Post your favorite beater cars

[OVERKILL]

My '88 F-250 was the ultimate beater! had a huge dent in the passenger door from when my grandfather got T-boned by a Buick. Rusty door bottoms and wheel wells, it was awesome in the winter since I had no concern about dinging it up.

 

[Cutehumor]

Originally Posted By: defektes
for long commuting trips that I dont use my 4.3, I use my 07 corolla. it is hideous and cheap inside but it gets the job done and it has a tough little fuel efficient motor.

Before that it was my 94 pontiac sunbird with a 2.0l motor 3 speed automatic. It used to pull 30-35mpg. Got rid of it when the transmission blew up.


how many miles did you get ouf that sunbird's transmission?

 

[MCompact]

1. 1984 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe 5 spd. manual: Driven 1993-1998 to keep miles off my old M6.
2. 2007 Mazdaspeed 3: Absolutely worthless as a fun track toy, so it's my everyday car- especially when there is salt on the roads(I do try to wash it every month or so). Any other time I drive the ti or '02.

 

[HM12460]

My 1997 Ranger, or a 1995 Buick Century wagon i used to have. Both were/are super reliable and economical. What more could you ask for?

 

[wander2039]

Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS
I cannot really have a 'beater' car, because I'm so anal about maintenance and appearance. I think of 'beater cars' as reliable daily drivers that are durable, cheap and easy to maintain. So the MCV20 Toyota Camry (1996-2001) with the 5S-FE tops my list.



Yeah that fit's me as well. But I like to have a Festiva or Aspire around for everyday driving.. 40+ mpg, parts are cheap ,not big enough to get dents in parking lots and haul just about anything.

 

[addyguy]

Old Toyota Corolla's, Tercels, or Honda Civics - you just CAN'T kill 'em!

 

[cousincletus]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
I just got a 1997 Crown Vic Police Interceptor. It runs pretty well, I use it for commuting in the [censored] traffic we have around here.

The odometer says it has 261k on it. I think it might have even been a taxi at one point, but I'm not finding any evidence of a taximeter installation. Two odd holes on the roof might have been for the top light, though.



Around here (Chesterfield County), I've seen ex county police cars at the auction with 70K. I played with the idea of buying one myself, but they sell for a premium. I guess taxi fleets buy them.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: GMFan

- Saturn SL/SC (will never quit unless you run them out of oil + dent free plastic sides)


Although I've had more than a dozen of these, two take the cake: My wagon I got more than six years ago, and a $250 SL1 I got with 140k that by B-I-L proceeded to put another 70k miles on in 16 months! All he put into it were two front wheel bearings, tires, plugs, and oil changes. A vandal got the windshield which cost more than the car and it was scrapped.

In the land of rust, these things have stainless exhaust, strong floor pans, and unobtanium brake lines that seem to stick around. Spotting blue smoke from the ones with shot rings is a fun pastime.

 

[SteveSRT8]

old saturns are famous around here for never quitting.

My kids were unable to destroy an 87 Cavalier. And we still have a Sun-turd. All original with 188,000 miles, everything works, runs and drives new.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

97 Police Interceptor...It was a former police car [1 driver highway] and former car service car [1 driver]...Got it with 280K miles but sold it because insurance cost to much... Its just cheaper to rent a new car then have a second beater car.

The 97 Police Intercepter [I always likes that style] ran just fine and when I sold the car it had 300K miles on it...Used no oil BTW..The guy I sold it two gave it to his son [who is 20] and he still has it and everything still works including the a/c...I believe it has around 400K miles on it now...Heard he is looking for a newer Interceptor.

I DO NOT recommend anyone getting a Police Interceptor that was city or county driven and worse yet a pool car that everyone drives...But a 1 driver Highway Patrol Car that has had strict on time maintenance could be a very good deal for some people.

I recently heard [for someone in the Los Angeles area] that the C.H.P. is selling Police Interceptors at a decent price..They are selling 07 CVPI'S for about 5250 which to me is a steal..The older ones are a lot cheaper...The 03's are going for around 1500 bucks...From what I hear all cars have maintenance records and have been well maintained...I also heard the OCI'S are between 3K and 5K miles...If no maintenance records can be found for the car you are interested in the C.H.P. is more then happy to help get the history on that car for you.

 

[Gary Allan]

Any NEON that's still functional. It can look like some gangstahs pulled a group beat down on it and it doesn't matter. Nice little run-about with no fear of getting tagged.

90's Taurus's ..if the thing doesn't have too many whistles to go bad on it, and has a Vulcan ...comfy road warrior vehicle ..and, like the legions of NEON'S out there, dirt cheap.

 

[Scdevon]

Are you sure the words "Neon" and "Functional" go hand in hand?

 

[Tdbo]

Favorite old beater was a 1986 Chrysler Town & Country Wagon. Bought it off my mom for $250. Put over 100K on it. Only thing that I ever did to it besides regular maintenance was a distributor ($67 at the time.) I'm not a big Chrysler fan, but I can't knock this car.
Current beater is a 2000 Ford Taurus SE that just turned 190K last week. I bought this car new. Only item replaced other than maintenance was a starter.

 

[The_Jeff]

Funny thing about neons is the purple primer that shines through whatever water soluble (white) paint they put on top of it.

Ma Mopar wasn't shy about putting bland steelies behind easy to crack/lose plastic hubcaps on those cars, which helps the beater persona perfectly.

Part of the beater mystique is the "force field" of respect you get, as others assume you lack insurance etc. Nothing says this as eloquently as an older grand marquis with some whitewall, some blackwall, some alloys, some steel, some hubcaps, some not. I had a 97 with thick, ding resistant body sheetmetal... looked like an unlicensed taxi.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: Scdevon
Are you sure the words "Neon" and "Functional" go hand in hand?


Shame about those head gaskets... It seems like everyone I've ever known that had a Neon had a head gasket or two... or three.. or four... go out on them.