Beaters Out Of Choice - Not Necessity

[eddie1278]

I never spent over $1,500 for a car and i owned 4 since I started driving almost 20 years ago.

I put about $1,200 to $1,500 into preventative maintenance and fixing some things that were bad when i bought it. This doesn't include tires.

I bought a lot of my tires at my local salvage yard for $20 each. Tires were like new most of the time.


So for about $3k+ to have a reliable vehicle for about 5 years+ is a no brainer for me. But I'm a mechanic and it's my hobby to fix cars so that helps tremendously. If you have no mechanical skills then I would recommend you buy a new or fairly new preowned car.

[Yellow Jacket]

Yep I currently have 3 beaters. A Sterling 827, a Merkur XR4Ti and a Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon (manual trans). The wagon is used to transport parts for my shop but now I got the urge to modify it. The Merkur was a beater I got for free but now I got the urge to make a Sierra Cosworth clone out of it. Unfortunately for me, my good friend has easy access to Cosworth parts so I don't have an excuse to not do it. The Sterling will remain a stock DD but I got do a clutch job soon so I gotta find a Legend OEM replacement but it will be cheap. At least it keeps my M5, Legacy GT.B, Baja and Commodore from being used as often.

[Caleb Longstreet]

Originally Posted by AndyAMG

I got rid of a 06 CLS55 and got a 00 SAAB 9-3 for $2000 in perfect condition. Has all the amenities, 0-60 is only 2 sec slower and it gets 27 mpg. Best decision I have ever made. I take the $800 dollars/mo I was spending and put it in savings (that's 10k/year).

I never worry about where I park, I don't freak out if my friends put metal objects on the roof or if my wife slides a box across the back seat. I don't worry about my kids wet or dirty clothes from playing outside. I don't freak out if people put their feet on the dashboard now either. My best friend used to prop up one ankle over the other knee and his fliplop would rub against my light colored leather covered glove box and I used to freak out on him.

It's just easier to own a beater, and at the end of the day even a 80k car is just a car. All cars are money pits.

I just had a friend telling in many words and a round about way that my car was not befitting of a professional. With out even thinking I said well at least I'm not paying $1160/mo for 6 year old Range Rover worth 28 grand. He did not find the humor in it. ... Akward.

You are a smart man Andy. In the end, no one cares THAT much what you drive. So long as it's clean and doesn't smoke like a 2 stroke outboard on start up, you should be fine!

Add the savings on insurance, maintenance, etc....and if it gets wiped out in a wreck...ho hum...get another

[atgss]

If I was seeking another car there's one ebay a 1992 Toyota Camry Wagon at a Toyota Dealer with 46,xxx miles for $2,500.00 and it looks fantastic! Makes for a "great beater".

[dbabyatskiy]

In a supermarket parking lot earlier today, a red '92 Acura Integra in pretty good shape caught my eye.

Walking to my own vehicle I saw the driver approaching it and stopped to talk to her.

- 80,000 miles on the original engine

Her and hubby bought it new but rarely drove it, the wife didn't work and the husband had another vehicle for work. When he retired, they sold the other and now only drove the AC. She said they were going to have it painted soon...That car could theoretically be on the road for another 22+ years.

[Baconisgood]

Instead of an eternal car payment, I'm funding my retirement 401k with an extra $500 each mont . I'll get to retire 5 years sooner!