Looking at getting a beater

[EWC88 24]

So I drive a minimum of 80 miles a day for work everyday and I was starting to think to maybe by a beater car to put the miles on and save gas since driving my truck is putting miles on it fast and filling the tank fast. I figured dropping a couple grand on a beater and it lasting me couple years or more will prob save me money in long run. I considered buying new but I plan to buy a house within a year or so, so I figured not to add several payments and just buy the beater straight cash right away. I was wondering where do you think the best places to look for beaters, also what brands do you recommend? Lastly with the brand you recommend how many miles would you think it'll last and what should I walk away from at what miles?

[W2MC 1,699]

Look at the cost of insurance before you jump - A couple years ago, I considered a similar plan (but with a newer car and payments in the $100 to $150 range), and the gas price had to be in the $3.25 to $3.50 range to break-even, after the insurance was factored-in.... 

[Polak 3]

Toyota or Honda for reliability and something small with a small engine for efficiency.

 

Or an older golf or Jetta TDi.

[InFamous 311]

I drive a 2004 Hyundai Accent that I got for $500 with 225k miles. Completely base model and 5sp manual. I'm up to about 245k mi and besides a few repairs the car is a beast.

[Dr.Jimmy Rustler 23]

I'd look into older honda civics+toyota corrollas. probably spend under 6k for a decent one that will run for a long time. other than that just keep up on all the services. 

 

you can also insure your truck as a luxury vehicle depending on your insurance which can cut down on the cost since your going to make this new vehicle your primary car

[Kevin125 4,772]

I thought you meant one of those white tank top t shirts.....

 

But yeah, a Honda is a good choice. Very reliable.

[Shortfuse 39]

I have a Mustang 6 cyl in the Classifides for sale drove it 140 a day to and from work has alot of new parts in it runs realy good everything works has REMOTE START Great in the winter only selling because i got a pickup and cant use 2 vehicles if your interested give me a call or text at 732-678-6706

[ECsandstar 28]

Craigslist....honda, toyota, nissan...NO VW's unless you feel like investing a lot of time and money into them. VW's are money pits and maintenance on them isnt as easy as a little jap 4-banger. Im actually about to get rid of my Nissan Sentra haha. ITs time to move on.

[MedicYeti 96]

http://www.eliomotors.com

Not in production yet.

<$7,000. 64mpg. I want one

[1LtCAP 4,264]

i have an 04 subaru forester wagon. 2.5 sohc. car has 128k, engine has 76k. engine has new water pump, timing belt, and head gaskets(they installed those before they sold me the engine. runs great.

 

 i got a customer that has a nissan sentra. think that's an o1.

 

 both for sale

[JayWilling 33]

Honda or Toyota, but often overlooked:  Mazda.  I've got a little 2002 Mazda Protégé I got for 5K and I've been driving it to work for 4 years. A little work here and there plus I've hit 2 deer with it. We just bang out the dents and keep on truckin'. It's got about 168K on it now.

[PD2K 115]

I recommend an early 2000s BMW

[EWC88 24]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions I will have to start looking! I love my truck, no getting rid of it, but God I need to save gas cash lol. I would get motorcycle but then winter it's truck again so I'll do car for now!

[1LtCAP 4,264]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions I will have to start looking! I love my truck, no getting rid of it, but God I need to save gas cash lol. I would get motorcycle but then winter it's truck again so I'll do car for now!

unless you bought my subaru awd. then she'd plow through most anything.

[Smokin .50 1,907]

A garage-kept Mercury Grand Marquis that granny drives to church and to grocery store.  Engines run like a top.  Gets 24 on the Hwy if ya keep it under 80 mph.  Smooth ride for the commute. Easy to insure.  Only a few grand.  Millions of this chassis on the road, so parts are easy to find.  Go in comfort, let the fast lookin' red sports cars get pulled-over as you coast by them.....

[dajonga 397]

My 2 cents...

 

I traded in a 2008 Honda Fit with 196,000 on it in March. We dumped it only because my wife was next in line for a new car and I wanted her 2010 Scion xB more than my Fit.

 

I would highly recommend either car. Super, incredibly reliable. The only failure the Fit had was an AC compressor last year. The Scion is at 140,000 and nothing...NOTHING.... has ever broken or failed on the car. I believe the xB is built on the Camry running gear.

 

Fit could get close to 40 MPG if I didn't drive too aggressively. Scion gets around 32MPG.

[CageFighter 236]

im looking for a Nissan Sentra, prefer 2013 or '14, less than $14k.  i commute 240 miles daily.

[panteramatt 27]

TDI nuff said. Im a strick Ford guy but just got a job far away. Ive NEVER owned a vehicle without a V8 and currently have 5 fords with them. Well the drive was killing me and I wanted a smaller car for traffic than my jacked up f250. I bought a 2003 golf tdi. Could never bring myself to buy a jap car EVER! Now this thing has TONS of mods done to it but I can tell you that I dont even want to drive my other vehicles. Its very fast, very fun, and gets over 40 mpg and I beat the crap out of it. 

[panteramatt 27]

You dont live far from me if you wanna come down here your more than welcome to take my car for a spin. 

[DeerSlayer 241]

Honda, Toyota, or if you want a cool beater buy an early 2000's Subaru wrx. All wheel drive, 4door, and turbo. Pretty hard to look cool driving a Toyota Corolla just saying. But that not always important to everyone.

[planenut 60]

I've actually been driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla since new. Put about 133,000 miles on it with no major problems until I opened my mailbox today and found I'm on the recall list for the passenger seat air bags that turn into shotgun shells when deployed. Their recommendation is to keep people out of the front seat until they get parts in, whenever that will be . So you may want to keep that in mind when you're looking for your beater. I think Honda's had the same company do their air bags too if  remember right.

[Rob0115 1,107]

I thought you meant one of those white tank top t shirts.....

But yeah, a Honda is a good choice. Very reliable.

+1 on the VW TDIs I've had a bunch and put a gazillion (ok less but lots) miles on them. Diesel is now less than regular gas again.

[The brew guy 22]

NO VW's unless you feel like investing a lot of time and money into them. VW's are money pits

Hogwash, with basic maintenance a VW is as reliable as anything else, plus it feels like a German car should ( even new jap cars feel like they are falling apart). My wife and I have owned 8-9 VWs in the last 30+ years and they've all been great. My last one, an '07 Jetta went 80k on nothing but oil changes (every 10k), air filters and a set of rear brake pads before I traded it in.

Honda or Toyota, but often overlooked: Mazda.

My wife's current car is a 2010 CX-7, its a piece of crap and will be the last jap-crap we ever own. It looked pretty equal to a Tiguan when she bought it and it was a couple grand less, but the materials and build quality are a mess. For example, the inside door handles look just like the ones in the Jetta, except that the ones in the Jetta were brushed aluminum while the Mazda ones are all plastic. The Mazda turn signal and wiper stalks have felt like they'd come off in my hand since day one, a far cry from the controls in my VWs and Porsche.

TDI nuff said. Im a strick Ford guy but just got a job far away. Ive NEVER owned a vehicle without a V8 and currently have 5 fords with them. Well the drive was killing me and I wanted a smaller car for traffic than my jacked up f250. I bought a 2003 golf tdi. Could never bring myself to buy a jap car EVER! Now this thing has TONS of mods done to it but I can tell you that I dont even want to drive my other vehicles. Its very fast, very fun, and gets over 40 mpg and I beat the crap out of it.

 

^this! My current dub is a '14 Passat tdi. 27k so far with nothing but 2 oil changes and a few trips to the body shop (it was hit 4 times in less than a year, the '12 corolla that rear ended it was totaled, I got a new rear bumper cover). I wouldn't call it fast, but it has great (diesel) torque so it feels faster than it is and handles nicely for a front wheel drive. 40 mpg around town doesn't hurt and 50+ highway beats any hybrid without having to lug around 600 lbs of future hazardous waste like a hybrid.

Edit: Is forgotten about a coworker who recently replaced an older Pattat tdi when the head gasket let go at barely over 380k miles. Does that qualify as a "money pit?"

[Rob0115 1,107]

I've even have/had the V10 twin turbo Volkswagen Tuaregs. They are notoriously expensive to repair but I have my third and they've been bullet prof beasts. I don't recommend it for commuting because the fuel economy isn't good and due to their rarity have gotten expensive as hell to buy. However, I've had Jetta TDIs and they economy was so good it was crazy. The torque in the diesels make up for having small motors and they go like a bat out of hell. every manufacturer has their lemons but to classify VWs as money pits is plain wrong.

[panteramatt 27]

Wow Ive always wanted to drive one of those touregs. Anyway my golf has 280k and handles and drives better than any BRAND NEW jap car I guarantee you that! And I beat the hell out of my car as its a rocket and a blast to drive and Ive never gotten under 40mpg. 

[Luke_WO 11]

If you can find an older/seasoned Volvo, those things will go forever. Outside of that, Honda Civic/Accord and Toyota Corolla/Camry are good bets.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

I've actually been driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla since new. Put about 133,000 miles on it with no major problems until I opened my mailbox today and found I'm on the recall list for the passenger seat air bags that turn into shotgun shells when deployed. Their recommendation is to keep people out of the front seat until they get parts in, whenever that will be . So you may want to keep that in mind when you're looking for your beater. I think Honda's had the same company do their air bags too if  remember right.

corollas are excellent cars. the older ones look like cockroaches. but just like cockroaches, you almost can't kill em either. the newer ones? i do service for a legal carrier. they've got 3 2013's. the lowest mileage one is sitting at around 140k. other than the caliper pins seizing, they've had zero problems on any of them.

[1LtCAP 4,264]

vw's as they are sold here in the USA are junk. even with basic maintenance....they just break. got one customer with a toreg..........toasted the engine with only 78k. they have followed the maintenance schedule religiously. got another with a passat......cats. the flex section breaks. only fix is to replace the cats. got others with bad coil packs, turbos leaking oil, turbos shitting a brick. some of the older turbo 4 bangers i've seen the timing chain and tensioner between the cams(on the back of the head) go bad. nope. stay away from vw. unless of course you lease, and bail as soon as that lease is up......

[1LtCAP 4,264]

If you can find an older/seasoned Volvo, those things will go forever. Outside of that, Honda Civic/Accord and Toyota Corolla/Camry are good bets.

excellent idea. older volvos are decent cars.