Considering a winter beater. What's it like to have one?

"valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option" (valsidalv) 02/15/2016 at 12:55 • Filed to: None

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I want a new car to replace my ‘06 G35x. I also don’t want to sell my G35x because the idea of letting her go for the $4 - 5k she currently commands makes me a little sick. Yes, the mileage on her is kinda high but she runs great and is in good condition and 280 HP/270 ft-lb/AWD/leather interior/dat Infiniti noise hnnng. So recently I got the idea of keeping the G around as a winter beater and getting something for the rest of the year.

This is interesting (to me) because prior to this notion I was considering only AWD cars such as the STi, Golf R, and now the Focus RS. I’d be happy with any one of these but I have a few issues with each: I like the STi way more as a hatch which isn’t currently available and what’s with the 7-year-old engine?; Golf is a bit too subdued and has only ~10 HP more than my G; the RS is a hot car but also has a high price point in the Canadian market. Some other options include slightly older examples of the S4.

So if I keep my G sedan suddenly the list of cars I can consider greatly opens up to include RWD cars like the Mustang, Camaro, Challenger, a bunch of Bimmers and Mercs, etc. My only requirement is a manual trans and something that can be easily spotted on the road.

This purchase is maybe a year or two out but I’m just looking at my options. I have a motorcycle and in the summers I ride my bicycle to work as much as my Kawasaki and car combined. So I want a car that’ll put a smile on my face for $30 - 40k CAD. I would also need to find storage for the car I’m not using, but at roughly $100/month I think it’s worth it to preserve the new car from dealing with frigid temperatures and salt on the roads. Speaking from experience the winters have not been kind to my G and I wouldn’t want to subject a newer, nicer car to the same treatment. I’m justifying this extra expense by telling myself that I would save around $1200/year in resale value and maintenance costs on the summer car.

Anyone currently living the winter beater life? Thoughts on my choice of cars?

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 02/15/2016 at 13:12

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I always live that life here in Michigan. Mine is a $400 ford escort zx2. its great because you dont give two shits about the car

yamahog > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 02/15/2016 at 13:31

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I have a combination winter beater/mud truck/motorcycle tow vehicle: a low mileage full-size Blazer. It’s paid in full, has no major issues, and no worries all winter long. I greatly prefer this philosophy over the idea of putting snow tires on my 15 1LE, washing the salt off in the freezing cold every week, and constantly worrying about road conditions and other drivers.

Scott > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 02/15/2016 at 13:49

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My advise, if the vehicle is mostly for snow, and presumably you live in an area that can get lots of snow. Get something with some ground clearance, as that is often the biggest issue I have encountered. In deep snow I would take ground clearance over AWD. That said if you get icy conditions, more than deep snow, than yeah AWD is fantastic. Subaru AWD is the best I have personally encountered. Ground clearance and AWD is the best. For sure get snow tires for it, people say they do not need them, but once you have gone through a winter with snow tires you will not want all seasons ever again. The difference is massive.

A year ago Dec, my Partner and I purchased a car. Due to high gas prices, and generally poor reliability of my 20yo truck we needed a second car. He needed an Automatic as he can not drive a Manual, which meant he can not drive my truck. He insisted we get an SUV with AWD for winter driving. I mostly just wanted something that gets good gas mileage for my long commute.

We almost got a Subaru Crosstrek, but with the options we wanted we could not get the financing at that time. As my truck’s transmission was going out in did go out a month later, we needed something quick. We ended up with a 2012 Nissan Rogue. Last winter it was a god send, with the AWD and the Diff lock, I could go through the deep snow we got with no issues.

By contrast a colleague with an AWD Ford Fusion would often get stuck in the parking lot due to the plows piling snow up in front of everyone’s cars. One time I had to brush snow away from in front of the Nissan, as it was piled up to the middle of the grill. However it took me a couple minutes to brush the top down under the level of the grill and I was able to pull out no issues. Other had to shovel almost all the snow away.

The issues I had last year was that while the AWD was great in deep snow and accelerating, it had all season tires. Corning when icy was always a question, and braking was often terrifying if icy, as the AWD gave you too much confidence. This year I got some excellent Snow tires, and it has handled everything wonderfully. While it has been a mild winter, we have had a few very icy days, especially on my drive way which is 1/4mile long and steep. My truck with 4WD and M+S tires has needed 4WD low to make it up parts of the driveway, while the Nissan has had zero issues.

The most trouble I have encountered with the Nissan this year was a T intersection in which the snow had melted and re-froze into a sheet of ice. The approach to the intersection blocked the view of the ice. The road up to the intersection was still snow covered so I had lots of traction. As I entered the intersection I saw the car in front of me fishtailing around the corner. The Nissan struggled for grip, I could feel the tires struggling to grip the ice. However I made it around just fine, and never saw the traction control light come on, although I suspect it was helping. It has been the best snow vehicle I have owned, the only thing that had better traction, was my truck with a slide in camper in the back. But that had a very high CG.

The next vehicle is all mine, and something fun for the summer.

Rock Bottom > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 02/15/2016 at 14:22

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I’ve been living the Winter Bearterz Lyfe (yolo) for a couple years now with my dual-purpose sand-dune/snow-dune Cherokee and can’t imagine ever driving a nice car in another Michigan winter. For me, it’s about the ability to park absolutely without fear anywhere I want that is most valuable to me.

Crappy parking spot on the side of a snow dune at the grocery store? Mine.

Street-parking-by-Braille downtown? On it.

The ¾ spot in the front of the work parking lot where I just might have enough room to open my door? I’m there.

Brian Silvestro > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 02/15/2016 at 16:05

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E30 M3

Aircooled 911

Alfa Giulia

E28 M5

Elan

Cortina

Cayman

E9X M3

IS-F

C63

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > yamahog 02/15/2016 at 16:16

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That’s what I’m thinking. What’s the Camaro like?

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > Scott 02/15/2016 at 16:21

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I do put winters on my G and even though ground clearance isn’t all that good I’ve never had any issues where I live. Even with deeper snow the car just powers through it but I don’t think I have encountered sheets of ice the way you mentioned. What’re you considering for your next car?

yamahog > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 02/15/2016 at 16:34

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Big fan :) if you’re on the fence, definitely go for the 1LE package, but I hear they’re hard to get in Canada due to some weird dealer allocation stuff.

Scott > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 02/15/2016 at 17:11

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I'm hoping to get an Alfa Romeo Giulia, although finances may kill that plan. I've been wanting a Fiat 500 Abarth for some time now, have taken it for a test drive several times and enjoy it a lot. while looking at cars this last time I enjoyed the Mazda 3. I've also considered a used Porsche 911, or even a used Maserati. Probably like many people here my thoughts on what to get change so many times between seeing a car and being in a position to get it.