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Good, Cheap Beater Cars & Inexpensive Commuter Cars - how to find one?

345 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 9:00 AM

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What is this discussion about? Acura Integra, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford Escort, Honda Civic, Mazda Protege, Buying Insurance

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#21 of 345 My beater choices by stubborn1 Jul 19, 2002 (9:39 am)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) During high school and the early years of college, I always drove "disposable vehicles". I usually spent between $300-$700 for a car. I had free time back then and was fairly mechanically inclined so I didn't mind going to the junkyard to look for used parts. I would probably dump about $100 in parts in each vehicle to keep it on the road during its lifetime. The average life expectancy of the cars was about a year. The best disposable car I ever had was my 78 Delta 88 2-door coupe. I bought it for $300 (in 1995) and drove it for a whole year before the tranny went out on it. When it died, my neighbor bought some parts off me for $25 and I got $50 from the junkyard. $225 cost for the year + tax, title & license.
#22 of 345 cutehumor by tboner1965 Jul 19, 2002 (10:09 am)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) My beater car story: I bought a 1979 Ford Fairmont for $100, drove it for three years and about 60K miles. Everything worked, including A/C and cruise. Did $1500 in maintenance and repairs (this included oil changes, new exhaust and a couple of sets of tires, only one breakdown, ignition module, imagine a Ford ignition module failing, what are the chances?) over the three years and sold it for $500. Cost to drive was about $0.018/mile + fuel and insurance costs. Estimated costs with fuel and insurance were about $0.10/mile at 20MPG and $1.25/gallon and evenly dividing my $1200 annual premium for three cars into a $400/year cost for this car, over the three years. How did I do? 8^) I'm currently driving an 87 LeSabre I purchased for $1000, but it cost me about $2K in reparis last year (New Tranny), still it is about $0.16/mile according the the AutoMobile app on my PDA that tracks my automotive expenses. TB
#23 of 345 $650 "Beater" lasted 11 years! by lemko Jul 19, 2002 (1:06 pm)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) My first car was a 1968 Buick Special Deluxe 6 passenger station wagon I purchased in 1981 for $650. The car had 74,000 on it, had a pristine interior, and ran extremely well. About the only thing wrong with it was the teal blue mist paint had oxidized quite badly. A few dollars worth of polishing compound, Turtle Wax, and some elbow grease and I had a very attractive car for a very modest price. The car was very basic - had an AM radio, crank windows, and vinyl interior. It was powered by a very easily maintained 350 cid V-8 with 2bbl Rochester carb. I purchased my second car in 1984 and gave the wagon to my brother and he kept it for eight more years! By 1992, the body was pretty much shot as my brother hardly maintains his cars as well as I do, but the powertrain was still still reliable as ever. I suggest anybody looking for a beater car these days can't go wrong with a 1977-90 GM RWD full-size car with either the 305, 307 or 350 V-8. They are dirt-cheap to purchase. Parts are cheap and plentiful. Anybody with basic mechanical skills can repair and maintain them and fuel economy is reasonable and they'll be happy with 87 regular. Another car to consider is the Chrysler M-Body, (Plymouth Gran Fury, Dodge Diplomat, Chrysler Fifth Avenue). The 318 V-8 and Slant-Six have legendary reliability. The Torqueflite transmission is darn near bulletproof. Maintenance and repair costs are modest and parts are cheap and plentiful. I'd stay away from older full-size Ford products due to transmission bugaboos.
#24 of 345 oh no now im thinking about buying a beater car by mpyne Jul 19, 2002 (8:38 pm)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) anyone have any good websites to check out besides getauto.com and autotrader.com? im looking for something up to about $1400
#25 of 345 if you can get to Chicago by ghulet Jul 20, 2002 (1:59 am)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) try this, it's where I found several old cars I looked at: http://www.drivechicago.com/classifieds_fullframe.asp Also, check the Chicago Sun-Times (the Tribune tends to have more upscale used cars, and overpriced, IMO, older used cars). If you're interested in a car on this site, bear in mind the many Chicagoland area codes, as follows: 219=NW Indiana 773=Chicago city, except 'downtown' 312=City, downtown 847=generally NW suburbs 630=generally West suburbs 708=generally S/SW suburbs 815='collar' burbs, as far SE as Frankfort, as far NW as Woodstock, as far west as at least DeKalb
#27 of 345 Finding a beater by jaserb Jul 24, 2002 (7:36 am)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) A good way to go is to talk to neighbors/friends/relatives who are looking at trading in. When my next door neighbor just bought a new Liberty I asked her if that meant they had three cars now. "No, we just got rid of the Geo", she said. I didn't have the heart to ask her how much they gave her on the trade. This was an early '90s Prizm in fair to good shape - a perfect beater. If I'd have known she was getting a new car I'd have offered her a little more than the trade in and she'd probably have jumped. -Jason
#28 of 345 My cheapest beater... by andre1969 Jul 24, 2002 (9:34 am)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) ...on a cost-per-mile basis, was a '69 Dart GT. I really wouldn't classify it as a beater though. It only had about 49,000 miles on it when I bought it in 1989, and everything still worked on it. I figure it cost me about 7.5 cents per mile, + fuel and insurance. When it got totaled, the '68 Dart I replaced it with didn't prove to be nearly as reliable, but then it also had about 253,000 miles when I bought it, so that shouldn't be too much of a shock! Still, when I added everything up, it only came out to about 10-11 cents per mile. I also had a '79 Newport that I figured came out to around 13 cents per mile. Jason, I actually came kind of close to doing what you mentioned, about finding someone who's about to trade. A few years back, my co-worker's mom was about to trade her '94 Intrepid on a '99. It only had about 30,000 miles on it, if that, and there was nothing wrong with it, but she just wanted a new car. The dealer was going to give her something like $7400 for it. Unfortunately, I didn't move fast enough, and she traded. My co-worker's Mom did say "well, it's at the dealership, if you still want it." Yeah, sure. With a several thousand dollar markup, I'm sure. Oh well, things usually work out in the end. A few months later, I bought a brand-new car, which I probably wouldn't have done had I just sunk $7400 into a used one.
#29 of 345 I found a nice Pro ES for my dad that way by jaserb Jul 24, 2002 (1:34 pm)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) A coworker tried to trade it in but it had a salvage title - it had been rear ended and he'd bought it back from the ins. co. because it wasn't too bad - just a bent rear deck lid, cracked bumper cover and a busted taillight, which he replaced. Actually didn't look too bad. He bought an Echo to replace it and I got the Pro for $1100 - not bad for a '93 ES Auto with all the goodies, ice cold A/C and just over 100k miles. My sister still drives it. -Jason
#30 of 345 Best way to choose older cars. by mrdetailer Jul 24, 2002 (3:02 pm)
Replying to: raybear (Mar 29, 2001 2:14 pm) 5K should not be a beater even though that's the direction of the discussion. What you want is a vehicle that is reliable and still has some life in it. 1. In my view here is the best ways to buy an older used vehicle. Best bet is relatives, neighbors, and friends that you know well enough to know the strengths and weaknesses of their driving and repair styles by personal experience. Second best reliable references from this same group. Third best reliable lower cost used car dealers. Fourth Reliable vehicles purchased by a vehicle broker at auction. Fifth unknown third parties who have a batch of receipts or records that can be verified as having maintenance and repairs consistently done. Don't buy a tricked out car. They will have spent the money on the fun stuff and likely neglected essential repairs. Don't buy a vehicle that has some flood damage. Don't buy a vehicle that has serious body damage. I've done well with 2 cars that had dented quarter panels, however, there was no serious structural damage. The issues are if the motor still functions smoothly and if the frame was never bent. Don't buy an older persons vehicle with super low mileage. 2-3 thousand miles a year. No time to warm up the engine. Actually harder than road miles. 5-10K per year however can be acceptable since I have 2 drivers and 3 vehicles that's generally what I average. And that generally includes one longer trip a year. Never buy a vehicle without 1. getting a thorough mechanical inspection (one that costs about $100 to do), 2. Checking TSBs and recalls for potential problems. I prefer finding an independent mechanic who worked at a dealership, or who specializes in certain brands of cars. Their knowledge of strengths and weaknesses can save a bundle, and 3. making sure that it passes any relevant state and federal inspections and emissions tests. Also for older cars it is best to keep a reserve to cover known issues immediately after purchase. If I can I keep $1500 for that purpose. For example, I immediately flush and replace engine coolant, power steering, brake and transmission fluids as well as an oil change (unless a sticker shows when it should be changed). I generally do a tuneup unless I have proof of when it was performed. Tires will often be worn and alignments will also be necessary. Wouldn't be surprised if some brake work were necessary also. The money spent early on saves future repairs and evens out over the years. I did that on the last vehicle I purchased, and while the first year repairs were about $1500.00, the next year only cost $340.00 In the long run, purchasing a vehicle that has already lost most of its depreciation, is in good condition, and reliable can save a lot of money over a new car purchase.

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