Post your "beater" daily driver

[Nick1994]

Retired from daily driven status almost 5 years ago, I let my brother drive it. It basically just goes to Starbucks and the grocery store. Occasional trips across town. Although
last summer I put 600 miles on it in a week while my DD was at the dealer for repairs. I'd drive it across country in a heartbeat. It's totaled in the left rear corner. The rear struts are toast and make a ton of noise. Have new ones to put on one day.

Ain't she a beaut?

 

[350Rocket]

Retired from daily driven status almost 5 years ago, I let my brother drive it. It basically just goes to Starbucks and the grocery store. Occasional trips across town. Although
last summer I put 600 miles on it in a week while my DD was at the dealer for repairs. I'd drive it across country in a heartbeat. It's totaled in the left rear corner. The rear struts are toast and make a ton of noise. Have new ones to put on one day.

Ain't she a beaut?

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When my sister's 2010 Ford Taurus water pump and all timing components failed I convinced her to get a Camry or Corolla. We found a 2005 Camry for $2500, lots of paint defects but underneath was well undercoated and still in good shape. Only 170k. So far so good a year later.

 

[Zee09]

Older gent drives this to Mcdonald's
every day...picture from this morning.

 

[HankHill]

2002 Mercury Sable 3.0l Vulcan. 100k miles, no rust, no pictures though. Having a car in NYS with no rust is impossible, it came from the south, most likely a flood car.

 

[MCompact]

100% rot-free 1986 Dodge Daytona, bought for about $1400 in Virginia in 2011. 2.5L automatic. 95K miles. Everything works, including the ice-cold A/C. Just installed a fresh set of Douglas (Goodyear) radials from Wal-Mart yesterday ($43 each plus mount & balance).

Has its share of battle scars and the clear coat departed the planet some time in the 90s. Drive it 34 miles to/from work every day. Get lots of comments and eye-rolling, but it always starts and runs, delivers 20+ MPG, and costs almost nothing to insure. Parts and maintenance are also dirt-cheap.

Folks can roll their eyes all they want. I'll just keep funding my retirement accounts in lieu of a ridiculous car payment...

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I drove several of those when they were new- some very nice sport coupes!

 

[MCompact]

My 2009 Cooper Clubman; it has 129k miles on the clock. It's optioned a bit oddly for a base model- it has heated sport seats and navigation. Being OCD, I've replaced some faded trim and a couple of interior pieces. I also installed Bavsound front speakers and Philips X-tremeVision headlight bulbs. The goal is to keep it to the end of my term(December 2024). It averages @38 mpg, although I've seen as high as 49 mpg one way if I hit the lights just right.

 

[Aero540T]

2002 Mercury Sable 3.0l Vulcan. 100k miles, no rust, no pictures though. Having a car in NYS with no rust is impossible, it came from the south, most likely a flood car.

I have basically the same car. 2002 Taurus SEL but with the Duratec. 201k my mom bought it in 2005ish with around 40k miles. My older brother ended up driving it a lot, smoked in it, generally destroyed it, then I acquired it and took very good care. Too much rust but runs strong! In Michigan its whole life which is a killer!

 

[miden851]

I do not drive it anymore. Bought back in 2010 with 49K miles on the odometer; I refuse to call it a beater but with 251K miles on the odometer in that's what it is; It came to GA from NY state back in 2010; I've paid $10.9K for it; At one point it was rear ended (my fault), nonetheless it turn out to be money well spent on; a real contender for 300K miles

 

[1uz_4me]

99 GS400, 354k mi & counting. It used to see just under 90mi/day for work, now it's 16mi/day. Gf's daughter likes when I roll in to the throttle...need to get her a ride in a car with real power.

 

[53' Stude]

My 188k 2009 Toyota Camry. Bought with 100k on it. Stone cold reliable especially since it’s not leaking oil anymore. I lindy like the “robin egg blue” or sky blue color too

 

[SatinSilver]

My 2009 Cooper Clubman; it has 129k miles on the clock. It's optioned a bit oddly for a base model- it has heated sport seats and navigation. Being OCD, I've replaced some faded trim and a couple of interior pieces. I also installed Bavsound front speakers and Philips X-tremeVision headlight bulbs. The goal is to keep it to the end of my term(December 2024). It averages @38 mpg, although I've seen as high as 49 mpg one way if I hit the lights just right.
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I'm more of a Toyota person but that is sweet looking! Plus you don't see those everyday around here.

 

[Delta]

So this is kind of the "daily beater" or it was during warmer weather. I'd drive it a day or two to work and exclusively on the weekend. Smokes like a bong, rattles, squeaks, permanent CEL, etc. It's the basic of the basic, crank windows, manual transmission, and manual locks... However the AC still works, albeit it makes it slower than a snail with a hard on, but still works.

As if you all haven't seen it before, alas here's the '95 Talon, AKA Mitsubishi Eclipse...

Complete with fart can exhaust. Speedometer hasn't worked in a while so it probably has 250K miles on it at this point. Right now it's slightly tore apart and getting some new rockers. New paint in the Spring along with a suspension re-do. Don't know why I'm doing it.

 

[Addicted2jeepz]

People don't just roll their eyes, some downright laugh at me.... Hey, I average 37 - 38 mpgs!! My Jeep needed filled up every 4th day, I get a week and a half with this baby, plus I'm not racking up so many miles on the Jeep just driving to and from work.

 

[14Accent]

Not the best picture, I took that right when I found out I was the proud new owner. 2000 WJ Grand Cherokee Limited, 236k miles, 4.7 V8 with QuadraDrive. It needed a power steering hose, a front brake job, and a couple odds and ends repairs (heated seat switches, for example).

The wheels and tires alone are worth a grand, they're XD series 17's with Hankook DynaPro's with about 7/32 tread depth. Being a QD equipped truck, it has front and rear VariLok differentials in addition to the 247 t-case. Is it perfect? Not even close. Is it an amazing beater DD for a $500 investment? You bet.

 

[meep]

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Not the best picture, I took that right when I found out I was the proud new owner. 2000 WJ Grand Cherokee Limited, 236k miles, 4.7 V8 with QuadraDrive. It needed a power steering hose, a front brake job, and a couple odds and ends repairs (heated seat switches, for example).

The wheels and tires alone are worth a grand, they're XD series 17's with Hankook DynaPro's with about 7/32 tread depth. Being a QD equipped truck, it has front and rear VariLok differentials in addition to the 247 t-case. Is it perfect? Not even close. Is it an amazing beater DD for a $500 investment? You bet.

I had a 93 with the 4.0. It’s probably the favorite I’ve ever owned. I regret having gotten rid of it, and instead wish I’d had the frame straightened, engine and rear axle rebuilt. Parts were easy and everywhere, and it was fun to drive and easy to live with.

 

[Egg_Head]

It's not a beater if it doesn't break down:

 

[PF52]

It's not a beater if you're not beating on it.... Driving it all winter, etc. Drowning it in salt.

2006 Chevy Cobalt, 260K miles, Dunlop WinterSport tires.... Runs awesome and still returns stellar Blackstone analysis. Rust will kill it eventually.

Sorry the pic isn't bigger but it was all I had handy at the moment. If I remember right, I had just washed it a day or two earlier!

 

[Rob_Roy]

1997 Suburban. 168k miles, still runs and drives great. Love it for bringing the kids to hockey games.

 

[The Critic]

2011 Prius, 223K.

I am the original owner. It has been shockingly reliable aside from needing the common head gasket repair at 185K. Still has the original hybrid battery. With the current gas prices we have been driving it as much as possible. The car has its fair share of scrapes, chips and interior damage, but the overall cost per mile has been unbeatable.

 

[53' Stude]

It's not a beater if it doesn't break down:

Hey! That was my car or 3rd car thru high school. Bought mine off pops(real dad and mom) for $400 that I earned. Mine had iron duke “tech 4” engine with funky oil filter that went up in pan. Deer slammed into it heading home from lumber planing mill one night. I miss mine, it was a gold color. Loved that car