Thinking of buying a winter beater

[Twista]

In the range of 200-450 dollars (maybe 500) Is this a dumb mistake or what? I need a car ASAP before Chicago winter gets bad. My current car is not going to make it through the winter. Last winter i had problems and she needs to go into hibernation ASAP. My current car is a gt mustang which has a very light ass end and rwd. Most stang owner seem to put there mustangs away for the winter since they suck on snow and ice. Yes, i know people will say if you know how to drive you'll do fine.

Anyways, i found a 1996 dodge van for $300 near me. I need a beater that has very low insurance for my age (19 with no history or tickets). My mustang insurance is not exactly low, so im looking for something that will cost me next to nothing to insure.

 

[MageXX9]

I'd look into a cheap AWD Subaru, or a single cab 4wd Toyota truck.

 

[jdini76]

get a cheap toyota. They are good with gas milage and are FWD. also with something like that the insurance will be cheap. just get liability.

 

[Turin39789]

learn to drive

 

[AbsolutDealage]

I'm in the same boat. I have my new mustang and I'm dreading the first Chicago winter with this thing. I have an extra set of rims... so I could spend the ~$400 for some decent snow tires, or I could take that money and buy a beater. That way, even if I do get in an accident, I won't care too much.

I don't know, I'm still on the fence. Either way, we're gonna have a foot of snow by tomorrow so I guess I'll have to deal with my 'stang+summer tires for the short term.

 

[MichaelD]

Sorry, but it sounds like your current ride IS a beater. :Q What are all these "problems" you speak of?

When I was 18, I had a really nice car (1974 Dodge Challenger) that I was eternally going to fix up, restore, repair, whatever.

I didn't have two nickles to rub together and the car wound up junked.

Save your money, put some damn snow tires on your Stang, and drive it like you stole it. When it dies, buy a nice, sensible car until you have two nickels to rub together and you can really buy what you want.

MHO.

 

[Brainonska511]

You could always throw sandbags into the trunk of the mustang to weigh down the back.

Though, the beater sounds okay, but you're insurance may go up more than you think just because you'll have two cars in your name instead of just one.

 

[DougK62]

In my experiences, if you buy a car for less than $500 you have about a 50/50 chance of it making it through the winter.

 

[Twista]

Originally posted by: AbsolutDealage
I'm in the same boat. I have my new mustang and I'm dreading the first Chicago winter with this thing. I have an extra set of rims... so I could spend the ~$400 for some decent snow tires, or I could take that money and buy a beater. That way, even if I do get in an accident, I won't care too much.

I don't know, I'm still on the fence. Either way, we're gonna have a foot of snow by tomorrow so I guess I'll have to deal with my 'stang+summer tires for the short term.

Get a beater man. I drove my mustang through winter last year, but only on days needed. Now that i have a job i need a car thats reliable everyday. I just dont seem safe in any v8 mustang when theres snow and ice out. I seen pictures of wrecked mustangs due to bad winter weather and its a sad sight.

I hope we dont have snow tomorrow man. I also have only summer tires on my car plus i leave for work @ 3:40 am when the streets are ******. Im not sure what im going to do.

 

[vi edit]

Chicago area:

http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/car/238868152.html

 

[Fritzo]

Hi. My name is Winter, and I am VERY against this idea.

 

[Twista]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Sorry, but it sounds like your current ride IS a beater. :Q What are all these "problems" you speak of?

When I was 18, I had a really nice car (1974 Dodge Challenger) that I was eternally going to fix up, restore, repair, whatever.

I didn't have two nickles to rub together and the car wound up junked.

Save your money, put some damn snow tires on your Stang, and drive it like you stole it. When it dies, buy a nice, sensible car until you have two nickels to rub together and you can really buy what you want.

MHO.

Problem with traction i mean. Epically when you have a fight trying to make it up a steep hill with snow and ice. THATS A PROBLEM!! I thought about snow tires and sand bags, but still its dangerous out there not only for you and your car, but the other people driving on the snow/ice. I do have insurance on the stang, but i rather have it put away during winter.

 

[Auryg]

Originally posted by: DougK62
In my experiences, if you buy a car for less than $500 you have about a 50/50 chance of it making it through the winter.

My old '88 Grand Marquis made it through two..would have made it through atleast one more. It was only 400 dollars.

Don't get me wrong though..if the thing wasn't HUGE, it would have been scary as hell to drive in the winter. RWD, extremely heavy front..not good.

It was fun when I wasn't in a hurry and there were no cars around though

 

[nakedfrog]

I'd say to go ahead and get a winter beater, but definitely NOT that one.

Originally posted by: Auryg

Originally posted by: DougK62
In my experiences, if you buy a car for less than $500 you have about a 50/50 chance of it making it through the winter.

My old '88 Grand Marquis made it through two..would have made it through atleast one more. It was only 400 dollars.

Don't get me wrong though..if the thing wasn't HUGE, it would have been scary as hell to drive in the winter. RWD, extremely heavy front..not good.

It was fun when I wasn't in a hurry and there were no cars around though

My 77 Grand Marquis made it through two winters, and would have kept going
It was only $350, and I sold it for $300 after those two years. It did take that 460 V8 a little while to warm up, though

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: DougK62
In my experiences, if you buy a car for less than $500 you have about a 50/50 chance of it making it through the winter.

Heh - my last dedicated winter beater, I purchased for $200 out-the-door, all license / registration / taxes / dealer fees included...and drove for 4 years. :Q It was very reliable, and I made a number of 700+ mile trips in it. It required very little work in the time I owned it - exhaust, starter, thermostat, and radiator were all I needed to do to it. It was also my brother's first car. He drove it when I didn't need it. Between the two of us, we put 45k miles on it in that 4 years.

Incidentally, it was a Mustang It was a 4 cyl though - I did 4 Michigan winters in it. Worked great with sandbags in the trunk.

RIP 1992 Mustang LX
Finally sold it for parts when the transmission blew out. I sold it for almost 2x what I paid.

 

[PHiuR]

if you buy a car for $500, you'll be lucky if it starts in the winter.

 

[thedarkwolf]

My winter beater is an 89 dodge caravan turbo. I paid $800 for it 6 years ago and its still going fine. I've rebuilt everything under the hood though but I've also double the boost and made a few other tweaks . Anyway if you are going to buy a winter beater a minivan is a good choice. Being FWD they get around fine in the snow/ice and come in very handy for moving crap once you pull the rear seats out. Its amazing what all you can shove in there when you don't give a crap about damaging the interior. The only real problem with the van your looking at is it probably has the 4 speed auto pos trans but for $300 I wouldn' t care. If it last more then a month you win. If its a 4 banger then it has the reliable 3 speed and you are good to go.

 

[Rubycon]

Is global warming that bad that winters are now considered high in cholesterol? :laugh:

 

[KrillBee]

Originally posted by: DougK62
In my experiences, if you buy a car for less than $500 you have about a 50/50 chance of it making it through the winter.

then buy another one for $500

 

[KrillBee]

im also debating getting a winter beater. my reason is that my current car a 96 nissan maxima is already starting to rust on the rocker panels, and its beginning to eat into the subframe. i dont want to do any more damage to my car, so I'm thinking about buying a cheaper car that i just dont care about.

only problem is, im not sure what kind of winter beater to get and how much to spend? whats the price point that gives the most bang for the buck? a 300 dollar running car? a 500 dollar car? 750? 1000? more?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Snow tires on it will do more good - getting a car that you don't know the history of nearly as much, haven't driven to learn the characteristics of anywhere near as much as your current car, etc. might not be the best idea. Jumping into a new purchase of osmething large like a car this quickly is foolish, IMO.

 

[KrillBee]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Snow tires on it will do more good - getting a car that you don't know the history of nearly as much, haven't driven to learn the characteristics of anywhere near as much as your current car, etc. might not be the best idea. Jumping into a new purchase of osmething large like a car this quickly is foolish, IMO.

some cars are pretty cheap though I mean $300 isnt much to spend is it? just use common sense when buying!

 

[BUTCH1]

Originally posted by: KrillBee
im also debating getting a winter beater. my reason is that my current car a 96 nissan maxima is already starting to rust on the rocker panels, and its beginning to eat into the subframe. i dont want to do any more damage to my car, so I'm thinking about buying a cheaper car that i just dont care about.

only problem is, im not sure what kind of winter beater to get and how much to spend? whats the price point that gives the most bang for the buck? a 300 dollar running car? a 500 dollar car? 750? 1000? more?

It's allready 10 yrs old and rusting, it IS a beater. Bondo up the rust and your
all set...

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: KrillBee
im also debating getting a winter beater. my reason is that my current car a 96 nissan maxima is already starting to rust on the rocker panels, and its beginning to eat into the subframe. i dont want to do any more damage to my car, so I'm thinking about buying a cheaper car that i just dont care about.

only problem is, im not sure what kind of winter beater to get and how much to spend? whats the price point that gives the most bang for the buck? a 300 dollar running car? a 500 dollar car? 750? 1000? more?

Think you already have a beater with you maxima . It really depends. One of my best beaters was FREE cause it broke down in my driveway. If you can work on your own car and know what to look for you can get way pretty cheap.

 

[RU482]

kinda hard to lose with a decent running $300 car.