whats a cheap reliable beater

[fireberd350]

i decided not to daily drive my GN...i am in the process of seeling my 93 Grand AM GT to pay back my parents but I want to buy another car to drive mostly in the winter but i need one cheap.....thinking maybe a dodge colt or old civic or anything thats cheap reliable and good on gas.....any ideas?

 

[TurboJunky]

A cheap winter beater ride?....beater with a heater?? Hmmmm, lemee see:

1.) Chevy Vega
2.) Saleen Mustang
3.) Pontiac Astre
4.) Corvair
5.) Ford Cobra
6.) Ford Pinto
7.) Mustang 5.0
8.) Chevy Chevette
9.) Ford Lightning

Not necessarily in that order of course....

 

[sloride]

Get a Honda.Their reliable,PERIOD

 

[tjthorson]

Mr. 1233 that's quite a list. I don't think I see a single "beater" in there - except maybe the pinto. And of course, there's that pesky safety issue.

My reliable beaters I have had?

Decent for winter too?

Early 80s Hondas that aren't too rusty. Accord, Prelude, doesn't matter.

ANY of the GM FWD cars with a 3800 or a 3.1 are great daily drivers.

Look at 80s/90s Olds Cutlass Cierra, Lesabre, Lumina, Grand Prix, Grand Am, etc. They are not flashy cars - but all use cheap parts and run a long time with little maintenance.

 

[TurboJunky]

What?? You don't like my choices? Who wouldn't want to beat the snot out any of my picks agains 5ft tall snowbanks? I'd love to sink a Saleen into the tallest of snowbanks.....c'mon!

 

[Little6pack]

Mr 123 these cars don't even exist in mypart of the country anymore. Rust did its job well!

Chevy Vega
Pontiac Astre
Corvair
Ford Pinto
Chevy Chevette

 

[dhauser]

I third the honda prelude/civic idea. Take yourself down to the weekly auto auction and "get 'er dunn."

 

[equalizer442]

get a g body, ive had 6 or 7 so far. 3 or 4 cutlasses, 2 TRS, and 1 442 on the other hand ive got a 77 f100 and several assorted buicks from the 60s,80s,90s, and 00 that i swap around. what ever ya get stick with a buick and you will be fine.

 

[fireberd350]

its definatly got to be FWD for the snow...and get good gas mileage....i was thinking some kind of honda or mazda myself....hopefully something will come my way....

hey while i was peeking around for < $1000 cars i found a $400 84 Grand NAtional parts car....could be my lucky day....giving them a call tomrrow

 

[equalizer442]

somethen that slipped my mind is subarus, ive worked on several there really dinkey cars but ya cant kill them. awd, they will go in snow until they bottom out and if you only half way take care of them they will run forever, we had one in the shop a while back that needed a valve job. it had 500k miles on it and after the 3 angle valve job it ran like new.

 

[kh440]

Have to second the Subaru idea. An early 90s legacy comes in AWD, will run forever, just change the timing belt every 60-80k and don't ride or handle too poorly.

 

[NICKG]

get a nice little vw

pretty cheap, well made and fun to drive. very reliable and pretty fast too! you can do as much to these (more even ) in mods as a honda(they started that trend 25 years ago) great gas mileage, cheap to fix, and best of all, they are not a ricer car(no police issues) i always had them ....and a muscle car or 3

 

[GN ERGY]

Chevy Corsica, my girlfriend bought one new in 88 and her daughter has driven it and smashed it up and now her son has it. He drives like mario andretti and all it has needed is the basics, water pump, alternator, fuel pump, cam and crank sensors. It has 212,000 miles on it and is still running. I just bought an 89 with 63,000 miles on it for 1400 bucks last friday. Tarey D.

 

[UNGN]

Go to your local auto auction on a "open to the public" night. You'll be shocked and awed at what $1500 will buy. And I'm not talking little "S-boxes". You can get a nice 7-8 year old luxury car with bad paint or other cosmetic isssues (sometimes very minor ones, like bad carpet).

What ever you buy, you can drive it for a few years and probably sell it for more than you paid for it.

 

[jy211]

honda...end of story...

 

[pat83t]

I got a Ford Taurus for my winter beater. I figure FWD, plenty of room, and if you are going to beat the hell out of a car why not be constructive and take a ford off the road at the same time.

 

[myclone]

I third the subaru idea. The 4wd wagon I had my hands on was beat to hell when I got it and I beat it even more. I never could kill that thing. In low range the thing would just about climb a tree (yes, I tried ).

Next IMO would be a honda or the like. Drive it till its not worth putting gas in then get another one.

The auction idea is also good IMO. Never thought of that.

Lastly would be a cheap S truck. The ones with the 2.8 V6s are just about free and get decent milage. The 4.3s cost more but are thirsty at the gas pump all things considered. If need be you can use it for what it is also.. A truck for hauling parts, mulch, garbage, whatever.