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Whatever happened to the beater

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AtomSmasher:

--- Quote from: ChadTower on April 10, 2008, 09:05:05 am ---
You won't know exactly - the tank size doesn't tell you how much gets stored in various places outside of the tank itself.  Nor does it tell you exactly how much the tank can store.  Ever put 11.5 gallons into a "ten gallon tank"?  My car supposedly has a ten gallon tank and I consistently put more than ten gallons into it even when there is still enough in there to get me around.

--- End quote ---
Huh?  A 7 gallon difference in tank size told me what I wanted to know.  The number of miles driven on a tank divided by the amount of gas it takes to fill the tank is what I use when I'm figuring out exact mpg, so knowing the tank size in that situation is a moot point.

paigeoliver:
I haven't seen any lack of $1500 beaters at all. Looking at craigslist for my city (St. Louis) I can literally choose from dozens and dozens of cars under $1500. The super-high MPG cars are at an undeserved premium on the used market, but there are still tons of cars to choose from. You must be out there trying to buy a Honda or Toyota, those are great new cars but the used ones carry such a price premium that you aren't going to get anything but garbage ones in that price range (they are a poor buy at all points of the used market, only being a good buy when brand new). I found all these in like 10 seconds of looking.

$900 Cavalier http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/638053673.html

$1500 Honda CRX (one of those high gas mileage cars) http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/638047095.html

$950 Dodge Shadow http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/637922565.html

$1250 Chrysler Windsor http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/637355142.html

$900 Mustang Convertible http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/633894927.html

Also note that purchasing a second car that gets better gas mileage often takes years to break even financially, and in some cases it never will.

myntik1:
My area seems to be the dumping ground for the Cutlass Supreme and it's big brother the Pontiac 6K.  I had a P6k and a buddy in college had a cutty and they were both plaqued with tranny issues.  The rest of the ones that don't need a ton of repairs are all 6 cylinder beasts.  My goal by purchasing a beater is 3 fold.  (1) Find something in the 23+ mpg range, (2) to extend the life of my Xterra, and (3) to cut down on the routine maintainence of the truck.  I know this probably isn't the most cost efficient way of doing things but it makes sense in my eyes.  I figure by running up and down on the highway in a beater I can effectively ward off a car payment by a year or two.  My truck runs fine now, but it's 8 years old and the repairs aren't cheap.  I figure 1500 on the car, 2-3 on immediate repairs, 4 on insurance and another 250 for tax/tags.  I'll exchange that for spending 40 bucks m/f on gas instead of 80-90, and pushing out a 350 car payment for another 2 years or so. Flawed logic, but that's how I think.

shardian:

--- Quote from: paigeoliver on April 11, 2008, 03:42:22 am ---I haven't seen any lack of $1500 beaters at all. Looking at craigslist for my city (St. Louis) I can literally choose from dozens and dozens of cars under $1500. The super-high MPG cars are at an undeserved premium on the used market, but there are still tons of cars to choose from. You must be out there trying to buy a Honda or Toyota, those are great new cars but the used ones carry such a price premium that you aren't going to get anything but garbage ones in that price range (they are a poor buy at all points of the used market, only being a good buy when brand new). I found all these in like 10 seconds of looking.

$900 Cavalier http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/638053673.html

$1500 Honda CRX (one of those high gas mileage cars) http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/638047095.html

$950 Dodge Shadow http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/637922565.html

$1250 Chrysler Windsor http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/637355142.html

$900 Mustang Convertible http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/633894927.html

Also note that purchasing a second car that gets better gas mileage often takes years to break even financially, and in some cases it never will.

--- End quote ---

I can't believe you posted that Windsor as a "daily driver beater".

That CRX looks real nice and I would have bought that one.

paigeoliver:
Well it isn't worth restoring, and it apparently works, so in theory it could be one.  :angel:


--- Quote from: shardian on April 11, 2008, 09:39:54 am ---
--- Quote from: paigeoliver on April 11, 2008, 03:42:22 am ---I haven't seen any lack of $1500 beaters at all. Looking at craigslist for my city (St. Louis) I can literally choose from dozens and dozens of cars under $1500. The super-high MPG cars are at an undeserved premium on the used market, but there are still tons of cars to choose from. You must be out there trying to buy a Honda or Toyota, those are great new cars but the used ones carry such a price premium that you aren't going to get anything but garbage ones in that price range (they are a poor buy at all points of the used market, only being a good buy when brand new). I found all these in like 10 seconds of looking.

$900 Cavalier http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/638053673.html

$1500 Honda CRX (one of those high gas mileage cars) http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/638047095.html

$950 Dodge Shadow http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/637922565.html

$1250 Chrysler Windsor http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/637355142.html

$900 Mustang Convertible http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/633894927.html

Also note that purchasing a second car that gets better gas mileage often takes years to break even financially, and in some cases it never will.

--- End quote ---

I can't believe you posted that Windsor as a "daily driver beater".

That CRX looks real nice and I would have bought that one.

--- End quote ---

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