Peace of mind from driving a beater?

'85 Ford Ranger. Bare bones stock, crank windows, not even an A/C. Bought it with 80K miles on it for $1800. Worked it LIKE A DOG for four years, carried waaay too much weight in it at times. Also commuted 65 miles one way to work everyday. Drove it for four years and another 80K miles, then sold it for $2000. LOL.
 
I know some here are very OCD about their vehicle finishes and are the types to park at the back of the lot, away from other drivers and shopping cars and foot traffic.

So for that crowd: Have you ever purchased a crappy beater car that you drove for times when you didn't want to constantly worry about door dings or severe weather?

Or is the hard truth that you're better off accepting defeat and letting the car take the hits?
Depends on the definition of beater. I've owned a typical beater (old and high mileage) and will never do it again because I don't live in an area where I can easily perform my own repairs. I don't ever again want to worry if my transmission will survive the 3 hr run to visit family. That's not to say I wouldn't change my mind under different circumstances and climate. Now if ones definition of a beater is simply inexpensive then ya, I'd have no problem buying a very inexpensive new vehicle because I couldn't care less about the inevitable environmental damage, dings and wear on suspension which would occur from driving in such an environment (ex, Rustbelt). It's a throwaway car.

One of the best things about living in the SE US is that I can own a nice car without having to worry about it getting beat to sh!t.
 
Our trusty Tundra is not really a beater per se, but I am not afraid to leave it anywhere and it regularly gets lent out.
On the other hand, Tesla owners know all to well about their cars getting keyed by haters.

Good ol' vandalism... I will never sell my truck; it does just about everything.
 
A few of the beaters I've owned over the years have been my favourite cars (and one truck). Makes me wonder sometimes why I even bother with owning a "nice" car.
 
I'm not too picky. I drive the Genesis most anywhere. It gets rock chips and everything in the freeway, it's just whatever at this point.

But for the last 6 months or so I've been driving the Camry to the grocery store to avoid door dings. What's funny is when I park the Camry, people will pull in next to me and then pull straight through to the other side, rarely do they park next to it. I don't blame them, it's a Mad-Max mobile.

I welcome door dings at this point!

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Is that a teeny-tiny black spoiler??
Mike B
 
Yes, a few. When I was younger I bought $1000 cars and drove them until they died.

My best was a $1000 Olds that I got 40k miles out of. Was even paid $850 by an insurance company when it was rear ended. Cost me $25 for the new tail lamp at the junk yard and I just kept driving it. Eventually it was dropping a lot of oil and anti-freeze and couldn't pass emissions, so it was donated and I received a $500 tax deduction.
 
My 92 Cavalier that I drive I bought as a beater back in 2006 with 76,000 miles and wrecked in the front end. I had the uni-body straightened, found some used fenders, hood, headlights, bumper, and grill and got it back on the road. It was my work commuter until 2017 when I retired but I still drive it because it still gets 30 mpg and is actually kind of fun to drive and I don't worry about dings or it getting damaged. It now has 242,000 miles on it and still plugs along.
 
My beater is my 2012 Honda Civic. It's still in great shape and takes the everyday beatings that would otherwise be assaulted on my F-150 or my Corvette. I don't get too upset over a ding and have PDR tools in case I do get a ding. I have the unlimited automatic car wash sticker on it and it gets washed all the time. By have an extra beater you can keep the other vehicles nice and not have to worry as much about parking lot damage. Gas is getting more expensive now and that's another incentive to jump in that car instead of a more expensive vehicle. We use my wife Jeep when we run around together on weekends etc. She has been working at home the past year and the Jeep didn't get driven too much compared to other years. I plan on keeping the Honda at least another year before I buy a "new to me beater." I have owned this one since it's had 34,000 miles and now I am at 104,600 or so.
 
I’ve had beaters for decades and I have never regretted it. I recently changed jobs and with that I lost use of a company car, so I just bought a beater 03 Pontiac vibe for $2800, dumped less than $100 in parts/fluids, and 48 hours of my labor to get it where I’m comfortable. I drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco (for work) and actually still in SF. The beater ran perfect , smooth, no over heating, and got 33.8 miles per gallon on the first tank. It’s also nice to have a small car around this area for parking and the small streets in the hills of Berkeley vs driving my Avalanche. Yeah the avalanche rides nicer and comfy, but I do a ton of driving and having the beater helps w fuel costs and wear on my truck. I would drive my beater to the east coast and back right now without worry.
 
I just bought another beater yesterday. It’s another Mazda truck. I’m looking forward to making that the 8th car and 7th beater pretty much. Needs a couple things like plugs and a starter and maybe a fuel pump or carburetor too. It’s bone stock a little rust where a dent is but nothing major. New tires and a fairly new battery too. I’m sure everyone knows I have piece of mind driving mine lol.
 
I drive a salvage title 2008 Corolla. I love the fact that I really don't care what happens to it. In fact the other day I put a big dent in the trunk after trying to get it unstuck from a snow storm. No big deal I say. It's only at 135k so I plan of having this a while. I love beater cars.
 
My daily driver is a 2002 Ford Escort bought in 2008 with about 80K miles and a rebuilt title for $2000. In 2010 it had over 100K miles and a lady hit my son in it and did about $2900. damage to it. The accident didn't affect drivability so I pocketed the money to use toward the purchase of another newer low mileage car. I'm still driving it now with about 208K miles. It's got enough dents/dings/missing paint etc. I'd probably never know if it got another one. I usually try to keep at least one beater around for everyday use. Prior to the '02 Escort was my '88 Escort that I bought in '93 for $500 with 146K miles. When I retired it in about 2011 it had 518K miles. It was also involved in a couple minor accidents where I pocketed about $1000.
 
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My 03 Civic EX has gradually turned into a (still decent looking!) beater. I bought it new and it's been my daily driver from day one. 160k now but from 2008 (~65k miles) to last year, life took over (special needs child, trying to be a great husband and dad) and it was neglected way more than is typical of me. Now my son is 16 and into cars (and got his own first car), so that got me back into taking care of our vehicles. Last year I did a UOA on my Civic which uncovered a just starting head gasket leak, so I sunk $1500 into getting that and a few other things fixed on it. Now I'm trying to decide if it's worth taking it in for the manual tranny (making a bearing noise in idle). I'm willing to put some money into this car because it's been so reliable and is in good shape, and is still way cheaper than a car payment and higher insurance/tax bracket. In a perfect world, this beater will last me another 2-3 years when my wife's '18 CR-V is paid off. We'll get her a new car and I'll take over the CR-V. Fingers crossed. ;)
 
I don't have a beater, but I use my kids' car if I need to (2008 Ford Focus or 2012 Mazda 3) if I want to zip around downtown or don't really want to put up mileage on my Acura. Once they leave the house, I may look into getting a beater/project car for the summer.
 
The cons of my beater is that it turns into a pigsty inside. Since I care so little for my 2001 Honda Civic, I routinely pile trash inside. Papers, food wrappers, construction debris. I do maintenance on it adequately, but I care so little about cosmetics.
 
I still enjoy driving my beater- a 1992 Saturn. The AC blows at 37 degrees on a 95 Florida day. The stereo jams. It gets 38 mpg and I can brake check the nimrod who's trying to drive up my tailpipe without worrying if they are on the phone. (BTW, I brake check using my e-brake)
 
Purchase a crappy beater for weather, no. Did keep and use my oldest vehicle (w/4WD) for salted winter roads instead of rust on a newer vehicle, and haul dirtier loads in it.
 
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