Buying a beater type car

[ryenoceros]

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a beater type car for winter driving, so I'm going to check out some SUV type / Truck vehicles.

Does anyone have any recommendations for this category?
We have a 1997 Jeep Cherokee which is about to die and I want a replacement car.

I don't want to trash my new 325Cic in the winter, so we need something in case of emergency travel.

I realize this is sort of off-topic for the BMW board, but everyone here is so knowledgeable & helpful that I thought I'd ask.

Thanks in advance!

[cantona7]

That's funny, I was just thinking about doing the same thing myself. I have a covered garage, so my baby can sit in there all clean and safe during the winter. I just don't know what to get for a winter beater and weather it'll be more hassle in the long run with reliability and safety issues.

[Jon S.]

I realize this is sort of off-topic for the BMW board, but...:)


Btw, this was the best $1,200 acquisition ever.

My kids (twins) turn 14 years old today - until then it's the unofficial
family beater.


I've survived the first 14 years of parenthood.


Woohoooo!!!

[Sabrina]

Check out the thread about "Another Car Transport Ship Sinks" ... I'm sure there will have some great deals :angel: ;) :p

[cantona7]

:)


Btw, this was the best $1,200 acquisition ever.

My kids (twins) turn 14 years old today - until then it's the unofficial
family beater.


I've survived the first 14 years of parenthood.


Woohoooo!!!

That's funny--I was just looking at an ad for a Celica GT earlier today. Anyone else have good suggestions for a beater? I'm basically thinking that if I could get a beater for under $2000, I'd be set. Any thoughts?

[Guest84]

Anything that says "Toyota" on it will be reliable. Or, if you want a multi-purpose vehicle, I'd suggest an F150 with the straight 6- 300 cubic inch motor.

[Pvt. Joker]

If you want the ultimate in reliability, look for an old 2WD Toyota pickup. :thumbup:

[cantona7]

A truck would be handy, but I'd like something that has decent fuel economy. As it is, I can't stand the thought of making payments on my car while it sits in the garage all winter long. Anything with worse gas mileage than my 330Ci will just be rubbing road salt in my wounds.

[Sabrina]

Buy a Suzuki/GEO Metro ... they get up and go ... you can park them anywhere ... awesome gas mileage ... very reliable ;) :p

[Hercules]

Early 90s Nissan Sentra will do ya... mid to late 90s Mazda Protege, a Miata can be had for ~3k in good condition :D

There are lots of choices, just make up yer mind. I personally want to get a pickup just so I have a beater + junk hauler.

[The Roadstergal]

An E30 with snow tires is great in the snow. ;) Or an E34 525, if you want something bigger. Very good, reliable cars. A used Mazda 626 or Protege are good suggestions. Pretty much any decent sedan will do you well as a winter beater - with the right tires.

[samlee4444]

:)


Btw, this was the best $1,200 acquisition ever.

My kids (twins) turn 14 years old today - until then it's the unofficial
family beater.


I've survived the first 14 years of parenthood.


Woohoooo!!!


How the hell did u get that for $1200??

[Kaz]

If you want the ultimate in reliability, look for an old 2WD Toyota pickup. :thumbup:

That's my ultimate beater.

:eeps:

[Jon S.]

How the hell did u get that for $1200??
That's what I gave the guy for a trade-in... :D

[apar330i]

I'd look for a mid '90s Acura Integra/Honda Civic.

[cantona7]

Ok, right now I'm leaning towards picking up an E30. I found one that I may be able to talk down to about $1000. Going to take a look at it this weekend.

[The Roadstergal]

Which E30? Post the year and model, and you'll get plenty of advice on what to look for. $1K sounds like an E30 with Issues... but I've heard of people scoring gems that others were just getting rid of.

[cantona7]

It's a 1987 325es 5-spd with 190K miles on the clock. I'm hoping to talk the guy down to $1K because he's moving out of the country and just wants to be rid of it. Of course, I'll be taking it for a pre-purchase once over if I get serious about this. The guy's the second owner--bought it from his dad's friend. The issues that he knows about are: needs new battery, needs AC recharged (heat works fine, which is all I care about), and a couple of rust spots. The shop looking over the car will be Mighty Motors here in Boston/Somerville. The seller doesn't know much about cars--had to explain to him what a VIN is.

[Guest84]

Ok, right now I'm leaning towards picking up an E30. I found one that I may be able to talk down to about $1000. Going to take a look at it this weekend.
There are beaters that will cost you an arm and a leg to repair, and there are beaters that will cost you hardly anything to repair. Thats the difference between a BMW beater, and a Toyota beater. ;)

[The Roadstergal]

Rust can kill a car, so be very careful. The E30s are pretty solid vehicles, if cared for, and a right pain if not cared for. Make sure one you buy has had good maintenance in its past, and it should be fine. You'll want to change the timing belt as soon as you get one, if you're unsure of its history, and at that age it'll need new shocks if they're still OE.

[cantona7]

Ok, the truth is, I've always wanted an E30 and now that I have a shiny new E46, the easiest way to convince my wife to let me have one is if I call it the "winter beater". Yes, I don't want my new E46 to be subjected to the salt and crap on the NE roads in winter--that's true--but having an E30 to drive around in the winter would be awesome. I laugh my evil laugh.

One question: would a BMW dealer be able to run the VIN on a 1987 car to get service history?

[The Roadstergal]

I doubt it... most of the older BMWs don't have their service done at a dealer anymore. An inspection will tell you more. It's worth a phone call, though.

[nowonder]

I've been searching for a replacement for my Jeep that wouldn't involve a car payment.

HAs to be good in the snow, hold more than two people, be fuel efficient, easy to park, and cart around a bike.

So I'm looking at stripped down Ford Focus models, VW TDI's, or something like that.

--nw

[ctbmw]

AWD Volvo wagon/ 4 Nokias for winter-that's my fantasy!
(OOPS)
An older one will still be more reliable than Jeep or VW, and plenty of space,good resale.
(IMHO)

[3LOU5]

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a beater type car for winter driving, so I'm going to check out some SUV type / Truck vehicles.

Does anyone have any recommendations for this category?
We have a 1997 Jeep Cherokee which is about to die and I want a replacement car.

I don't want to trash my new 325Cic in the winter, so we need something in case of emergency travel.

I realize this is sort of off-topic for the BMW board, but everyone here is so knowledgeable & helpful that I thought I'd ask.

Thanks in advance!

Let's see: winter driving in CT = 4wd
large cargo area = station wagon
reliability = Subaru, especially ones with 4-cylinder boxers

Why? When I met my g/f in AK, she was driving a 1986 Subaru GL wagon with 160K miles on the odometer. Like most Toyotas and Hondas of the same year, the thing was a bucket of rust, but mechanically, it was incredibly sound, bulletproof and extremely reliable. The performance of the 4wd system was equally impressive, as it NEVER got us stuck on some of the nastiest snow/ice-covered roads. The beauty of it was she only paid $1,000 for it. Though gutless, it was well worth the money.

:thumbup:

(Believe it or not, a lot of Alaskans have Subarus as their beater cars. Just goes to show that those cars can endure the harshest of winters). ;)

[nowonder]

I looked at Subaru, they fit the bill for what I need.
But the new ones are more than I want to spend, and it's hard to find a good used one with under 50k miles on it.

If I go used, I really want to keep it under 50k miles... Don't want to inherit problems.

Haven't looked at the volvo's yet.

--nw

[Hercules]

I may get a Subie myself, since the AWD can be really handy and besides, I need a 4 banger to use for the drive to my new job... it's 45 miles each way, and with my car giving me 17MPG.... :D

[·clyde·]

and with my car giving me 17MPG.... :D

Lucky.