I want to buy a really cheap car that will last me for a year or two. What are the better known beater cars out there. What should I look out for when I buy a beater car. Any advice would be appreciated.
Advice for buying a sub $1500 beater car
- Thread starter anonymouschris
- Start date
86-89 Accord would be a good option, I've owned two & both have been great (except for my tendency to total them).
Viper GTS
Viper GTS
An old aircooled VW.
Hell my daily driver right now is a 82 Sapporo.
I traded a stick of 128 PC100 for it!
And unlike my VW, it has HEAT!
Hell my daily driver right now is a 82 Sapporo.
I traded a stick of 128 PC100 for it!
And unlike my VW, it has HEAT! 
In your area:
1985 TOYOTA CAMRY, loaded, pwr snrf, ac, pw, pm, c, Sony stereo, inside looks new, runs & drives exc, sport tires, $1400 obo, Sacramento, 916-363-6905
1985 TOYOTA CAMRY, loaded, pwr snrf, ac, pw, pm, c, Sony stereo, inside looks new, runs & drives exc, sport tires, $1400 obo, Sacramento, 916-363-6905
There are probably literally a dozen or more Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans and Subarus in your price range.
The trick is to find a good deal. Don't be afraid to look at a car and say "No." Case the classifieds, you really have to get on the phone early if you want the good deals. They are out there.
The trick is to find a good deal. Don't be afraid to look at a car and say "No." Case the classifieds, you really have to get on the phone early if you want the good deals. They are out there.
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
An old aircooled VW.
Hell my daily driver right now is a 82 Sapporo.
I traded a stick of 128 PC100 for it!
LOL!! You can't be serious!! If so, that's awesome!!
No, I AM serious!
I'm driving it while I restore the VW. (very much like this one)
I have no idea!
From my experience doing side-work, I would say, private party, no more than two owners.
I'm a Toyota fanboy, so an older Corolla.
Service history and how the interior/under-hood look is important. Speaker holes and mickey mouse wiring
are a serious red flag. At $1.5k it gets down to luck of the draw.
From my experience doing side-work, I would say, private party, no more than two owners.
I'm a Toyota fanboy, so an older Corolla.
Service history and how the interior/under-hood look is important. Speaker holes and mickey mouse wiring
are a serious red flag. At $1.5k it gets down to luck of the draw.
Condition, condition, condition!!! With a few exceptions (like Tempos, pre-91 Escorts, old Cavaliers/Sunbirds, some others), that's much more important than the brand and model. I'd take a clean/well-maintained American car over a neglected Honda or Toyota any day. The important thing is to find something without any immediate mechanical problems.
I just bought a 89 Honda Accord with 92000 on it for 1800 after tax and license. Nice little ride for the money and seems like its gonna last me at least a year or two when I can get the money together for a car with a little bit more umph....
NutBucket
Lifer
- Aug 30, 2000
- 27,170
- 643
- 126
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
An old aircooled VW.
Hell my daily driver right now is a 82 Sapporo.
I traded a stick of 128 PC100 for it!
LOL!! You can't be serious!! If so, that's awesome!!
No, I AM serious!
I'm driving it while I restore the VW. (very much like this one)
Bah! You should be restoring a notch-back
Before this thread gets too high-jacked read this on used car purchase..Text..Look at the pdf also. Be willing to walk away
from the deal, trust your gut
One other thing, insist on a cold start-up. Some times all is OK warm but cold reluctance can be encountered.
Be there first thing in the AM for a cold start.
from the deal, trust your gut
One other thing, insist on a cold start-up. Some times all is OK warm but cold reluctance can be encountered.
Be there first thing in the AM for a cold start.
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
An old aircooled VW.
Hell my daily driver right now is a 82 Sapporo.
I traded a stick of 128 PC100 for it!
LOL!! You can't be serious!! If so, that's awesome!!
No, I AM serious!
I'm driving it while I restore the VW. (very much like this one)
Bah! You should be restoring a notch-back
You can't carry SH!T in a notch. I like to go camping and I can carry ALL KINDS of STUFF in the squareback.
True that the notch's are WORTH more, since they are the only type 3's that were never imported into the US.
NutBucket
Lifer
- Aug 30, 2000
- 27,170
- 643
- 126
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
Originally posted by: NutBucket
Originally posted by: Brutuskend
An old aircooled VW.
Hell my daily driver right now is a 82 Sapporo.
I traded a stick of 128 PC100 for it!
LOL!! You can't be serious!! If so, that's awesome!!
No, I AM serious!
I'm driving it while I restore the VW. (very much like this one)
Bah! You should be restoring a notch-back
You can't carry SH!T in a notch. I like to go camping and I can carry ALL KINDS of STUFF in the squareback.
True that the notch's are WORTH more, since they are the only type 3's that were never imported into the US.
Point taken. I just think notch-backs look awesome
weirdichi
Diamond Member
- Sep 19, 2001
- 4,711
- 2
- 76
From experience, NEVER buy a car from a friend or a ricer (in my case, a friend who was a ricer). I bought an Acura from him and it was a great deal: $1300 for a 91 Integra with 93 'tegra rims, some under the hood crap, a nice alarm system, and nice stereo system, 130k miles. The car was excellent, but the problem was that he revved the living sh1t outta the transmission that one year after I bought it, the tranny went out. There was actually a big hole in the car with some metal fragments on the ground under the car when the tranny blew. I'm not a performance kinda guy and I could care less about all the rice stuff he did to the car, but I needed a car and the price was right and it had a nice alarm system on there also. But it's just that if you buy from a friend, that friendship stands in the way when something breaks down and you're not happy with the vehicle.
The best vehicles are those that were owned by a senior citizen (who doesn't smoke). They are hard to find, but well worth every penny. Good luck in your search.
The best vehicles are those that were owned by a senior citizen (who doesn't smoke). They are hard to find, but well worth every penny. Good luck in your search.
When you are lookign at cars in tha price range, Make and model mean almost nothing. How it was taken care of is #1 think to look at. You can take a Carb car from the 70's that has been taken care of and it will run better anbd last longer then the most reliable car from the 90's that has been beaten up on.
I would pass on cars that have timing belts as in that price range they will probable need a water pump and timing belt if not more. With stick shifts check out the gear oil and clutch condition. Auto's look at the fluid color and smell it and check for slippage when COLD.
When looking at used cars always open the hood and see if the engine is cold. If it is warm coem back later and tell them NOT to drive it. Problem will show up more when the car is cold and then YOU can drive it to see what it acts like from being cold to getting warm.
Marlin
I would pass on cars that have timing belts as in that price range they will probable need a water pump and timing belt if not more. With stick shifts check out the gear oil and clutch condition. Auto's look at the fluid color and smell it and check for slippage when COLD.
When looking at used cars always open the hood and see if the engine is cold. If it is warm coem back later and tell them NOT to drive it. Problem will show up more when the car is cold and then YOU can drive it to see what it acts like from being cold to getting warm.
Marlin
I"d much rather have a domestic in this catagory. You can get something like a early 90s dodge 2.2/2.5l 4 banger car for under $1500 with less then 100k miles on it and in real good shape. Alot of the imports will have lots of miles on them and still be using carbs and the late 80s carbs are a pain in the ass. My current beater is a loaded 89 dodge caravan turbo that was $800 and had 120k miles on it. Its my 3rd 4 banger chrysler product and the least reliable of the three but also the first turbo and by far the most fun . Nothing major has gone wrong with it in 2 years though and parts are dirt cheap and the cars are dirt simple to work on so I don't really care.
. Nothing major has gone wrong with it in 2 years though and parts are dirt cheap and the cars are dirt simple to work on so I don't really care.You might also want to look at a selvage title car. In that price range any hit that takes out a fender will total a car and you should be able to pick up the car on the cheap.
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