Found beater car....can't decide whether to buy

[charbaby]

SC1-single overhead cam(SOHC) w/14" wheels/tires(IIRC, 185-70-14) with FISK/RRUM brakes.

I have even seen some SC1 or SL1 w/ 175-75-14 tires so, look for these differences.

 

[rjundi]

For $400 drive make sure its road worthy(they rot in terrible places) but otherwise a nice throw away car if repairs exceed its value.

 

[supton]

I'd be concerned with passing inspection. But if the sticker is good for at least six months, I'd rock it, even at the full $400 cost. Probably could part it out for more than $400 at the end of six months driving.

 

[hypervish]

Buy it!

I bought an Accord as a beater car for $200 a few years ago, ran it from 160k miles to 228k miles till the heater core got clogged.

 

[The_Jeff]

Get it. If you do nothing else, stash it in your woods. Invariably gas will go shooting up next spring and you can sell it for $1500.

 

[Rat407]

Super easy to work on and to find parts for. Just keep the oil full and you will be fine.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Get it. If you do nothing else, stash it in your woods. Invariably gas will go shooting up next spring and you can sell it for $1500.


No kidding. I'm trying to figure out how I can buy my next econobox now while everyone is enjoying cheap gas. Buy low, sell high.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted By: Rat407
Super easy to work on and to find parts for. Just keep the oil full and you will be fine.

OP (original poster) Alltherage,
for oil keep a look at the sales/rebates section.
if money is tight, there is always the jugs in the back of the local autozone, o-reily, adgvance autoparts..... as long as they don't contain coolant or brake liquid, you will be fine. maybe lucky and get somebody's short run M2 (Mobil1 run twice....)

 

[jrmason]

If you don't drive more than 5k a year it will be hard to justify adding another vehicle to the fleet, even if its given to you.
1) 5k miles a year is roughly 100 miles per day
2) rough #s, but let's say you average 15mpg in your truck and 30mpg in your new car, that's 6.7 gallons per week of gas used in the truck and 3.3 gallons per week in the car. Even if gas was $4 a gallon, that's less than $15 a week in savings. By the time you figure purchase price,title fees, registration, insurance,maintenance/repairs, and you'll never break even let alone get ahead.

 

[supton]

I'm not following the logic.

100miles/day is over 36k/year. 100miles/day commuting, or just five days a week, is still 26k/year, or 24.5k/yr if you take 3 weeks off total.

I only notice because I commute 100miles/day and have a rough calculation/expectation of doing 22k/year for commuting. In years past I would still do 25-30k/year on this commute (weekend drives, etc).

One nice thing about having a beater: if the main vehicle goes down (repair, maintance or whatever) the beater can be pressed into service. If you have to have a vehicle always then nothing like redundancy.

But for like 15k/year and down, yeah I could see it being hard to justify a beater. Unless if the main vehicle is also near beater status.

 

[exranger06]

Originally Posted By: jrmason
If you don't drive more than 5k a year it will be hard to justify adding another vehicle to the fleet, even if its given to you.
1) 5k miles a year is roughly 100 miles per day

I was scratching my head on this for a while until I finally realized you meant to say 100 miles per WEEK.

 

[Alltherage]

I would like to have flexibility to ram around more.... basically.

I bought that car today and it turned into an afternoon of [censored]. Paid the 400 n it died 1/4 mile down the road. Jumped it and it ran another few minutes. Died 3 times total and seemed to idle fine when jumped but died while driving. New battery n alternator. Abandoned it in buffalo. Nightmare! A mechanic offered me 250 and scrap will pick it up for 200. Or I can run a trailer n pick it up. Ugh

 

[Alltherage]

Ideas on the prob? Long ways from where I live

 

[Alltherage]

Was at the dmv 3 times today!!!

 

[Alltherage]

Oh, and the guy felt bad after the third stall and threw in jumper cables and gave me $100 back. So...in total, 300 purchase price and 150 to register etc. but I cancelled the transaction so got half of the dmv money back. Can't sell or scrap until I get my title...6-8 weeks!

 

[dishdude]

Sounds like the new alternator is bad. Did the PO happen to give you the receipt? It might still be under warranty.

 

[GMFan]

I had a 2001 Saturn SL with 5speed. It was white so I gave it the nickname "White Lightening." It started developing issues after 140k miles and I got scared and flipped it. I miss it.

Alltherage, replace the Engine Coolant Temp Sensor. The old ones are ceramic, crack with age and cause stalling issues. Very common Saturn issue.

I'd recommend you visit Saturnfans.com forums. They are extremely knowledgeable on these cars and saved my [censored] many times.

 

[Alltherage]

I got a receipt. I have read about the coolant sensor on saturn fans. I will have to re-read. So far this cars nickname is black plaque

 

[spasm3]

I would have taken it home on a trailer. No $400 car would i buy and try to drive distance. If i buy a car like that, i take it home on a trailer and go through the brakes and other things to make sure its safe, then work out the kinks on short trips from home. Just because it is stalling does not mean you need to junk it. You just need to figure out if its an ignition problem a fuel problem or the timing of the two. At $400 bucks you can still afford to put a little in it. If you don't have a lot of mechanical experience, a $400 car might not be for you. Not trying to sound harsh, but any car under say 2500 may have issues. You save money if you can figure it out and repair yourself.

Make sure you have fuel pressure, look at the condition of the spark plugs. Use a timing light when it stalls to see if you have fire to each ignition wire. Coils can work cold but fail when hot. Hopefully it does not have a head gasket issue.

Get a hayes/chilton book off ebay, or a factory service manual if you find it , and familiarize yourself with the engine.

 

[Alltherage]

Should've taken a trailer...I knew better