Beaters...

[hattaresguy]

Back when I was in school and broke I had a few beaters, I almost want to buy a cheap car now since I miss not caring.

The first one was a Golf I got for free that was in decent shape but had been sitting for 3 years. Oil looked tan, so GTG, just kept adding whatever was cheapest at the auto parts store. Sold the car 15k miles later for $700.

I'm going to guess the oil was 4 years old at that point and probably had 25k miles on it, maybe more.

Than I had a green Jetta which I hated and wanted to blow it up so I could junk it sooner. So I never checked the oil, it was tar black and barely on the stick when I got it. Just ran it, never blew though. Drove itself to the junk yard after 5k miles.

Ahh the good old days, I miss having a junker.

 

[Quattro Pete]

I always took pretty good care of my cars, even though some of them were beaters. I relied on them to get to school/work, so I wanted to minimize the chances of getting stranded at the least convenient moment.

 

[jmsjags]

the paint is peeling off both bumpers on my car. the sides have door dings. one of my mirrors is halfway hanging on. the interior squeaks and rattles. but the inside of the engine is immaculate.

 

[IndyIan]

I am living the dream man! No washing, no worries about parking or locking the doors, hammer down pothole filled roads aiming for the big puddles, 0.2 second warm up times and then full throttle at the end of my driveway with the engine temp reading -10F(sounds really really bad once the rpms get up there!), doing jumps in the pasture, 4 wheel drifts on the gravel driveway, and then finally doing a half roll at a lapping day last fall and its still going...
It can be a bit embarassing though driving a POS, but whatever, the car seems to run as strong as ever...

 

[SteveSRT8]

When I was a kid raising kids we kept beater Impalas for family cars.

Never paid more than 700 dollars for one, and usually sold it for more as I constantly improved and updated them to my standards.

I miss those days, as the care free motoring feeling is hard to duplicate!

 

[SLCraig]

I miss my old Saturns all the time. I still think regularly that I want to sell my Civic and get an older car again. I hate car payments and I also don't really like new cars as much as older, worn in, more "raw" feeling cars.

The 96 SL2 I had was a blast to drive.. I miss that car all the time.

 

[OilNerd]

I'm still driving my beater -- an '89 Olds, 263,000 miles. It still runs great and I have a set of winter tires for it. It sees more use in the winter because of high salt use here.

 

[RISUPERCREWMAN]

I luv my 1993 Toyota Camry V6 LE beater with 153K miles! It takes a lickin & still keeps on tickin & the air conditioner is still ice cold!

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I am living the dream man! No washing, no worries about parking or locking the doors, hammer down pothole filled roads aiming for the big puddles, 0.2 second warm up times and then full throttle at the end of my driveway with the engine temp reading -10F(sounds really really bad once the rpms get up there!), doing jumps in the pasture, 4 wheel drifts on the gravel driveway, and then finally doing a half roll at a lapping day last fall and its still going...
It can be a bit embarassing though driving a POS, but whatever, the car seems to run as strong as ever...


Rallycross that Mopar!!

 

[Gabe]

Owning a beater isn't that bad. Other than it occasionally not starting, I really don't have to worry about my car too much. There are no payments; insurance is cheap(er). Those door dings you get in the parking lots doesn't make a difference. My daughter is allowed to get ice cream in the car. If somebody takes up two parking places, I can squeeze in there with him. Sure he cannot open his drivers door, but he isn't going to key my car. Or, if he does, I wouldn't be able to tell.

If bad turns to worse, I can tow it to the junk yard and get my money - plus inflation - back. A fresh off the lease $30K BMW scares me; a $725 Jeep does not.

 

[Autografe]

A friend of mine once told me the first rule of driving clapped out cars was that you had to have more than one. At one point in college in '76 I had a '53 Chevy PU, a '65 Chev Biscayne (230 six, three on the tree, radio delete option)and a 68 F-100. I also had a 74 Honda CB360 so one way or another I got to class and work. At least one of my "fleet" were down for one reason or another at all times. The Honda always worked but I hated riding it in the winter or the rain. I remember a lot of battery swaps, I think I only had two. But for the most part I kept them running. It helped that I worked for the local NAPA store while I went to school.

 

[eljefino]

Leather seats, working AC, sunroof, turbo... yup.

No headliner, no liftgate trim, missing 3rd brake light replaced with a $4 ebay generic.

Overdrive solenoid wonked out, leaving me revving high in third. One ghetto fix I read about involves pulling the solenoid then grinding the middle out so it always passes fluid. Done! Now I'm not in control over overdrive, it comes on at the right time no matter what.

The huge dent in the door is hard to pull. I tried drilling a 1/4 inch hole in the interior trim then bopping it with a long rod, but that rod was just going to punch through the outer skin so I gave up.

This thing is so old (1991) some of the Bosch parts are still labelled "Made in West Germany"!

It has the modern conveniences a person looks for... fuel injection, one airbag. The heated seats might work if I replace the switch, I'm thinking a 49 cent home depot wall light switch would look good.

 

[spasm3]

My olds is a low mileage beater. There is something cool about driving a beater when you can easily afford a new one. I refuse to drive a good car to work where it will be scatched and turned into a beater. Hospital parking lots are murder on paint.

 

[hypervish]

Everyone in my family has a beater (some more than one) for a daily driver.

I have two beaters', 96' Grand Caravan and a 04' Audi A4. I'm going to sell the A4 this summer though.

 

[ahoier]

I bought my car as a "beater" - had been sitting 2-3 years.....though the oil looked "OK" when I got it, about a half-quart low......but I changed it, and the filter out anyways after driving it around for a couple days with a pint of MMO in the crankcase....

And it's been running great....had the vacuum lines all replaced.....new coolant temp sensor (dummy backyard mechanic just did not know much about diagnostics.....but was very good at part swapping), new radiator fan relay (see above explanation....hah)....then took it home to my stepdad, and DOH, I must have taken the thermostat out....derrrr....perhaps that's why it was running extremely rich (100 miles to a 14 gallon tank, much? lol) and could smell gas fumes driving down the highway....but yea, fast forward 2+ years (this was back in September 2010) the car is still "sorta" running.....it's currently "out of commission" while I order new Auto Shutdown Relay, Ignition Coil, Wires, Spark Plugs+wires, cap, rotor, and something else I'm forgetting.....in hopes that she will come back to life

Now....I know what some of you are talking about having multiple project cars....when one dies, you got a backup plan. Stinks bumming rides to/from work......

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: eljefino

Leather seats, working AC, sunroof, turbo... yup.

No headliner, no liftgate trim, missing 3rd brake light replaced with a $4 ebay generic.

Overdrive solenoid wonked out, leaving me revving high in third. One ghetto fix I read about involves pulling the solenoid then grinding the middle out so it always passes fluid. Done! Now I'm not in control over overdrive, it comes on at the right time no matter what.

The huge dent in the door is hard to pull. I tried drilling a 1/4 inch hole in the interior trim then bopping it with a long rod, but that rod was just going to punch through the outer skin so I gave up.

This thing is so old (1991) some of the Bosch parts are still labelled "Made in West Germany"!

It has the modern conveniences a person looks for... fuel injection, one airbag. The heated seats might work if I replace the switch, I'm thinking a 49 cent home depot wall light switch would look good.

Pull the door panel and slide a deflated football inside against the dent. Pump it up, the dent will pop out.

 

[eljefino]

^ I've heard that trick!

Toilet plunger didn't work.

 

[yonyon]

Oh fine, if tricks you've heard don't count try this one:

Cut a hole in the inside door panel just big enough for a fire hose. Drive to the local firehouse. Explain to somebody there that you have a dent and you have a hole of just such a size and ask for suggestions.

This may not work, I've never tried it.

/not responsible for incidental damages
//not responsible for consequential damages
///not responsible for hilarity
////i don't have a spare door that will fit

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I am living the dream man! No washing, no worries about parking or locking the doors, hammer down pothole filled roads aiming for the big puddles, 0.2 second warm up times and then full throttle at the end of my driveway with the engine temp reading -10F(sounds really really bad once the rpms get up there!), doing jumps in the pasture, 4 wheel drifts on the gravel driveway, and then finally doing a half roll at a lapping day last fall and its still going...
It can be a bit embarassing though driving a POS, but whatever, the car seems to run as strong as ever...


Rallycross that Mopar!!

I think I will keep it as a "race car" after its taken off the road and try a rallycross sometime, it looks like alot of fun.
I'm torn about buying another beater car, probably I should, but something like an '08 Civic SI sedan is getting to be a reasonable price and it would be a fun DD...

 

[daves87rs]

I'm so tired of high prices...I might just go back to beaters!

The key is to have at least a few...

Nothing beats the Cavalier wagon I had.....