The beater thread

[petrolhead]

Lets have a wee thread where we share our beater cars, and any tips or experiences that might help others. Our last beater was a '95 Audi A4 1.8T S-line that was pretty neglected, I got it for £500 as the seller had dropped the price several times but no one was biting due to the cosmetics of it, but after a good look round I was satisfied the mechanics were sound, and being a galvanised audi there was no rust on it whatsoever which is unusual in our climate for a car this age. I spent about £200 on bodyfiller, paint, a few mechanical parts and some junkyard sourced upgrades and we drove it for a year and sold it for just under double what we paid for it, even showing the buyer the photos of what it was like before I fixed it up.

I really regret selling that one as it was a brilliant car to drive, although the only thing I would change would be to go for the diesel version given the current fuel prices here (works out to $8.66/us gal at the minute, mostly due to punitive fuel tax)
I'll pop up some before and after pics once I get enough posts.

Beater tips:
just because its a cheap car dont neglect it, keep it clean, and check the fluids, tyres and bulbs weekly. Fluid checks are even more critical on a beater than a newer car due to the bigger likelyhood of leaks etc.. We lost the beater before that, a '97 bmw 728 that I fixed up and converted to run on propane because by wife drove it after it developed a coolant leak from a cracked radiator and cooked the block. We wont do that again.
Keep an eye on tyre tread depth and pressure. Incorrect tyre pressure uses more fuel and knackered tyres will eventually cause a smash which at the very least will wipe out your emergency fund.
always change oil and tranny fluid and filters on spec. It makes a big difference to the life of the car.

Dont choose a car on appearance, choose a car with a good drivetrain, and choose a model that you can have maintained easily. A used prius might seem like a good way to save fuel but when the inverter or batteries fail which they will once they age the car won't be economical to fix. An example is in the uk you can get an early 2.0 tdci diesel mondeo (contour) for £1200 and at 43mpg for a big comfy torquey car with lots of toys seems like a bargain, but they are very prone to injector / fuel system failure costing £1000 just in parts to fix, or when the clutch goes, you mostly need to change the dual mass flywheel too and you end up spending over £1000, it just doesn't make sense. The alternative is the 1.9 diesel vw passat which is a similarly priced car but with simpler mechanics costing far less to put right.

[starsapphire]

I love my little '97 Nissan Altima I bought a couple years ago. I read online that they tend to be very reliable.

One thing I've learned: As soon as you buy a beater, one of the first things to do is change the timing belt.

[petrolhead]

Cant go far wrong with a nissan.
when doing the timing belt replacing the tensioners and water pump is a good move too.

[starsapphire]

Funny you mention that, the mechanic replaced a tensioner pulley at the same time because it was going out. Didn't do the water pump, though. Had to replace the alternator at the end of last year.

[petrolhead]

you don't always need to do the waterpump, but on a lot of engines the waterpump runs off the timing belt and since its only an extra couple of bolts and under £20 for the part it can be worthwhile.

[Contrary Housewife]

My first beater was a 1980 Corolla. I put serious miles on that car. It had ripped vinyl seats, a crease in the driver's side door, a radio that screamed until it warmed up, a bumper held on by sheet metal screws, and a taillight held with duct tape. But the engine was a thing of beauty. At least until the thermostat went and I blew the engine.

I still believe I'd be driving it today if I had found my mechanic in time. The place I had been using told me they didn't want me to bring it to them any more because it was too much "work" to fix it (and went out of business shortly after that) and other places I took it to turned up their noses. I mean really, the looks I got.

My current '97 Saturn has graduated to beater status, but it started out as a nearly new off-lease deal. It's got a few dings and scratches, some ripped upholstery, a lot of miles, a lot of replacement parts (all standard maintenance you'd expect on a car that age) and a few quirks. It runs as well as it does because I found a top notch auto shop that does reliable honest work.

So that's my advice, find a good mechanic. One that will tell you not only what is wrong with your car right now, but what preventative work needs to be done, and what kind of wear they are seeing that might be a problem in the future.

[Hurricane0884]

My first beater was a '94 honda civic. Great car I put so many miles on that car. I ran perfectly no problems until the engine just blew out and it would have cost double to fix it what it was worth. Still wished I would have done it though because I bought a newer car with a payment before I found DR and its not worth it one bit. My advice is to keep up to date on maintenance most cars will last a very very long time if you actually follow the maker suggested tune ups.

[Palooka]

I consider my 2000 Jeep Cherokee a beater. I love that thing and we traded our not so payed for 2006 Chevy truck in for this. Got out of 7k debt just like that. It sure looks new to me and is in great shape. *knocks on wood

We have a good mechanic friend that has helped us when needed.

[petrolhead]

Here we go, 15 posts now i can put pics up.
£500 dented scraped noisy loose smokey leaky beat up junker





And a small cash investment and lots of weekends of TLC fixing her up gives:














And I had fun doing it. Once we start a family I'm looking forward to teaching the wee ones this stuff, maybe do a restoration project for some family time to teach some valuable skills that of lot of people are not bothering to learn nowadays. I learned spraypainting from my dad and mechanics from pestering the mechanics at the local shop to let me help, then learned more by fixing up dirt bikes to sell on for profit.

[Ali Lee]

Does a 10yr old car count as a beater? I have a 2001 Saturn, 70,00 miles. Knock on wood...no trouble @ all with it. Too bad they quit making them.

[Daisygirl]

I am paying off my 1998 Intrepid tomorrowwwww!!!!!!! So happy! Now I can pay for fixing it instead of owning it!

[kita]

I don't know if I should be proud or embarrassed that my beater is 1989 Mercv. Tracer. My brother has mechanical talents and it hasn't given me much trouble when you consider that I paid $450 for it a year ago....

[acabin42]

My beater is a 1994 Geo Prism.......got it new in Oct. of 93....
It has almost 300,000 miles on the car. Replaced the original engine at 250,000 with another engine from a junk yard. The paint is faded, it has lots of rust spots, the interior is a mess, and the radio quit, so I have a boom box sitting on the passenger seat.
The other day the check engine light came on...and is running a bit rough, so we will try to fix it again this week and see if we can keep her going.
Love my little car....

[mndtrp]

One of the best cars I owned was a 1987 Chrysler New Yorker. I bought it from an old lady for $800. Two of the windows didn't work. The flip-up headlights didn't flip-up properly, so I propped them into place with pieces of wood. One rear door didn't unlock properly, so it was always locked. Good car, though. It rode like a boat, but was still a relatively small car. It had decent pep, and got okay gas mileage. I drove it for a year or two, until something started going wrong. I can't remember what, but I was living in an apartment and didn't have the ability to tear it apart myself.

After that car, I got a 1994 Buick Park Avenue, in more or less the same type of shape. One of the windows didn't work properly, the suspension was sketchy, and one of the door would work intermittently. I paid less than $1000 for that car, and held onto it for two years. I hit a patch of black ice, and slammed backwards into a concrete divider. After that, I had occasional electrical problems, increasing in frequency. Later that year, it was giving me so much grief when starting, that I just donated it.

By that point, I had saved enough for a used pickup, which is what I currently have. Beaters can be awesome, because it doesn't really matter what happens cosmetically. Depending on the problem, some duct tape, or pieces of wood, can be sufficient. Regular maintenance is still key, though.

[HappyMama]

One of my Beaters , is a 1994 Mercedes E320. I love him
We bought it at 160,000 miles and now it has 280,000. This was taken last month. I naively got into Mercedes and found out to not pay a fortune you have to know how to research, get parts OEM , and do yourself. We have replaced the wiring harness, acuator, blow motor, brakes ourselves . This baby has lasted me now 7 years...no car payment, and a joy to ride. I have a couple others but this is my favorite.

We just bought a Mercedes 1980 300 D with 89,000 miles on it , she runs smooth, has impeccable interior and was garaged as well as serviced for years. Had to grab it quick as I got it for 900.00 and these have been known to last up to 500,000 miles if maintained.