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toolfan
GenIII
5/03/2006
19:21:19
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 Subject: a good beater car??
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my dad and i are looking for a good beater car. any suggestions for a car that is built tough and is easy to maintain and cheap to buy parts for?
this car will be used in the dirt and on the road. doesn't need a big engine, and doesn't matter if its front wheel drive or not.
my dad wants a older Nissan Sentra, i really don't care as long as i can stop thrashing my dodge.
suggest at will!!
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cuzindoug
GenIII
5/03/2006
19:52:10
|  RE: a good beater car??
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A buddy of mine has a older VW Jetta (turbo diesel) that he got for $1600. It's pushing 300K and still runs down that road at 90+. DON'T GET A 1995-1999 DODGE NEON!!!!! Unless you want to have to put work into it, they are not worth the low sticker prices. On the SOHC, the crank is cheapy made, the rod and main bearing like to wipe, the factory head and oil pan gaskets are crap, the engine mounts go bad after less than 75K, the intake manifold is made of plastic, the exhaust manifolds are not cast of the best material(casting pockets that crack)...the list goes on. The DOHC are a little better(at least the intake manifold is made of cast aluminum), but not the best. I bought one of these for a cheap fix/flip car, and ended up replacing the engine. (crank bad, rods bad, bearings wiped and #2 and #3 rolled, engine mounts toast) I went to a salvage yard to see if I could piece one together, and ALL the SOHC (about 30 of them) had less than 125K and the engines were blown!!! Well, sorry for the rant, but that's my 2 cents:)
If it doesn't fit, you're using the wrong hammer!
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Jerry
Dodge Dakota
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5/03/2006
19:57:51
| RE: a good beater car??
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chevy cavaliers seem to last forever and they are cheap to buy and cheap to fix.
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Nerther
GenIII
5/03/2006
20:54:12
| RE: a good beater car??
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I have to agree on the VW, a friend of mine had an old Golf diesel, he sold it at around 350K, still running good..
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Obio3
Dodge Dakota
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5/04/2006
01:42:36
| RE: a good beater car??
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My kid had a fuel injected VW. About a 89 or 90 . it went 90 miles to work 5 days a week plus his regular driving. Sold at 316,000 and still run just like new . Never did use a drop of oil. at 3,000 oil still looked like new. It never broke down once. Worst thing ever went wrong was door handle, drivers door. struts and shocks twice tires and couple of batteries, plugs, wires ect.. was a great car.
So many problems .... So little time
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Jeff
GenIII
5/04/2006
04:34:11
| RE: a good beater car??
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i'm selling a '98 saturn sl1 sedan.
:)
1.9L i4 gets great mpg.
94k mi.
$3800 obo.
Jeff
'99 3.9 clubcab
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jpkomm
Dodge Dakota
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5/04/2006
07:36:54
| RE: a good beater car??
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I recommend a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Reliable and long lasting if they were properly maintained by the previous owner. A co-worker of mine has over 300k on his Corolla, and it still runs like new.
Older VWs are also good. I personally like the VW Fox. VW Diesels also last practically forever. My uncle and aunt had two diesel Rabbits that lasted well over 300k.
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daddio
Dodge Dakota
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5/04/2006
08:50:52
| RE: a good beater car??
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Saturn, the older S series 92-02. bought my son a '93 SL2 sedan, loaded, sunroof, power everything for 2k 2 yrs ago w/ 125K. now has over 200k and it hasn't died yet.
believe me he's tried. it uses a little oil but everything still works like new. and the plastic body panels look like new even after 13 yrs of abuse.
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Spacinjason
Dodge Dakota
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5/04/2006
10:12:14
| RE: a good beater car??
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I would consider a Toyota or Honda. I've had 3 Toyota's myself and my family had had several also. They go forever and need very little maintenance. I've had well over 200k on a couple of them when I traded them in, and they still ran great. I just get bored with cars and trade them in every 5 years or so! My wife is driving a '98 Camry now with 120k and it runs perfect and has had absolutely no problems. I just perform preventitive maintenance. I trust that car to take anywhere! My Dak has been in the shop way more and it only has 80k on it!
Anyway, just my .02 cents. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. You will get some good advise from this forum!
Spacinjason
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Matt
Dodge Dakota
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5/04/2006
17:16:18
| RE: a good beater car??
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94 buick century
had one before my truck, took everything i threw at it, which is almost as much as i throw at my dak
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ck98daksport
Dodge Dakota
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5/04/2006
22:26:06
| RE: a good beater car??
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you can beat the snot out of ford escorts.
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Tony
Dodge Dakota
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5/05/2006
12:36:00
|  RE: a good beater car??
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I have a 2002 Saturn SL 5-speed. Before Gasahol, i was at 38-40 mpg. Now it tops off around 33-34 mpg. & this is with a new DOHC I installed!
Yeah, I blew up the SOHC with 47,000 miles on it & got a good deal on a DOHC. Good beater car no doubt!
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Brian22
Dodge Dakota
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5/05/2006
17:30:06
| RE: a good beater car??
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What about an old AWD subaru i see quite a few of those drivin around town
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toolfan
GenIII
5/05/2006
18:34:14
|  RE: a good beater car??
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thanks for the input guys i'll have to let my dad read this thread. i hope we get one soon because not having a back up car to drive when the dodge is out starts to get annoying
brian22 thats what i wanted to get, but i think parts would be expensive on that kinda car.
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Brian22
Dodge Dakota
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5/05/2006
21:07:40
| RE: a good beater car??
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The parts arent really that expensive, cause alot of the cars are still running, it presents no demand for replacement parts thereforethe prices are pretty damn cheap
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GraphiteDak
GenIII
5/05/2006
23:35:35
| RE: a good beater car??
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Saturn's are almost as much a sh*t box as a Honda.
EXCEPT I will say parts are plentiful and cheap!
If it isn't in a wrecked car in the junk yard, CHECKER or AUTOZONE have it on the shelf!
Kinda pi$$ed me off. When I could not find motor mounts, radiator fan for under $300, etc for our Cirrus we used to have, I'd be fixing my Sister's Saturn SW2 all of the time. But the parts were cheap! Brand new radiator fan motor is a bolt on for $30!!!
All other parts are cheapo GM parts!
As for our Cirrus I had to MAKE another motor fit it. Because the dealer said we had to get the entire thing for close to $400 or so! Stay away from Chrysler FWD if you want to buy used and fix yourself!
As for the Saturns. I wont drive them. Chevy used PLASTIC to practically build the entire car!
That's why a 1.9 DOHC stick is pretty fast!
But you will DIE instaltly and liter the roadway with plastic and blood if you run one into a Dakota!
Same goes for a HONDA! Drive at your own risk!
If this was in Japan, where most people drove the same sh*t boxes it would be fine. Around Phoenix at least half of the population is driving 5,000 Lb big trucks and SUV's!
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Josh90Dak
Dodge Dakota
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5/07/2006
00:59:19
| RE: a good beater car??
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i would say a vw, preferably a turbo diesel with manual trans. you can drive one for usually 500 000 kms rebuild engine (approx $1000) and go again. i have a 1980 vw rabbit and it still goes and goes etc... it's only gas thou :( parts are cheap and very easy to find. if you get any upto about a 96-97 then you should have no problem working on it yourself.
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ck98daksport
Dodge Dakota
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5/07/2006
19:53:02
| RE: a good beater car??
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I've got a 93 saturn sc2 for my beater car, has 92k on the twin cam engine but it's due for a rebuild. Runs like crap right now but still gets 20 mpg mixed city/highway driving and 30 mpg all highway. Takes a beating pretty good and parts are easy to swap.
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Tony
Dodge Dakota
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5/08/2006
14:48:01
|  RE: a good beater car??
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Yep, have to agree, Saturn parts are plentifull - least for the S series. Got all the parts I needed for my engine swap at the 1st juck yard I went to!!!
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toolfan
GenIII
5/08/2006
21:12:04
| RE: a good beater car??
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well guys found a Jetta GTI that was for sale for $700 but no one bought it. i wasn't able to get a hold of the guy, but it looks like a great beater car. I'm guessing its in the early 90s late 80s. its a stick shift and is real clean with no visible leaks. added bonus 4wheel disc brakes!
since its a GTI its not going to have the diesel right? is it the 1.8L or something else? let me know what you know about these cars? is the drivetrain and suspension tough?
this car will be used on the street and rallyed raced often through the desert.
thanks a lot for all the info so far!!
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jpkomm
Dodge Dakota
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5/09/2006
14:07:17
| RE: a good beater car??
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Jettas, from what I've read and seen, typically have problems with their water pump, O2 sensors, and timing belt. You may also want to hop on autos.msn.com and check out the reliability rating of that car. A lot of people swear by them though. Bigger than a compact, so you'll probably be a lot more comfortable, but you'll also be safer too. I think the "TDI" models were the ones with the diesels. Don't quote me on that though. Good luck.
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