A FUN beater? Can one exist?

"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond) 10/04/2013 at 17:25 • Filed to: None

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I don't know how to write/ask this at all. I'm seriously looking at economizing soon and might wind up replacing the 08-Mazda3 and it's payment with a beater-ish car (1-3k value). I love driving that 3 and wonder if anything is just as fun in that price range? (requirements inside)

I do need about as close to 100% up-time reliability as being late to work costs people lots of money. but it's got to be fun. It's got to be all weather so no gen2 rx-7's. It's got to toddler relatively well. I've had bad luck with Focii and older Volvo's, and I wonder if such a fun car exists as a wagon at this range. I have the ability to travel a bit for free and get something from the southwest if that's what it takes but the Mazda3's $220 payment adds up with the other economizing to be done so I need to run numbers with what can be found. I might have to shed the 'fun' part and just accept the middle age taurus..oh gawd save me!

Is a 2.2 turbo legacy a dumb idea? was there ever a fun corolla? Best car's under 5k googling yields a bunch of fluff pieces..... of course the difference between dumping the car and payment and acquiring the used cheapness might be so negligible after taxes and such that the reliability of the 3 could outweigh the potential future of the cheap ride...

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:29

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Nothing in the 1-3K value will be reliable. I speak from experience.

PanchoVilleneuve ST > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:29

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I thought the answer to this question was always "90s Civic".

When did that change?

Grindintosecond > PanchoVilleneuve ST 10/04/2013 at 17:31

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when the rust goblins invaded the 90's. The beater stories articles on here pointed to a 97 accord but I'm not so sure that fits the fun category...

Grindintosecond > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/04/2013 at 17:31

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2.2 subaru? i'm just throwing that out there...

MountainCommand > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:32

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3rd or 4th gen prelude with 4ws. they will be closer to the 3K end though.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:32

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Nothing.

For Sweden > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:36

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Fun and able to toddler? Unlikely. Unless you find an old Jeep Cherokee fun.

It's not impossible to find an old BMW in that price range, but good luck finding a reliable one.

J. Walter Weatherman > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:37

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Maybe I am just easily entertained, but I think that pretty much any of the generic commuter cars are decently fun with a manual transmission.

Grindintosecond > J. Walter Weatherman 10/04/2013 at 17:39

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you do have a point. I just really like the handling of the 3. that's what i got it for. stick and grip and kids fit alright. unless 4d tegras fit in that category....

Casper > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/04/2013 at 17:40

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I bought a 1985 300ZX for $900 and put about 80k on it before hitting a cow. Also bought a 1990 300ZX for $3200 and put over 100k on it.

It's easily do-able, you just have to do your homework.

D > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:40

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Maybe like an EG6 Civic?

Casper > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:43

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I have bought the following cars for that price range and put tons of miles on them:

1985 300ZX: Ugly, but interesting.
1993 MR2: Great all around car, getting a good price is getting harder and not toddler friendly.
1990 300ZX: Great car, hard to get for a good price. You can get 2+2 for the kid.
1991 CRX Si: Fun for no reason.
1971 240Z: It was a race car... what can be more fun to drive to work? Not kid friendly.
1995 BMW 325i: It was fun in the wet and snow, but slow and heavy in the dry. Good for kids.
1955 Buick Special: Not so fun, but fun to be seen driving. Good for kids until you crash.

Rock Bottom > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 17:49

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I bought an old Jeep Cherokee for $1,500 and love the crap out of it. I've put a few hundred bucks into making it suck less. I know, it's not the same kind of fun as a Miata, but I appreciate it's tractor-like road manners and tough feel. I doubt it would be much fun at an autocross, but it's pretty dependable and can hold a lot of crap like mountain bikes and camping gear.

Since you're looking to "economize", an old Cherokee might be a good driver while you store up funds. Then you can buy a project car (or motorcycle, if you're into that kind of thing) later for fun. Plus, the Cherokee can tow said project car around and carry project car parts, like transmissions and engines and stuff.

Here's what happened to me: http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/falling-for-a-…

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

davedave1111 > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 18:05

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Any really cheap car is fun for similar reasons to rentals, as long as you can afford to replace it. But minor damage doesn't matter, so as long as it still runs and drives after a bit of an oopsie, so who cares?

Personally, I'd consider the top of your price-range to be well above genuine beater territory, unless old cars are really expensive wherever you live.

For under $2k, you ought to be able to find a late E30 in reasonably good nick if you pick one of the less-in-demand engines. Add another $1k and a couple of weekends worth of catching up on deferred maintenance, and you shouldn't have any great deal of trouble.

Also, don't forget that saving money on a car payment means you can afford to take a cab to work or rent a car for a few days if something more major does go wrong.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > Casper 10/04/2013 at 18:09

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When?

Casper > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/04/2013 at 18:12

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I do it every few years. In fact I'm looking around right now. Found quite a few candidates, but it takes time to weed out the junk. I buy something, run the wheels off of it. If I like it, I dump money into making it cool. If I don't I sell it for what I bought it for and try something else.... unless I decide to wreck it and scrap it. Something things aren't worth fixing and are best scrapped or used for chumpcar.

Grindintosecond > Rock Bottom 10/04/2013 at 18:13

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I like that story. It is a very nice idea. I do love those trucks. A friend of mine drove his on a loooong commute to cleveland and back home for a long while. he just puts oil and batteries in his. 330k miles and the engine was really done for, well it was once the roof started leaking from rust anyway...

Rock Bottom > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 18:28

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Yeah, pretty much all old cars have an uphill battle against the Tin Worm back in the Mid West. It's a cancer that claims all too many. Please, a moment of silence for our fallen comrades...

Mine has a little over 200k and leaks everything, but it runs pretty well. You can tell it's not new, but it still has a lot of life left.

I did miss that you have a young'in you want to put in your car. You will want to take safety much more seriously than I do, and I have no idea how well an old Jeep protects it's occupants. I suspect it sucks to crash, though. That's probably worth a little Google-fu before you buy anything. You don't want Junior getting thrown around when some fool uses your back bumper as his brakes!

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > For Sweden 10/04/2013 at 18:46

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Yeah the combo of fun and reliability is hard. My car is fun but not what most would call reliable.

Frank Grimes > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 18:48

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Not sure how cheap this was but it has a twinturbo LS and runs in the mid 8s. The body is quite beaterish. Should be fun chopping fools.

80CobraKid > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 19:36

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1st gen integra. I speak from experience.

911e46z06 > Grindintosecond 10/04/2013 at 19:54

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You could go with an e34. Problem is, while they can be fairly reliable, if something does go wrong it'll cost you more to fix than it did to buy the car.

MrBillG59 > Grindintosecond 10/05/2013 at 01:54

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How 'bout a late '80's Honda Prelude. Reasonable mileage and go-kart handling. It even has a useful trunk.

I hoon, therefore I am > Grindintosecond 10/08/2013 at 15:33

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MkIII Celica. Man I loved the 85 GT 5-speed that was my high school winter car...

Madd Max > Grindintosecond 10/08/2013 at 17:26

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I bought a $3900 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited. It isn't pretty and needs a little work, but it is A TON of fun.

Michael H > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/08/2013 at 18:41

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Bullshit, but it's what most people need to tell themselves to justify a more expensive car they can't truly afford. I drove sub $3k cars, hell sub-$1k cars for a lot of years with better reliability than the new cars I've had.

Michael H > Grindintosecond 10/08/2013 at 18:43

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Pick whatever mid-90s Toyota winds your crank. Get the cleanest one you can find for your budget and maintain it. Smart move too btw, car payments are for suckers.