Show us your beater cars!

fastfredracing · 08-13-2011, 07:18 AM

Don't get me wrong, I love my Porsche cars, and we have also had a small fleet of decent BMW's over the years, but I always have had some sort of $500.00 beater in my life. That is how I kept my nice cars nice.
I find that at this point in life, I don't even want a nice car to commute back and forth to work in. I don't care if I spill a gallon of paint in the Jeep, don't worry about dents, and scratches. It has its own security system, it is so ugly that no one would want to steal it. I fill it with tools, concrete block, engine parts, firewood, and don't feel the slightest bit guilty about it.

masraum · 08-13-2011, 07:22 AM

I've had LOTS of beaters over the years, often, they were my only car. I haven't had one in a while though.

I figure that cars are going to get dirty, dented, scratched, etc... if they get used. I use my cars.

fastfredracing · 08-13-2011, 07:42 AM

Pics did not load first time around.
1997 Grand Cherokee, 256,000 miles, beat to hell and back. Is on its 3 rd transmission, but original 318 has never had a valve cover off. Does not burn , or leak any oil, and runs like a switch watch. This is my workhorse. I will drive this Jeep until the frame cracks in half,and may still weld it up and keep going at that point. Oil changes come from leftover half quarts at the shop, which is probably good, it's last change got a couple of quarts of brad penn 20/50, some lubro moly 0w40, a little bit of mobile one 15/50, and whatever else I had laying around. Has been on this diet for the last 100,000 miles of its life. This Jeep spent a good deal of it's life towing Porsche's around the country. Just drove it to Wash Dc a month ago, with no issues, and the best part... my lady hates it, and won't even really ride it it unless it is an emergency.
Ode' to the beater car!

kaisen · 08-13-2011, 07:45 AM

I just bought a 1995 Ford E350 Club Wagon 15 passenger for $700 from the original (church) owner. It's mechanically sound and has a V5 receiver hitch and 4 newer E-load tires. Ready to work! But ugly as the day is long......

scotricker · 08-13-2011, 08:26 AM

My other daily driver:

1948 Chev 3100

trekkor · 08-13-2011, 11:49 AM

We race a beater~

24 Hours of Lemons - Home Page

KT

Heel n Toe · 02:13 PM

An '84 Ford LTD II that was my DD during the mid and late 90's. 5.0L ...had been a sheriff investigator's car... probably had 165K on it when I got it... bought it for $1600 from a guy who worked in the county motor pool who had bought it at county auction to resell.

My sons were impressed that it had a 160 MPH speedo in it, but that was just standard issue... not relevant to the car's capabilities.

Not a bad car at all. The A/C died after a few years and I just did without rather than throwing $700+ at it. Even in the summer, driving to work in the morning and home in the evening was tolerable because it had cloth seats... I just didn't go out during lunch unless I had to.

Oh look... how shiny... yeah, because I had just rinsed it off for these pix not long before I sold it because it was losing oil pressure. Some guy bought it from me for less than $500 to hop up a bit and drag race it. Dropped by the repair shop where he worked a coupla times, but never saw him there, so I don't know how it worked out.

126coupe · 126coupe's Garage

25 years old and almost 300,000 miles

Heel n Toe · 08-13-2011, 02:20 PM

Dude, you should hide that thing in the garage before the neighbors report you.

Either that, or just be ashamed for posting it here in a thread with "BEATER" in the title.

MT930 · 08-13-2011, 06:41 PM

Racerbvd · Racerbvd's Garage

My two Beaters..

Embraer · Embraer's Garage

bought it nearly 3 years ago for $400. it was originally my airport car, but now has managed to get me across the country, and still sees action when i feel like offroading, or driving to work. ive put probably 30,000 miles on it. love it.

jim72911t · 08-13-2011, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trekkor

We race a beater~

24 Hours of Lemons - Home Page

KT

Good to see that you are still using that car to humiliate us lowly E30 drivers!

Bill Douglas · 08-13-2011, 08:25 PM

I drove this for ten years until it got rust issues

as I live at the beach, so I sold it and bought another one much the same but upgraded from white to silver haha. I quite like them as they are NZ's most common car and therefore totally anonymous.

Evans, Marv · 08-13-2011, 08:44 PM

My beater car is a truck.

Henry Schmidt · Henry Schmidt's Garage