Another day, another hour or two wasted searching Craigslist for vehicles at random. Not that I’m really in the market for another set of wheels at the house…we have plenty occupying the yard at the moment…but mainly because I’m a spoiled brat in a way: I have plenty of toys but want something new to play with. Here’s what I’m on about: the Angry Grandpa Chrysler is too good to go absolutely thrash the daylights out of. It’s one of our two “main” cars (the other being the wife’s Chevy truck) and having it down is simply out of the question. Her truck is effectively untouchable as far as I’m concerned…I treat it with kid gloves, I don’t hurt anything and I make sure that she’s happy there. Then there are our other two cars, the Mustang and the Imperial. The Imperial is still dead, and the Mustang might as well be, since it’s sad-sack smogger V8 power has recently been addended with the horrifying addition of nearly non-functional brakes.
What I’m hunting down is a beater, and only the Imperial currently fits that bill…well, it would, if the silver brick ran. But what would make a good beater? What qualities does a vehicle need to have in order to justify (A) it’s existence in your driveway, and (B) your ability to thrash the living hell out of it with no remorse whatsoever? This is where it gets tricky and becomes an individual’s answer. Do you go for a cheap pickup that you can use like a pack mule? Do you go for the smallest, cheapest little four-wheel-drive for winter duty? How about a low-buck, four-door sled that you don’t care about at all, so long as it runs?
The answer isn’t going to be one simple car for everybody, and it’s the kind of question where the answer can change in the next ten minutes. Two weeks ago, I was looking at Ford Escort ZX2s as a high-MPG, slow-car-driven-fast option. Last week I wanted a late-1980s Panther platform Ford, simply so I could have a full-frame sedan to drive like a freaking maniac, but I think I’m developing a strange itch for a V8 powered SUV that is smaller than a Tahoe for winter fun. Maybe it’s because the Chrysler doesn’t do snow, period and I would like to try out four-wheel-drive donuts. What about you…what poor wreck is in your crosshairs?
Pretty much anything cheap and disposable. Being in the uk, it would have to have at least 4 months mot, be diesel and cost less than £700. Being a beater it just has to last out the mot and keep the wet out. Number of doors don’t matter cos who would want to get in a vehicle that could give you tetanus?
I’m partial to trucks or anything else that can carry a lot of stuff and maybe tow if it’s not too janky. And they can also be used for some level of off road mayhem even if two wheel drive. Fellow BangShifter Dieselgeek described this category very well as “a wheelbarrow with a motor.”
I like S10s in any of the configurations ( pick up , extended cab , suv and any badge makes no difference to me Olds, Chevy , GMC .
I’m with you on the s10 platform.great little trucks.
Any late 70’s/early 80’s A/G bodies are great beaters. Also 70’s/80’s C10 pickups. There are plenty of for sale here cheap.
Late 90s 5.2 or 5.9 Durango. Sure, they might rust, sure there might be transmission issues, but my family (and later myself) owned one and it was a tank. It didn’t get stuck in the snow and I could drift it at will in the rain. Oh, and they’re a mid-size SUV– based off of the Dakota.
Quite right!
In the UK we have things called “bangers” that are cheap sub-£500 cars that are road worthy and fully driveable. If they break you can get at least £150 for scrap that you put to the next one and so on. All right your’e not going to get a V8 but for cheap transport there’s no better deal!
I have 2 beaters, a 96 Corolla and an 08 Escape. The Toyota is a better beater. I don’t want to have any kind of accident in the yoda but I find I would rather punish it than the Escape. As anemic as the Toyota is, it has a much higher fun factor when thrashing the crap out of it..