Hey All,
I'm thinking of getting a second beater car to use as a daily driver instead of the R/T and just keep the R/T for nice occassions (dates, etc). The car would have be reliable and get good gas mileage and I'm not concerned with options (expect it has to have A/C because of my allergies). The other thing is this car will be a beater so I'm not sinking money into it except for basic maintanence so I'm thinking that perhaps I should look at either a Honda, Nissan or Toyota. What do people suggest?

what size car are you looking for?

I guess that might help- I was thinking mid-size to small (Carolla, Civic etc).

Go for a WRX with a Up Pipe And A MBC(manual Boost Controller) You will be shooting at 13.4 in the 1/4 mile Talk about sleeper and oh yeah 0-60 times will be like 4.5 and AWD

You mean a down pipe, not up pipe.

13.4 eh? Thats what a WRX does in stock trim, with a 5.8 romp to 60.

If you are looking for a compact to midsize car that is reliable and has great gas mileage you can't go wrong with a Toyota Corolla/Chevrolet Prizm. Toyota has upped the content of those cars in the past couple years, and things like A/C (for your allergies), power windows/locks and a CD player are all standard equipment on LE models. The car is rated at 28mpg city/36 highway with the 4 speed automatic. The manual adds a couple miles per gallon more.

Look to pay around $5,000-$9,000 for a 1998, with each newer year adding about $1,000 to the price.

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: LHSer ]

No lhser not stock and yeah youre right downpipe i get them confused. Stocl the WRX does 5.4 and 14.1 in the 1/4.

Also how about that new car that just came out the Matrix Toyota I know there will be alot of aftermarket support for that car.

Actually, Wutang15m, it is a 13.4 with a 5.8 0-60. I have many many documents laying around to prove this.

But, I am not about to get into a war with you.

The Matrix is ok, but BK is looking for a used car, not a new one.

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: LHSer ]

Oh okay thats cool. I dindt know he was looking for used.

Why not go for a viper you can find some 94-95 with 10k miles for 27k-30k go to autotrader.com

youll also find some cars you might like in there

if you can find a late '80's Pontiac 6000 you would be golden. I got 35 mpg on that sucker.. and the thing is.. if it is still runnin today, it will run for another 100K, because those cars were all or nothing. the either didn't make 100K or they went the long haul 300-400K. you can probably pick one up for a whopping 1G too.

Are you nuts?!?!?!

This is the reason I bought the Intrepid. It is the perfect daily driver. It gets at least 24 mpg. What could possibly give you more? Maybe 10 mpg more might be it. Save a cool 10 bucks a week. No offense but an Intrepid R/T isn't exactly a weekend car. What I suggest is that you keep your Intrepid (not rare and extremely low resale value) and get a fun fast car for the weekends. This can either be a sports or muscle car. Possibly a Japanese turbo project vehicle.

A turbo car is good because you can stay out of the boost and keep good fuel economy. Install a boost gauge to monitor this.

If you park the Intrepid you are making the wrong decision.

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Viprman ]

IMO, you should go with a mid '90s Civic. Good gas mileage, cheap, and I hear they are pretty reliable.

I think you should keep your eyes open on the papers and local used lots

your second car is the one you spend the majority of your time in and should still meet your personal standards

I have always had two cars because I never wanted to drive my Mustang and bought a lot of POS 2nd cars including a chevy celebrity, an S-10 and even an Isuzu trooper and learned that if you buy a cheap car with no options you go right back to driving your main car, for instance if you buy a car with no AC you will gladly put the miles on your main car just for the comfort

what I am saying is that unless you are buying a POS beater for a couple hundred dollars shop as if it is your primary car and do the same research

find your self a plymouth sundance duster with a 3.0L. I had a 1993 and it had a 153,000 miles on it when i sold it and I still see it around town. The car is quick, gets good gas mileage, and is lots of fun to drive.

old ford escorts are OK, but i would also look at an old nissan stanza or a mid-80s volkswagen...it has farfenhugen, or fartfengugen or whatever way those krauts spell it. :wink:

honda CRX if you want real cheap, or even an old oldsmobile cutlass calias if you want something with meat on its bones (similar to the pontiac 6000, but it aint the same)

Well, thank the allmighty...I have an interview on Thursday. And from the preliminary phone call, they want me really bad. (of course :wink: )

Anyway...it's 45 miles one way to this job (that's about 100 miles round trip per day) So guess what? That's right!! I need a beater car.

There's this late 80's Volvo around the block someone is offloading for $700.00. If it's a diesel I'm going to grab it. Those things are notorious for getting well over 200,000 miles without a problem.

Any opinions on diesels? I'll be doing all highway driving (it's on the North Fork of Long Island)

Originally posted by Intrepidatious

Any opinions on diesels? I'll be doing all highway driving (it's on the North Fork of Long Island)

Diesels = rough in the winter. be prepared to plug a block heater in overnight and while you work during these long, cold, winter days.
other than that, Diesel generally gets good mileagle, has much torque (except for a certian few), and there is never a line for it at the gas station :)

Get an 87-91 pontiac bonneville. Good on gas comfy and reliable
Ive got an 89 with 155k on it

I think the ultimate beater car to get is a 1g DSM----Eagle Talon, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Plymouth Laser.....even the AWD turbos are dirt cheap nowadays and 13's are a couple of cheap mods away. AWD for the winter weather too.;)

I agree with viprman. If you own an Intrepid, there is no point to getting a "beater" car. If I was to get a second car... it would be some sort of "fun weekend" car. Most likely it will have a manual tranny (I want to learn how to drive it - yet dont want to use it all the time), and most likely a convertible. I wouldn't mind a PT Cruiser convertible (see post in Auto Industry section)... but hey thats my opinion. ;)