliable. She got it from my grandmother, who bought it at 2 years old.

Only repairs it has EVER had are, starter, water pump, harmonic balancer, and thermostat. Oh, and lower control arm bushings. First pic is from a couple months ago. Second is how it looks now. Bird poop central. The pictures don't do it justice. It looks much worse in person lol.

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Since we're posting pictures, here is the previously mentioned 180k mile X3:

X3%20Ext_zpswc4ni7le.jpg


I hate letting any vehicle-even a beater-fall into disrepair.
 
1991 Ford Escort. Base model with power nothing! Reliable as can be and I bought it 4 years ago and have done very little to it in that time. Great mileage and keeps the miles off my nicer vehicles on the daily grind to work or taking the dog to the park.
 
Nick, every Rendezvous we work on at the shop is in the same state of despair. GM interiors got really [censored] for awhile. The interior in my Roadmaster is actually in great shape for it's age, besides the front seat having some rather large tears in it. The padding is still plush though, so no need to repair it.
 
I would classify our Expedition as the beater. Lived all its life in Mississippi so there is no major rust to be concerned about. It's running the original transmission fluid, coolant, differential oil, hoses, belt and tentioner. The only thing its needed is swaybar links to pass inspection and a couple coil packs over the year. It used oil running Xw20, but since upping it to a 0w30 or 0w40 it doesn't use anything. Tires have good tread, but are cracked and dry rotted. Being 2wd it's useless in the snow. Has the usual 2v 5.4 valve rattle when its cold. The only thing that doesn't work is the back vent window motor went out years ago. Sunroof even works, but I think the drains are a little clogged as I get a little water during lots of rain. I'm going to be doing a good amount of service on it before winter. Here's a glimpse of it:

 
I consider my 99 Subaru Legacy Outback a beater. It only has 124K miles but was pretty neglected by the previous owners.

- Has a exhaust leak
- Leakes oil from the rear diff.
- Leaks gear oil from the front axle output shafts.
- Steering wheel shakes on the highway between 65-70 MPH
- The bumpers are all scratched up and a few rust spots from being a MN car its whole life. Various dents and dings.
- The antenna is missing so the previous owner used a wire hanger shoved in there and wrapped around the rood rack...

Even though I consider it a beater it's fun to drive and gets the job done. The leather interior etc is in surprisingly good shape.

I only paid a few grand for it (good for a Subie in MN) and have slowly been fixing stuff on it. Over the winter I did the head gaskets and clutch on it. I bet I can get atleast another 100K out of it. That's one thing I love about Subaru beaters, parts are ridiculously cheap and they are really easy to work on.
 
I purchased a '98 ES300 for beater car purposes as I drive quite a bit for my work commute. Picked it up for 2400 w/ 197K on it. Mileage scared me at first, but everything checked out and maintenance record is very good. Also, everything works on it, drives well and is quite clean for the age. I have already done the brakes front/rear, charcoal canister and some misc hoses/etc but I still like it and hope it serves me well for many miles to come.
 
I consider our 2000 SAAB 9-3 a beater nowadays. It’s a hatchback that actually acts like a small pickup in terms of how much it can haul around (and how we use it).

The exterior is actually in great shape — this car has be the best paint in our fleet despite being so much older. Interior, ehh, getting musty from a leaky trunk seal and the headliner is sagging. Temp control cable locked up and the selector knob broke so I have to take out the glovebox twice a year to manually free the cable and set the air to hot or cold. Lots of little stuff like that going on inside. Cracked window roller pieces, etc.

Anyway, it’s great to have a car like this. We can transport stuff without worry and it’s a manual that still handles well so it’s fun to drive.
 
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My Civic is my beater, but it's in pretty decent shape, the paint still looks good, there is no rust on it and it also runs pretty good.

But I never wash it or wax it and I don't care if it gets scratched or dented in a parking lot.

It's our go-to car when we take a road trip to the US because it gets 40+ MPG highway and I don't worry about it getting stolen like the BMW or Corvette. And if it ever did get stolen or totalled I know there are a lot of used Civics on the market that I could replace it with quite easily.

The only real issue it has that I can think of is that when it rains I get a small puddle of water on the driver's side floor. One of these days I fear that floor is going to rust out and I'm going to see the road underneath my feet!
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Being a car guy I love having fun cars like our BMW and Corvette but I also get pleasure out of having this little beater that sees daily duty and costs very little to run and just keeps plugging away (203,000 km on it currently)
 
My 05 Civic went from decent car to beater over this past winter. Stands at just over 300k miles. I think its about done. Can't lock either door with the key or the key will stick in the lock. The pull tab for the hood release broke so have to use pliers to pull the cable. Front bumper dented by a hit and run in parking lot. Deer did a faceplant into the side of it this winter and basically dented in the whole passenger side of the car. It also caused the paint from a previous repair to crack and it is now rusting, has some decent amount of rusting in other areas too. Thing is the engine and clutch and transmission are still strong. Now its developed some kind of whining noise that I need to track down and its due for timing belt replacement. It also has a crack in the exhaust manifold that I am able to temporarily patch for a few months at a time, after which it cracks through again and I have to clean it all off and repatch. Definitely a beater. Most all of this stuff happened in the last six months. The car seems to be wearing out all at once, which is good in a way I guess instead of slowly nickel and diming me. I'll hate to see it go, it was basically flawless until all of this happened at once.
 
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