Beaters

c8n

c8n

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Just curious... does anyone on AGO own a beater?
I told my wife the other day that I was planning on getting a reliable (i guess this could be an oxymoron) beater. Then she responded by saying "Stop lying. You're going to end up making it all shinny and new."

Thought about it for a second... and she was probably right. I would probably detail the crap out of that car as soon as I get it in my garage. Then I thought... it necessarily wouldn't be a beater anymore.
 
My neighbor has a red 01 Focus that is NEVER washed or cleaned, as the sun hits it, it is full of swirls and scratches. He has it for sale for $1,000. If i bought it, i'd make it like new again.
 
c8n said:
Just curious... does anyone on AGO own a beater?

I told my wife the other day that I was planning on getting a reliable (i guess this could be an oxymoron) beater.

Then she responded by saying "Stop lying. You're going to end up making it all shinny and new."

Thought about it for a second... and she was probably right. I would probably detail the crap out of that car as soon as I get it in my garage.

Then I thought... it necessarily wouldn't be a beater anymore.
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That's funny.... nothing wrong with a clean, shiny beater... I used to get a of compliments on my 1975 Jimmy and I would always reply it was my beater....

It' was kind of rough for most folks but I loved driving it and I keep it washed and waxed so the red paint was always shiny and the wheels polished and the tires black.

But yeah, it was kind of a beater... with a 454 BBC!

1975Jimmywith454.jpg



I say go for it!

Get the beater, detail it to the nines and then put all the miles on it and save the nice car. Also use it when you have to go to places where you're likely to get door dings as this way it won't bother you like it does when someone door dings you're nice car.


:)
 
Just cuz it's old and has miles doesn't mean it needs to be a beater!

I just sold my 2000 Saturn LS1. I've had it since high school! It was such a reliable car (297,000 miles and still going strong), but I finally replaced it with something new (2014 Ford Focus SE Sport). But it was always clean and didn't even have a hint of any clearcoat failure or major paint flaws. Few chips here and there- but that's about it! (And surprisingly few chips at that; that Saturn paint was pretty good). It also spent it's ENTIRE life outside. I bought it from an older lady who put about 50k miles on it in the several years she owned it and parked it in the street. Then when I had it, my parents parked in the garage and I parked in the driveway. I don't have a garage now, so it remained outside!

My wife drives our 2002 Ford Taurus SES. It's a great car, very comfy. It does have a little rust spot on the rear fender, but it too has zero clearcoat failure, shiny paint, clear headlights and a stain free interior. Just because it's old doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken care of!

I see cheap cars for sale all the time with heavily scratched (but in tact) paint, faded headlights and filthy interiors. I've been tempted to buy one, really clean it up and detail it, and turn around and sell it. No mechanical work whatsoever, just getting the interior and exterior spotless again. Adds hundreds if not thousands to the value per kelly blue book. Though, the book value is one thing I think people over-estimate. When the book value says "Paint is free of defects", they think no clearcoat failure, deep scratches or rust. I think no swirls, oxidation or marring.
 
I hear people say this a lot, "You can't polish a turd", to which I then say, "Sure you can, and it'll be really shiny too, but in the end it's still a turd, just a shiny turd."

A beater is a beater whether it's shiny or not. If I were going to buy another beater, I'd make it shine.:buffing:
 
In my definition NO I don't have a beater, Im sure in most peoples eyes YES I do have one. Its a 2002 and to the majority that is OLD. I keep it clean inside and out and most people don't understand it at all. "Why do you waste your time on that car"

Oh well.
 
The true art is making a beater look new. I always take the best posible care of my cars regardless of age.

I conside a Chevy Cobalt one of the most forgettable, disposable cars to hit the road. However, the other day I saw an old one on the road that looked like it was showroom new, and I had to admire the owner's dedication to taking car of that vehicle.

I will admit I wouldn't use the high dollar products like Wolfgang or Blackfire on a beater, unless I was testing something out, but I wouldn't hesitate to maintain it with products like Meguiars, Mothers, Collinite, or Poorboys. You can still get great results.
 
dcjredline said:
In my definition NO I don't have a beater, Im sure in most peoples eyes YES I do have one. Its a 2002 and to the majority that is OLD. I keep it clean inside and out and most people don't understand it at all. "Why do you waste your time on that car"

Oh well.
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Yeah I get that a lot too. With both the old Saturn AND my wifes Taurus. Frankly, I don't want to be driving around in a piece of junk. But you don't need to go out and buy a new car to accomplish that! We keep our cars in great shape and they look good as a result!
 
Desertnate said:
The true art is making a beater look new. I always take the best posible care of my cars regardless of age.

I conside a Chevy Cobalt one of the most forgettable, disposable cars to hit the road. However, the other day I saw an old one on the road that looked like it was showroom new, and I had to admire the owner's dedication to taking car of that vehicle.

I will admit I wouldn't use the high dollar products like Wolfgang or Blackfire on a beater, unless I was testing something out, but I wouldn't hesitate to maintain it with products like Meguiars, Mothers, Collinite, or Poorboys. You can still get great results.
Click to expand...

My wife had a Cobalt and we just HATED it. Her parents bought it for her kind of out of the blue when she was still living at home and we were about to get married. They WAAAYYYYY overpaid on it (Had 18k miles on it and was 2 years old and they walked out of there paying $2k over MSRP new), and we were expected to just kind of take over payments on this thing when we got married. Now, here's the thing about her family, when all of the girls (6 of them) turned 16 they got a new car (A Cavalier or something- base model. Essentially whatever the cheapest new car you could buy was- which is great!), mom and dad paid the insurance and car payment, and when you moved out- you took over the insurance and if anything was still owed on the car you took over that too.

But my wife didn't get a new car, she got a 5 year old (at the time) Dodge Neon that her parents paid cash for because her dad was changing jobs and didn't want to take on a payment. We LOVED that car. Ran great, looked good. They offered to replace it but my (then girlfriend) would always tell them she loves that car and doesn't need a new one! But they felt bad that she was the only one not to get a 'new' car so they bought that lease-return cobalt from some sleezeball dealer (this was a BASE model, crank windows, no cruise control- it was the cheapest model Cobalt you can get and they spent more than MSRP new on it). But wanted to give it to us just a few MONTHS after buying it. So while I hate to sound snobby or ungrateful, we'd have much rather had the paid-off neon that, what was effectively, them going out and picking out a car FOR us and us paying for it almost entirely. If I was going to take on a car payment- I'd want to pick the car out myself! LUCKILY though, the day before our wedding, my wife was sitting at a stop and got rear ended by a girl texting her boyfriend on her cellphone. Totaled the car. After finding out Ashley was fine, I did a little happy dance that it was gone! Although I remember being there when the insurance guy did a double take looking at the loan documents (they had GAP coverage). "You paid HOW MUCH?". I felt really bad. Her poor dad is getting older and doesn't want to fight with these dealerships and they saw him coming. (Also the reason we were just gonna take over that car and just deal with being so far upside down on a car we were almost right side up again!)

ANYWAY- yeah; those cars were junk. The interior was total plastic, even the steering wheel was hard molded plastic. On the back of the steering wheel you could feel the spots that the mold had been. It was an awful, dreadful car.

BUT, we would've protected it nonetheless! No reason to throw even more money away.
 
LOL! I drive a real POS in the winter when the roads are bad or sloppy! Good on gas, doesn't require Premium, and it keeps the miles down on my nice car too.

It really wasn't to bad when I first got it...it was a free car after all. I've put about $1000 in it now with mechanical stuff (both front shafts, tie rod ends, low ball joints, upper control arm, steering rack, brakes, tune up...) and some snow tires. Great winter car though and she runs like a champ.

1992 Prelude "Luda" S with 201,000 miles, lots of rust...





Then I let my brother in-law use it this summer and he rear ended someone. :( Busted both headlights, marker lights, hood damage, left fender was tore back from hitting cables in the ditch (I just cut it off until I have time to paint & install the used one I got), side mirror housing, and drivers door. Looks like crap now but I could care less what anyone thinks. ;)








Set of used light for $100 :)





FYI: My wife hates this car, won't ride in it, and simply can't understand why 5 random people have stopped by asking to buy it. :D
 
Psh. I have a shiny "Beater". My "non-beater" is an 89! I couldn't bring myself to just not take care of any car I own. I'm just too much of a perfectionist not to take care of it.
 
tuscarora dave said:
I hear people say this a lot, "You can't polish a turd", to which I then say, "Sure you can, and it'll be really shiny too, but in the end it's still a turd, just a shiny turd."

A beater is a beater whether it's shiny or not. If I were going to buy another beater, I'd make it shine.:buffing:
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Haha I hear this a lot.
My common answer to "what are you doing today?" Is "polishing a turd!"
Never around the owner of course lol
 
Actually, driving a beater when you're a detailing nut is kinda cool. You want to prove to yourself you have the skills to get the best out of what you have to work with, but you know it can never be perfect, so your obsession can have a limit. For the last 35 years I've been in the car business and always had a current-year company car in my driveway.When my dealer replaced company cars with an allowance, I bought an older DD, made it mechanically sound, reliable and keep it "acceptable" in appearance. I machine polish it every spring, keep it clean and waxed always, but live with RIDS, dings, road rash etc., knowing it will cost more in paint work than the car's worth to get it really cherry. Friends and co-workers are always seeking my advice on technique and product selection since they see my DD as a vehicle that looks so much better than anything of that age and mileage has a right to look.
As I said earlier, it's actually quite nice when your obsession can have a limit.

Bill
IMG_1752.jpg
 
RaskyR1 said:
LOL! I drive a real POS in the winter when the roads are bad or sloppy! Good on gas, doesn't require Premium, and it keeps the miles down on my nice car too.
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Perfect example of a great beater car to have at your disposal.

20121013-DSC_2073.jpg



RaskyR1 said:
FYI: My wife hates this car, won't ride in it, and simply can't understand why 5 random people have stopped by asking to buy it. :D
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That's funny... both her not willing to ride in it and unable to understand why random people would want to buy it from you.


Stacy loved riding in my Jimmy and I always had guys asking me if I wanted to sell it.


:laughing:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
That's funny... both her not willing to ride in it and unable to understand why random people would want to buy it from you.


Stacy loved riding in my Jimmy and I always had guys asking me if I wanted to sell it.


:laughing:
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LOL! I did get her to drive it home from the shop one night, but that's only because my Acura is a manual and it had been years since she's driven one. :D

I have fun with her now when random people stop by asking to buy it. It had a note on the windshield from a guy last month wanting to buy it and pizza delivery guys are always asking about it too. It's a Honda and that's all one needs to know. :dblthumb2:


I have used it for testing products too, but its old single stage paint and that doesn't seem to lend itself well to some of the coatings, plus it's white.... :/

 
These are not beaters.
They are just 2nd cars!... with nice paint! lol
 
Now this is a beater...
00000_3F5kEGaeQAR_600x450.jpg


But I digress.... I guess everyone has a different definition of a what a beater should be. Heck... I bet to some, my TL is a beater to them.
 
Not necessarily a beater, but this is my only car, unable to be garaged. Lots of rock chips, a few dings, and the bumpers are starting to peel, among other things that stand out. It makes me uneasy to park this where I'm working on someone's car, but I'm stuck with this for a while.

0482.JPG
 
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