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Should "Beaters" Be Taken Off the Road? - READ ONLY

218 messages,  Last post on Nov 03, 2010 at 12:15 PM

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What is this discussion about? Car Safety

Messages Page 18 of 22

#169 of 218 Re: Take 'em off the road, and head due South [jlawrence01] by steve_ HOST

Feb 17, 2008 (7:55 pm)

Replying to: jlawrence01 (Feb 17, 2008 7:38 pm)
Let me go down to Mexico, purchase and import one of the many subcompact models that are readily available down there ...
 
I sort of like the Ford Ka (no one else did - it's no longer offered in MX as of last month due to poor sales) and you can't beat the old VWs (I guess they finally quit making them a few years ago).
 
For real, I could see myself driving an Nissan X-Trail. Nissan sold those in Canada too but I don't know if they are still on the market up there. Boxier than a Rogue, more like an old Cherokee.

#170 of 218 Re: Take 'em off the road, and head due South [steve_] by jlawrence01

Feb 18, 2008 (7:28 am)

Replying to: steve_ (Feb 17, 2008 7:55 pm)
Personally, from Mexico, I liked the Nissan Tsuru and the Pugeot 206 and a few others.

#171 of 218 Re: Take 'em off the road, and head due South [jlawrence01] by bumpy

Feb 18, 2008 (8:16 am)

Replying to: jlawrence01 (Feb 18, 2008 7:28 am)
Sadly, this is the last year for the Tsuru. 18 years is a good run for the B13 Sentra.

#172 of 218 Re: Take 'em off the road, and head due South [jlawrence01] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 18, 2008 (10:08 am)

Replying to: jlawrence01 (Feb 18, 2008 7:28 am)
YEAH. Peugeot 206 turbo diesel. Nice little car.

#173 of 218 Re: Take 'em off the road, and head due South [Mr_Shiftright] by jlawrence01

Feb 18, 2008 (12:17 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Feb 18, 2008 10:08 am)
YEAH. Peugeot 206 turbo diesel. Nice little car.
 
Saw a lot of them in McAllen, TX. In fact, I was so smitten with the vehicle, I chased the car 10 miles to Reynosa in order to figure out what it was. Heck of a nice looking car and I am not a car person.

#174 of 218 . by fintail

Feb 18, 2008 (3:32 pm)

Today I got behind what I call a 'Joe Dirt Special' - this time it was an early 90s Chevy fullsize truck, with commercial plates and some junk in the back. It was pretty banged up...and when the driver would hit the gas (from like 0-20), it would smoke worse than a poorly tuned 220D under hard acceleration, a nice plume of thick black smoke. Who knows what else was wrong with it....but this is the kind of thing I see as a beater.

#175 of 218 Re: . [fintail] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Feb 18, 2008 (4:20 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Feb 18, 2008 3:32 pm)
Ah YES! A true "beater" should smell bad, that's a plus. Or at least smoke badly. But that black sooty belching of hydrocarbons as the car rocks back and forth on 7 cylinders---it doesn't get much better than that! It helps though if the side view mirror is loose so that the glass quivers with the engine. That's a nice touch.
 
And twine run through the punched out trunk lock hole is a pretty good credential. And of course, a coat hanger around the tail pipe is...well....classic.
 
I think a beater should say something...it should say...."Stay away from this car".

#176 of 218 Re: . [Mr_Shiftright] by gagrice

Feb 18, 2008 (5:25 pm)

Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (Feb 18, 2008 4:20 pm)
The beaters that scare me the most are the stake bed trucks coming up from Mexico to haul stuff back down. I see them loaded so high with old appliances, leaning like the tower of Pizza. Or enough old bald tires to fill a football stadium, stacked to the heavens. They are usually in the right lane on the freeway headed South. Coughing, sputtering, smoking and swaying their way toward home. I have never seen one stopped by the Highway Patrol. It is like they don't exist.

#177 of 218 Re: it happened again! [jlawrence01] by andre1969

Feb 18, 2008 (7:53 pm)

Replying to: jlawrence01 (Feb 17, 2008 7:44 pm)
If you are going to have a state inspection where the car has to undergo inspection once a year for safety issues like in Virginia, I am all for it.
 
 
I've heard though, that those yearly inspections aren't all they're cracked up to be. PA has a yearly one too, and I think West Va might, as well. Here in Maryland, a used car only gets inspected when you first register it. Back in 2001 I bought a 1979 5th Ave from a little sales lot in West Va. The seller said he'd guarantee it to pass inspection in PA, VA, or West Va, but in Maryland, I was on my own, and good luck with that! So I'm guessing the Maryland inspection is a lot more stiingent?
 
Luckily, I got through it without too much trouble. Obligatory headlight adjustment, new rear brake shoes, some minor suspension work, and one new tire.
 
BTW, I see some great looking 1980-1990 Chevy Caprices and older GM cars with no rust and in good shape in Chicagoland. Unfortunately, I never make it to the estate sales that they are offered at.
 
I've always had a soft spot for those old beasts. Comfy, roomy, decent fuel economy for their size, cheap to fix, okay handling with the right tires, and easy on the eye.

#178 of 218 Re: it happened again! [andre1969] by jlawrence01

Feb 18, 2008 (9:29 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Feb 18, 2008 7:53 pm)
Andre,
 
The inspections in Virginia looked fairly reliable. They would adjust headlights and at least, would go through the vehicles.
 
The ones in Missouri were a joke. People, hearing that my car failed for something minor, gave me a list of a station where it would pass for a small fee. And of course, never take it to WalMart as they were very straight.
 
Drove a 2003 Intrepid this weekend. Wish I had one off lease when I needed a car last year. The gas mileage wasn't that great though.

Messages Page 18 of 22

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