Author Topic: Do you drive a beater car? (Read 7339 times)

Monkeyleg · « **on:** October 14, 2006, 01:16:43 PM »

Three Chistmases ago, I surprised my wife with a new PT Cruiser. That's now our "good" car.

I took the 1991 Saturn that she had been driving as my daily driver.

Mechanically the car is sound, and doesn't look bad from the outside. Inside, though, the carpeting is worn, the headliner is sagging in a couple of spots, the air conditioning doesn't work, the power sunroof has given up, and one of the speakers sometimes crackles.

The thing is, I've almost always driven beater cars, while my toys--my sports cars and my Harleys--got all of the loving attention.

Would I like to have something like a new 5 liter Mustang convertible? Sure.

But I mistreat my cars. I throw empty cigarette packs on the floor, almost never wash the cars, leave junk sitting on the seats for months on end, and other dastardly deeds.

For me, a car is a way of getting from one point to another.

I got fifteen years of use out of my old pickup truck. By the time I sold it for $250, the tailgate didn't work, the body was rusted out in several areas, there were dents all over, and it generally looked like a Clampett-mobile.

Does anyone else view their cars/trucks as I do?

onions! · « **Reply #1 on:** October 14, 2006, 01:31:03 PM »

"Does anyone else view their cars/trucks as I do?"

More or less,yes.
I put vehicles into three categories:toys,transportation,& work vehicles.

My 1991 Caprice gets 15-20 mpg,is ugly as sin,& starts every time.I have under 1K into it & expect it'll make it through another year w/ease.If it needs more than $500 for repair it goes,& is replaced w/another $500 car.

Work vehicles should be both new(er) & kept well maintained.You can take the bus to work but you can't deliver the goods from a cab.Besides,renting a delivery truck is insane money.

Toys?Well>smile<,they are worth whatever you can afford to spend on them.I know more than a few guys that'll drive around in Geo's & Cavaliers all year so that they can play w/the 4x4's & Camaros on the weekends.Heck,even my folks do this.Mum drives a red titled '03 Focus & s-dad drives an '88 Caravan to work.The '03 Ram sits & looks pretty to haul the camper around.>shrug<

Moondoggie · « **Reply #2 on:** October 14, 2006, 02:09:47 PM »

Nope, not me.

I'll freely admit I'm a neat freak.

We have an 85 Skylark with only 48K on the clock. The driver's seat shows wear, but everything else is pretty much like new. Body is 100%, replaced all 4 speakers last summer, put in a new Pioneer deck. The A/C compressor leaks, I'll have it replaced next summer. This is our "puddle jumper"...we only drive it around town and nowadays put about 1K/yr on it.

We have an '02 Camaro in the garage with 21K on it...it never goes outside if we think it's going to rain. Winter?...forgedaboudit. This is SWMBO's midlife crisis mobile...she'd always wanted one and '02 was the last year. It's paid for. It's immaculate inside and out.

My "toy" is an 04 Tundra double cab SR5 with a solid tonneau cover. It has 20K on it and is also immaculate inside and out. I bought it when they were doing the zero% loan thing....24 payments to go. This is what we usually drive when we go out of town (shopping/medical appts) cuz you never know what you'll find a deal on and wish you had a truck to haul it home.

My '98 Freightshaker 18 wheeler has over a million miles on it, and is also kept immaculate...Hey, I live in there 2 days/wk! I do calculate when to plunk down $70 for a truck wash against how long I think it will be until it rains, but it generally gets a bath once a month. I have a dirt devil in the truck, and vacume frequently.

Kindly note that we have 4 vehicles and only 2 drivers. The Skylark was inherited.

I've owned many cars/pickups in my life, none of them would qualify as beaters.

Mannlicher · « **Reply #3 on:** October 14, 2006, 02:37:40 PM »

The wife drives a new Pontiac G6 GT. I am still rolling around in my 1976 F-100 Pick Up. Over 400K miles, a rebuilt 302. Edelebrock manifold and 4bbl, Headman headers, and a 4 speed overdrive floor shift. 10.5X31 tires, and a lift kit. Great woods truck. So so for around town. Oh, I have a great strereo too. No AC Cheesy

280plus · « **Reply #4 on:** October 14, 2006, 02:54:48 PM »

Ah yes, the mighty 1990 Plymouth Acclaim, 86,000 original miles. The car really was owned by a little old lady who only drove it to the market and church. Lately it HAS been nickle and diming me though. It was looking pretty sad a few years back till I Maaco-ed it. To me a brandy new flashy expensive car is a waste of good investing money. Give me a beater any day of the week. Tongue

Meanwhile momma drives the '05 Monte. So it sounds like we're all a bit alike. Cheesy

Declaration Day · « **Reply #5 on:** October 14, 2006, 03:02:40 PM »

I haven't had a "toy" car since the kids came along.

Right now I have a 2001 Hyundai Accent for whenever I don't need my truck. It's my beater. It gets 40mpg. I keep it very clean. I am a neat freak.

My truck is an '05 Silverado 2500HD, which is used daily for lawnservice and landscaping, and snowplowing in the winter. I keep it clean inside and out, as much as possible. There may be some empty cans in the bed and some trash from customers' lawns by the end of the week, but hey it's a truck bed.

Guest · « **Reply #6 on:** October 14, 2006, 03:30:13 PM »

1998 Minivan. 252,000 miles. Things are starting to fall off of it, but it keeps going down the road. When it dies, I'll replace it with something similar.

Ben · « **Reply #7 on:** October 14, 2006, 04:16:15 PM »

I go both ways. I have a 2000 Trooper that I got with the extras like cruise control, fully adjustable seats, etc. I use that one for long trips, "goin to town", stuff like that. I do get it dirty on offroad fishing trips and vacations, but take great pains to clean things up when I get back home. I plan on keeping it well into the next decade.

My other car is a 2002 F150, bare bones, vinyl seats. I use that on my daily work commute, working on my rentals, doing beach dives, or whatever other stuff that can wear down a vehicle pretty well. I just hose it off inside and out, and don't worry about dings or scrapes in the performance of its duty. I don't go out of my way to bang it up, but I just shrug my shoulders when something happens (used to work with a guy that would purposely do things like throw big rocks into the bed of his truck and put big dents in it "it's a truck ! ha ha ha!" Don't see the point of that). I'll drive it till it drops, then get another bare bones truck. This one replaced a Jeep Commanche that I got new in '86 and did the same thing with.

Regardless of how I treat the outside of my vehicles, I'm very meticulous about mechanical maintenance. I've never kept a vehicle for less than 10 years. Except the Mustang Mach1 that I had in High School. The "speeding ticket-mobile". That one lasted 5 years before I matured and bought a truck.

garyk/nm · « **Reply #8 on:** October 14, 2006, 04:53:45 PM »

Sorry, but no.
Me: 06 MINI Cooper
Wife: 06 Escape
Daughter: 06 Focus
No car payments.
My insurance agent, however, sends me gifts.

Stand_watie · « **Reply #9 on:** October 14, 2006, 05:10:37 PM »

Quote from: garyk/nm

Sorry, but no.
Me: 06 MINI Cooper
Wife: 06 Escape
Daughter: 06 Focus
No car payments.
My insurance agent, however, sends me gifts.

Are you a lawyer or a drug dealer? (apologies in advance to the drug dealers on the forum)

Stand_watie · « **Reply #10 on:** October 14, 2006, 05:15:13 PM »

I have two Nissan Sentra's. The first is an 04 with 87k miles, the older one is a 98 with about 270k miles. Neither has needed anything other than routine maintenance, tires, belts, hoses, etc, although the older one leaks oil around the tappet cover and needs it's first set of new brake shoes.

I think later model vehicles are being made better than they were when I was a kid.

Headless Thompson Gunner · « **Reply #11 on:** October 14, 2006, 05:31:46 PM »

I drive an '01 Ranger with 140,000 miles. I keep it as clean and well maintained as practical, but it's definitely starting to show its age. I'll continue to drive it until it dies, by which time it will definitely be a beater. Only then will I reluctantly replace it with something similar. Not that this particular truck is special or anything, I just have a thing against buying vehicles. My family made its fortune owning new car dealerships. Trust me, new cars are for suckers.

Actually, these days I've been doing most of my commuting and shopping on my new Surly Cross Check. Bicycles are cheaper, healthier, and more enjoyable than cars. Freeways, trafic jams, and parking lots are also for suckers. Tongue

brimic · « **Reply #12 on:** October 14, 2006, 05:32:18 PM »

My daily driver is a 95 nissan pickup with 180K miles on it. The driver side door latch doesn't work- I have a 1' long screwdriver rigged up to trip the latch open and closed. A few holes rusted through the bed, a few pounds of sheetmetal in various other places have fallen off here and there as well. The exhaust broke right behind the converter last night on the way home from work- that's a project for tomorow to fix, I'm still running on the original exhaust and brakes, at least the latter look to have a lot of life left in them yet. Still on the original clutch, with no signs of it ready to give up the ghost. I figure that I might get another 3-4 years out of it until I retire it to our land in Michigan where it can be used to haul firewood/junk. My 'good' vehicle is a '04 Trailblazer, it only has about 12,000 miles on it- its not driven much, except when it snows which makes driving the Nissan a bit hairy.

Quote

But I mistreat my cars. I throw empty cigarette packs on the floor, almost never wash the cars, leave junk sitting on the seats for months on end, and other dastardly deeds.

Me too. Wife's car and the newer truck get TLC, my beater truck gets hard use. I can't even count the number of times that I've driven 10 miles north to a quarry to have a front end loader fill the back end of my truck with sand/stone/gravel until the suspension was bottomed out for doing landscaping work around my house. Empty beverage cans get stuffed under the seat until I get home and get around to throwing them out. I have about 3 years worth of pennies that have accumulated on the floor, along with various pieces of brass and assorted ammunition that has found its way into the glove compartment.

Standing Wolf · « **Reply #13 on:** October 14, 2006, 05:33:32 PM »

No beaters for me, thanks: I'm sure they would remind me of cars I owned as a young man, which I bought used and could never rely on.

Twycross · « **Reply #14 on:** October 14, 2006, 06:04:10 PM »

Yep, I'm in the beater car lover camp. My '91 Nissan Pathfinder has ~168,000 miles, a minor oil leak, bent frame, and a lot of bondo. I rolled it almost two years ago, but there are no mechanical problems outside of routine maintenance.

Oh, and the oil leak. It's tiny enough that it's not really worth fixing right now.

I almost never have any passengers, so its full of trash, hunting/shooting gear, school supplies/books. I believe that I have washed her exactly twice in two years. The floor is stained, and the interior trim is in bad shape. The driver's window is unreliable, and the paint job is pretty bad.

But I didn't borrow a dime to pay for her, she has never let me down (outside of routine maintenance), and she will do 102 mph on the flat.

Parker Dean · « **Reply #15 on:** October 14, 2006, 08:15:24 PM »

Do I drive a beater? Dunno, whadda y'all think

1991 Caprice daily driver

The soon-to-be-painted new toy

Stand_watie · « **Reply #16 on:** October 14, 2006, 08:33:59 PM »

Nissan.

I've seen several stories here that make me think they may make a decent car... I know Honda and Toyota are top rated of the Nippon brands.. I was driving a '94 Mitsubishi (which gave me 125k with no problems, just that my wife got herself into a "baloon" payment deal before we got together) and got advice from a guy driving a Nissan truck when I bought the '98 Sentra - he claimed he had +400K miles on it with no problems. The price beat Honda/Toyota by several thousand bucks.

Are you in south Texas parker? That's where it looks like from the trees.

Parker Dean · « **Reply #17 on:** October 14, 2006, 10:17:50 PM »

Quote from: Stand_watie

Are you in south Texas parker? That's where it looks like from the trees.

Tell that from the trees, huh?

Anyway, yes. The two pics were taken a few feet from the other in Odem. The yellow building in the Caprice pic is just in front of the Regal. It's a friends place (in the hat behind the Caprice) and for some reason I always seem to rig the camera out over there.

grislyatoms · « **Reply #18 on:** October 15, 2006, 05:05:17 AM »

I buy them for 2k - 3k, drive the wheels off them, then rinse and repeat.

Right now is an '88 F150 4x4 that was very well taken care of. Guy I bought it from only drove it in the winter. I'll be driving this one for awhile.

I take care of them when I get them.

Jamisjockey · « **Reply #19 on:** October 15, 2006, 05:31:50 AM »

I don't 'beat' my car, but its not necessairly clean. I do throw trash into the floorboards, but clean it out when I get gas.
BTW it's a 2003 Hyundai Elentra. Bought in '05 with 18,000 miles for $8900. Its got power everything, AC, and is a 5-speed. My payments are less than $200 a month. I get about 35mpg. It's got a bike rack on the roof, and often is used to transport my bikes to the trailhead, or me and my flyrod to the river. And I've got 45,000 miles on it now. Damn thing runs like a timex.

mfree · « **Reply #20 on:** October 15, 2006, 06:44:26 AM »

'03 GMC sonoma that's a stripped model (sole "options": FM radio, AC). I'm rapdily turning it into beater status since i dented the B pillar with an angry slap (slap, not punch, darn thing has soft metal) and would have ruined the carpet already, if it had carpet.

That's funny though, because my "toys" are a '91 dodge shadow that's had 300 pounds of car stripped out of it, including the dashboard (I read the cluster itself, which is ziptied to the firewall) and an '86 dodge omni GLH which at the moment needs an all-around bushing replacement party and four new konis.

My FATHER, oh, he was beater car King. If I'm remembering correctly, back in the late eighties he replaced his '64 F100 (it was getting collectable) with a '72 mercury comet with nearly 200K miles on it that had been a rural postal delivery car. For the next ten years, the cycle was that if anything wore out, including the motor or transmission, he'd drop by the local "get it yourself" junkyard and pick up a replacement. He'd usually get two years out of a $50 motor and transmission, and swap it again when something major broke.

It was finally retired at somewhere around 420,000 miles when one of the torque boxes cracked and broke free of the unibody.

Sad though, that car was pretty fun during the 3 years it had a 302 and four speed in it. the 250 with three speed was quick and sounded cool, but the 170/auto was a dog.... think there was a 289/auto in there for a bit too before he decided it was too nice and got pulled for a mustang project. That's still buried inthe garage somewhere along with the V8 crossmember.

Tallpine · « **Reply #21 on:** October 15, 2006, 07:19:44 AM »

I dunno ... our "new" car is a 1991, and my pickup is a 1976 (but has less miles than the new one). 15 and 30 years old... does that make them beaters? Huh?

Neither one is a wreck, but neither one is especially clean, either. Can't be when you're driving around on muddy and/or gravel roads all the time. Suburban gets used to haul saddles and 50 pound sacks of feed, and the pickup gets used for hauling firewood and local commuting.

IMO, new vehicles are an absolute waste of money, both in initial purchase price, plus higher license and insurance, not to mention interest. Sad

Plus they are not as well made for driving on back roads as the newer ones, and are simpler and cheaper to repair.

My "toys" are my land and my horses. Vehicles are just something to use.

CAnnoneer · « **Reply #22 on:** October 15, 2006, 09:45:47 AM »

My life is too important to be entrusted to a beater when there are other options available.

Monkeyleg · « **Reply #23 on:** October 15, 2006, 10:19:10 AM »

CAnnoneer, I didn't mean to imply that my Saturn was unsafe. It's the cosmetics that have suffered. I keep up on all of the mechanicals.

MillCreek · « **Reply #24 on:** October 15, 2006, 10:54:25 AM »

My 'good' car is a 2005 Ford Escape AWD V6. This has about 32,000 miles on it and will be three years old in April. I specifically bought it to have a good snow car for when I go snowshoeing up in the local mountains, a hitch to mount my bicycle rack and to have a nice car for nights out and trips.

My 'beater' car is a 1986 Mazda pickup that has 19,000 miles on it. Right after I bought the Mazda new, I got a job that came with a company car, which I had until April 2004, when I changed jobs and bought the Escape. So I use the Mazda for weekend hauling, trips to the transfer station and the like. It is actually in very good shape, with no accidents, rust, dents or the like. It still has the original tires. I have probably paid over the purchase price in insurance premiums by now.

I take very good care of my cars.

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Author Topic: Do you drive a beater car? (Read 7339 times)

onions!

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