On Buying a Beater Vehicle - Public Service Announcement for General Discussion

[MineralMan]

In another thread of mine today, a discussion about beater cars got started, but that wasn't the subject of the thread. As someone who has owned literally dozens and dozens of beater cars and trucks over the years, and who has been an auto mechanic, here's some food for thought if you're thinking about a beater car or pickup as a second, or even first, vehicle.

Owning and driving beater cars and pickups is a philosophy. You buy a beater that runs, drives, and stops reliably. Everything else is irrelevant. Wherever you are, $1000 will buy a reliable beater car you can use for whatever purpose you have for it, except for long road trips and long daily commutes. Beaters make great second cars that don't get a lot of miles put on them. Beater trucks haul trash away and pickup stuff from Home Depot or the local nursery. Beaters get oil changes every 3000 miles, but you do those yourself. If you're lucky, your beater had good tires on it and the brakes work properly. You won't drive it enough to wear them out.

An ideal beater has roll-up manual windows and as few electrical gadgets and other options in it as possible. A base trim model of any brand is the best beater. I mean, you need the windows to go up and down, and fixing an electric window can cost more than you paid for the entire car. So, look for the minimum number of options that can break.

Most beaters don't have working air conditioners. They must have good heaters, though, if you live in a cold winter area. Beaters don't have "sound systems." They have AM/FM radios and perhaps a working cassette or CD player. Beaters don't have sunroofs. Those leak. A lot of beaters have stained or torn upholstery and worn out floor mats. If that bothers you, you buy a cheap-ass set of seat covers at Walmart. If it doesn't bother you, just sit on the stains.

If your state requires annual smog tests, beaters are hard to find. If you do find one that will pass, odds are that it won't the next year. Keep that in mind, because emission control repairs typically cost more than the car is worth. If your state has a policy that exempts cars made before a certain date, buy an exempt vehicle. Trust me on this.

Beaters require an engine that starts easily and runs smoothly, a transmission that shifts properly, and brakes that stop the car without making noises. Those things are essential. If you buy a beater that doesn't have those things, you had better be sure you know what's wrong and are able to fix it yourself. Broken cars don't fix themselves, ever, and a poorly functioning beater will soon leave you stranded. Engine, transmission, and brake repairs done by a professional shop will almost always cost more than a beater is worth. Just walk away.

Some of the best beater vehicles are unpopular cars. Nobody wants them. They're ugly or stupid looking, are dog-shit brown or something. It's always a good idea to look for unpopular brands and models when you're looking for a good, functional beater. It's a beater, not a dream car, after all.

It's best to buy a beater from someone who doesn't make a habit of selling cars. Avoid all sellers that have a yard full of beaters. People who own beaters know that you have to sell them while they are still running, so you wait until your beater has an expensive repair on the horizon and sell it before it breaks completely. Some people actually make a living buying and selling beater cars.

Elderly people often have good beaters for sale. Heirs of estates often have a good beater for sale. If you buy one of those, it helps if you know what is involved in doing a transfer of a car owned by a deceased person. The person selling it probably doesn't know, so you're ahead of the game if you do know. There's always a form to fill out and a death certificate is always needed. Check with your local licencing division to find out before looking at such vehicles.

Never, ever buy a beater from a used car lot. Just don't do it. Especially not from a used car lot that has lots of low-priced vehicles. Nope. Bad idea. Any beater bought that way will make you cry very soon.

If you're looking for a beater, camp out on Craigs List and Facebook Marketplace. Check for potential vehicles several times a day and make contact immediately. Good beaters sell fast. Very fast. If you call and the person can show you the car now, go now. If you call someone who has a prime candidate for your next beater and they tell you, "I have a guy coming to look at it this afternoon," give the seller your phone number and say, "When that guy doesn't show up, give me a call, and I'll come right over." Most often, the guy won't show up, and you'll get a call. When you get there, if you like the car, offer less than is being asked. The seller is already frustrated and will probably accept your offer.

Have a price in mind for your beater. Maybe it's $1000. Maybe it's $1500. Whatever. Don't pay more than that. When you look at the car, check for things that must be done to it. If it needs a set of tires, it needs a set of tires. It's not safe to drive on bald tires. It doesn't need wonderful tires. The bargain tires at Budget Tire will do just fine. But know how much a set will cost, and adjust the price you'll pay to allow for them. the same goes for any other issues the car has. If you're patient, though, you can find a beater that doesn't need any of that stuff. That's the best beater of all.

Don't look at beaters with an empty wallet. Have the cash with you when you look at potential cars. If you don't, and it's an excellent choice as a beater, it will be gone before you return from the bank. The best beaters sell to the first person who shows up and recognizes the car as a prime beater. Also, cash talks, and helps you negotiate a lower price in many cases.

Be patient. Every day, new beaters appear on the market. Don't get desperate and buy the wrong car. If you feel like the one you're looking at might not be the one, walk away. There will be other candidates today or tomorrow. Don't settle. It won't take long to find a good beater if you are dedicated. A week at most, if you're flexible about makes and models.

Don't listen to anything a seller says about the car "just needing a minor tune up" or anything of the sort. It either starts, runs, stops, and shifts properly or it doesn't. Walk away from any car that doesn't do all of those things OK. If you are an experienced auto mechanic, of course, this caution may not apply to you.

Finally, once you find your beater, don't fall in love with it. The thing about beaters is that someday they will fail to be a usable beater. Anticipate that. Listen to your car. If it starts making weird noises or becomes hard to start or isn't shifting right, it's time to begin looking for your next beater. As long as it still starts, stops, shifts and goes, you can still sell it as a beater, probably for as much as you paid for it, or maybe even a little more. Once it stops doing those things, it's a junkyard car. So don't get attached to your beater.

When it is time to sell your current beater, clean it up thoroughly. Polish it and wax it. Make it look as good as possible. Regardless of how it is mechanically, how it looks will make a huge difference to some people. When asked questions about issues with the car you're selling, the proper answer is "I don't know. I'm not a mechanic." If asked why you are selling, say, "I'm looking for a different car."

I started driving beaters in the 1960s, when you could buy a decent, running car that was 10 years old for $100. Now, that $100 is $1000, due to inflation. The principle and philosophy of driving beaters hasn't changed, though. Back then, beaters were the only cars I owned. Today, I have a 2020 KIA Soul with a great warranty as my main car. The beater is my second vehicle. It's still a beater, though, and is subject to all the rules I have listed above.

[Ohiogal]

1. I think you and my husband

Must be twin sons from a different mother. At the age of 72 he has owned more beater cars than I could ever recall, most of them before he was 30 years old, and I’ve heard “the story” about each one of them. One of the most amusing was the one about the VW Beetle that left him sitting on the ground in the driveway once when the floorboards rotted. He once bought a ‘56 Chevy for $65. Sold it in ‘65 for $75 because it burned oil so badly. Right now he still uses an ‘88 Chevy truck to haul his boat. That is it’s sole purpose, it hauls his boat. It’s a manual transmission. The air conditioning doesn’t work any more, it has hand crank windows, it’s noisy, the am-fm radio is awful, the moon roof leaks, it’s terrible on gas, and IMO the seats are really uncomfortable. But it runs and that’s all he cares about, because he just uses it to pull his boat. With the occasional trip to Home Depot for something big, or branches from a storm. He loves it.

Oh, yeah, he curses modern cars because they’re so full of technology a home mechanic can’t work on them any more. Takes all the fun out of owning a vehicle, he says.

[MineralMan]

2. Yup. Us old-timers understand beater vehicles.

These days, though, a beater can only be my second car. I'm too old to only drive beaters. That all changed when my 91 Volvo 740 wagon was our primary car. It developed a weird problem i couldn't figure out. That was when we bought our first brand new car with a warranty. At age 75, I will always have a primary car with a full warranty. I'm too old to rely on beaters. But, my 1996 Ford Ranger is a beater. I love it. Crank up windows, rust, and all.

[Victor_c3]

3. Great advice

I’d argue that for $2,000-$3,000 you should be able to get a pretty reliable beater, something good enough to drive daily to and from work.

When considering repairing a beater car, think about how much the repair might costs versus how much a payment on a newer car would cost you. Your brakes might need $1,000 worth of work, but a payment on a newer car might be $400 a month. Dumping $1,000 into a car that you own outright might keep the car going for another few years without having to deal with the burden of a monthly car payment for that period.

[MineralMan]

8. Sure. If you can spend $2-3000, you can find a really

good beater that will give you good service. The rules are a little different in that price range, and you should be more picky.

Tour other advice is OK, but the beater philosophy is a cash-only philosophy. You don't make payments and you don't do expensive repairs, either. If your beater needs a $1000 repair, you sell it and buy a new beater. You don't compare making car payments, because you pay cash for your beater cars.

Spending $1000 on repairing a beater means that you're paying for something that will be useless when something else expensive breaks. Beaters are short-term vehicles. You buy them when they're working OK, and sell them when a problem arises, but before they break down altogether. There's always another one available.

Once you move into more expensive used cars, you lose that advantage. A running car is a beater than can be sold. A broken beater is a junkyard car. You can always sell if it still runs, drives, and stops to someone. Once it doesn't do those things, It's time to call the junkyard and sell it for its scrap value.

Driving beaters is harder than it used to be, since most cars can't really be fixed by the average person. If you're a competent mechanic, you can still make repairs yourself in most cases, for brakes and other simple things. But even diagnosing engine problems these days can be very, very frustrating, even if you have a code reader. Sometimes, you can fix it, but sometimes a code can mean many different things.

I could tell from the symptoms that my Ranger needed an IAC valve. There were no codes, though. So, I replaced that $30 part and fixed the idle issue, although the car was driveable even without the repair. But, I'm a mechanic. A non-mechanic hasn't a prayer with most engine or transmission issues these days.

It's still possible to only drive beaters, but they're better now as second vehicles rather than primary vehicles, frankly.

[panader0]

4. I too have had many beater cars and trucks.

There used to be a little section in the want ads for pay day specials, all 100 bucks or less.
I remember a Plymouth Belvedere with a push button transmission I paid $35 for. It had huge
tail fins and a large interior. I got almost three months out of it and sold it to the junk yard for $10.
Those were bachelor days and when my kids came along I bought better cars. Still, I loved those
oldies.
The cash crunch the virus has caused many people to sell cars. I see them every time I go out, on the
corners with For Sale signs. Many people are broke.

[jcgoldie]

5. "Elderly people often have good beaters for sale."

This is good advice. Look for grandma that had that sucker garaged for 20 years and drove to the grocery store once a month at 25 mph...

I bought a 1976 Caprice boat for $500 in the late 90's that had like 50 k miles and a bumper sticker that said "I (heart) square dancing" ... that beast ran forever best buy ever.

[hunter]

6. I bought a new car once, about 35 years ago.

It's unlikely I'll ever do that again.

I hate automobiles but I'm a fairly good mechanic. Maybe I hate cars because I'm a fairly good mechanic.

My latest adventure in automobile suckage was a little die cast metal part that was part of a door mechanism. The metal had gotten crumbly and disintegrated so the outside door handle stopped working. This die cast part probably cost three cents to make, as opposed to the five cents it might have cost to use a properly indestructible steel part. The replacement part was $18. Salvage parts were, of course, useless because they were disintegrating as well.

Plastic parts in old cars frequently disintegrate in similar ways.

This was a 'nineties car I bought for $900. I'd still be driving it but someone crashed into it while it was parked in front of our house. The only other repair this car had ever required was replacing the starter. That part was $50.

[BannonsLiver]

7. Words to live by

At least when it comes to beaters. I haven’t owned a beater, but if I were to buy one, I would follow this guide.

[Bobstandard]

9. There's even a song...

There’s even a song that describes the process and the pitfalls:

[link:http://

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[MineralMan]

10. Too cool!

[TexasTowelie]

11. You had me until you got to, "Most beaters don't have working air conditioners."

If you live in Texas, AC is not an option. When I was in college I had a maroon 1966 Chevy II that was only year younger than me. The car had an under the dash AC and it could put out enough cool air that I would turn it off or at a lower setting on longer trips. It was the oldest car on campus, but it could gather a good bit of speed either going downhill or with tangential acceleration out of a curve. The other consideration was that if I ever had a wreck with another vehicle, then I would probably end up in better shape with those two tons of steel compared to the other vehicle I impacted with as long as I wasn't ejected from the front windshield. It was definitely a beater car, but it was perfect to ride on those back county roads when I felt like getting off campus.

I was able to maintain the vehicle well enough to get between my parent's home which was 180 miles away south of the campus. I did get caught in some icy weather one year as I was driving to my parent's home for Thanksgiving. Since the vehicle didn't have a defroster, I had to pull off to the side of the road and use a spotlight that I plugged in the cigarette lighter to melt the ice.