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Need a new Beater


Next beater?  

28 members have voted

  1. 1. Next beater?

    • Accord Wagon
    • Corolla Wagon
    • Legacy Wagon
    • EF Civic Hatch
      0
    • EG Civic Hatch
    • EK Civic Hatch
      0
    • Volvo Wagon
    • Camry Wagon
    • Saturn Wagon
    • Other


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My dad and I currently share a beater (my dad needs a backup car since his other car is a 94 RX-7). It's my older sister's first car from her high school years, a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am SE. 3100 V6, meaning the extra weight makes it the slowest car I have ever driven, and the bigger displacement means I rarely get an average gas mileage over 22 mpg. The rear seats dont fold down. The electronics are unreliable. This car sucks in every way possible. Not to mention the atrocious looks.

 

So I have finally convinced my dad we need to ditch this thing. He travels alot now, so this beater will be mostly in my possession. I think we can get about $2,500 - $3,000 for this car since the paint is fine and it has never been in a major accident. No major mechanical issues currently. Since my dad wont be around much, he probably wont chip in much, maybe $500.

 

So what can I find for about $3,500 or less that has these things:

-30 mpg highway

-Auto tranny (in case one of my sisters needs to borrow it)

-A/C (would prefer a car that has R-134A already instead of having to convert R-12)

-Good storage room (in case we need to put an engine in the back of the car, etc). Looking for a hatch or a wagon pretty much. Thought about a truck but the gas mileage isn't there, standard cab trucks, which are most common, have NO room, and would need to buy a bed cover.

-Inexpensive maintenance

-Availability of parts aka no off brands or long discontinued brands (eg Isuzu)

-Nothing easily moddable. I dont want that temptation.

 

Some ideas:

-Accord Wagon

Good: good gas mileage, room

Bad: high Honda resale

-Corolla Wagon

Good: good gas mileage, room

Bad: hard to find

-Subaru Legacy Wagon

Good: decent gas mileage, lots of room

Bad: decent mileage only on FWD models, hard to find

-Civic EF/EG/EK Hatch

Good: Really good gas mileage

Bad: Less storage, high Honda resale, the EF/EG hatches could easily be made 12 second cars for around $1k

 

Please help me come up with other ideas, or give an idea of what you would try to find out of my current list.

On the search for a new DD...
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95 civic hatch (EG)! Unless you live in a area liek I do, where any and all hondas are serious theft risks!

 

in that case.... HMMM!

 

What about a older Impreza wagon? the sportback or whatever frmo like 2000? And later you cuold always WRX swap it for a more pwoerful beater.

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you should get a small pickup....like an s10 or a ranger....you definitely wont want to mod that

 

Gas mileage is my concern. I may be using this to put miles on if I have to travel for work too. And I really hate standard cab, its so damn cramped.

 

95 civic hatch (EG)! Unless you live in a area liek I do, where any and all hondas are serious theft risks!

 

in that case.... HMMM!

 

What about a older Impreza wagon? the sportback or whatever frmo like 2000? And later you cuold always WRX swap it for a more pwoerful beater.

 

Not sure I could swing it for the price. And the AWD will hurt MPG.

On the search for a new DD...
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I have heard of some local honda being stolen, but I owned a pretty nice EK sedan for a while and never had problems. Maybe I should look into an EG hatch with good security system. But cant let myself be tempted to turbo it....even though it would be a blast.
On the search for a new DD...
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Yeah I used to be in the honda scene for a while. Just dont want to do any swaps, etc. Just looking for a little effort beater than I can drive the hell out of. I wouldnt mind something newer if they were cheaper (like a Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe or Mazda Protege5)
On the search for a new DD...
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Forester. With the tall square shape it's amazing what you can fit in the car.

 

Saturn LW2, Hyundai Elantra.

'96-'05 Taurus/Sable wagon for power, body age/condition, and easy to find parts.

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-Civic EF/EG/EK Hatch

Good: Really good gas mileage

Bad: Less storage, high Honda resale, the EF/EG hatches could easily be made 12 second cars for around $1k

 

:lol:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love that the Saturn wagon got more votes than all 4 Honda options combined.

 

Being a big fan of disliking Honda vehicles, this pleases me. And I didn't even vote for the Saturn!

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:lol:

 

I love that the Saturn wagon got more votes than all 4 Honda options combined.

 

Being a big fan of disliking Honda vehicles, this pleases me. And I didn't even vote for the Saturn!

 

well he did state that he wanted a car that is not easily moddable. so saturn wagon fits that bill very well. :lol:

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well he did state that he wanted a car that is not easily moddable. so saturn wagon fits that bill very well. :lol:

 

 

Very true. Plus, if he caves in and mods it anyway it will just blow up!

 

Seriously though, I know a couple people with older Saturn sedans and they're probably one of the more durable GM brands..... Which is so sad because they're also the rock bottom cheapest. Of course if you buy one of the badge engineered Saturns it's just a Chevy with plastic fenders, but if you get one of the old SC1 or SC2 (Or whatever the Hell those things are called) I'm pretty sure they have their own lineup of engines. Not powerful engines, but they're definitely engines.

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My only other point to make would be a beater should be a few things;

-CHEAP

-easy to maintain(both in costs and ability to repair, IE no VOLVO)

-so crappy no one would steal it

-have a much nicer car to care for so your beater doesnt become a money pit

-fuel mileage shoul dbe HIGHER than your NICE car

 

 

Most of your options fit those... Personal choice and market availablity of each is going to narrow the selection a lot.

 

 

And for SH!TS and GIGGLES... Make it a autozone car. Every paycheck. Take 20 bucks to autozone and you HAVE to buy something useless for the car that is no more than 20 dollars.

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If you can stretch your budget to $5k, these are just great vehicles, and would seem to meet all your criteria:

 

AutoTrader - Mazda Protoge5

 

Cant disagree with you there, that is a solid consideration. Unfortunately I am broke right now though, so my dad would need to chip in extra, which I am not sure he would.

On the search for a new DD...
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Honestly, I'd go with either the Saturn, the Volvo, or the Subaru.

 

I mentioned the Subaru last because the pre-2004 EJ25 2.5 liters ate head gaskets like nobody's business.

 

I've driven some old Volvo wagons extensively, and although they're short on power (VERY short), they've got features up the ass. I drove the early 90's RWD 4 banger wagons. They sounded like poo, had tons of body roll, and a 0-60 of about 10-12 seconds but they were loaded to the hills and safer than dual Trojan condoms in Miley Cyrus. I tried to do a brakestand a couple times with one, and it LITERALLY could only do one only after telling the passenger to vacate the vehicle... In first gear..... In an auto..... In the rain..... With the wheels spinning at like 5 Mph.

 

I can't speak for Saturn, but if I had to venture a guess I'd say they were made cheaper and handled better while putting just as much power to the ground. They had independant rear suspension (As far as I know which, if true, is more than the Volvo offers). The FWD is probably better in the snow, since the RWD Volvo didn't even put enough power to the ground to spin its tires in water anyway. Features are less plentiful, and the car isn't as pretty. It's probably just as powerful and reliable, since I see about as many old Saturn's as I do old Volvo's.

 

Either way, I'd go with Saturn. I love RWD longitudinal engine cars, but the Volvo doesn't really count since they're pathetically slow, way too heavy, and their typical owner is a 95 year old woman.

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If you're planning on doing the work yourself, Volvo's are cheap. Taking it to a shop is when they get expensive. The major components are pretty much bulletproof, so if you're willing to change fluids and handle stuff like brakes and shocks, it'll hardly cost you more than a Honda.

 

For ultimate in cheap, high mileage, get a non-turbo Volvo 740 wagon. It'll probably run until the engine rust through...

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