Racer's Lounge - Best Beater Car

I have a friend that's looking to spend about $3000 on a car. She wants something that's reliable... it doesn't have to be fast, or good looking.

What suggestions do you guys have in mind?

Older Toyota Camery v6... Good solid long lasting beater. Maybe even the newest Toyota Corola you can get for 3 gees may be a smart choice for a beater too.. Mid 1990's Lexus ES300 would be a good choice to if you could find one for $3000.00...

As a former car dealer I found these cars to be the most reliable... Honda's and Acura's second...

i say a 92+ honda civic. (or as new as she can get) i have driven hondas all my life and if taken care of.... last for quite a while

I will probably get flamed at, but other than JIBBY's Toyota suggestion, a GM J-body is cheap and pretty darned reliable. Cavaliers and Sunfires. Easy to work on and get parts for. Even Z24's are dirt cheap.

I had a '96 Cavalier and it survived getting T-boned by an S-10, run up to the speed limiter continuously, and being driven in snowy Maine. I could not kill that thing. A nice Harmon Kardon sound system made it an enjoyable beater.

A set of Nokian Hakapalita snow tires made it a great winter ride too.

My 88. :)


But seriously, as much as I hate to say it, an older Honda. I've always been a sucker for Cavaliers and Sunfires though.

97-03 W-body.

Love my 98 Jeep Cherokee Sport. Averages 17mpg mixed city/highway. Get about 260-270 per fill, that costs about $30. Plus it has 4 wheel drive when needed.

68 Dodge Dart. Slant 6.:chug:

Shit I couldnt kill my old 305 third gen and believe me I tried, Took the mofo on beat to hell dirt road at 60+mph, disabled the top speed limiter and had it at 120+ almost every week for a year and a half, (speedo only went to 115) had it spun to God knows what rpm, it was past all numbers on the tach, It smoked on start up and I only changed the oil once in the two years I had it and only added 1 quart one time after I changed it. I was tring to kill it so it would speed up the 383 that was gonna go in ot but I ended up selling it and buying my SS, which I take GREAT car of.

Shit I couldnt kill my old 305 third gen and believe me I tried, Took the mofo on beat to hell dirt road at 60+mph, disabled the top speed limiter and had it at 120+ almost every week for a year and a half, (speedo only went to 115) had it spun to God knows what rpm, it was past all numbers on the tach, It smoked on start up and I only changed the oil once in the two years I had it and only added 1 quart one time after I changed it. I was tring to kill it so it would speed up the 383 that was gonna go in ot but I ended up selling it and buying my SS, which I take GREAT car of.

Exactly. Isn't the fastest engine around, but mine runs like a dream. Less noisy than the Ls1 haha

My girlfriend had an old 95' Camry, 4cyl I think.

390k and it finally blew up, like really blew the hell up.

Pulled trailers, never changed the oil, nothing... I did one oil change on that car and drained about 1 quart out of it...

Was a fantastic car...

Just got rid of my 93 ranger with 269k and everything still worked and I beat on since I brought it in 94 with 8k on it. BTW 4.0 v6 5sp

whenever someone asks about a beater car I always bring up Buicks, there dirt cheap and pretty damn reliable.

If that 88 camaro wasnt so far away I might be interested in that. That 305 is a dog but it runs forever. My brother had one in high school and it ran like a champ in any condition.

97 TOYOTA CORROLLA!!!!!!!!!!!!! hands down the best car ever i could never be able to explain to you what that car has been through it is a TANK! if nuclear war happend the only things left would be saw movies, roaches, and the cool-rola. this car has over 316k miles on it, gets neutral droped all the time, dogged to hell, ran out of gas constantly(this morning as a matter of fact), i jump rail road tracks in it, take it through fields needless to say i TRY to kill it and i just cant i LOVE that car i took a big fan like turbo thing and duck taped it to the intake and boosted it!! its just is a beast!!!

i love this car so much that i SWEAR if i had to make the decision between my heads and cam 4.56 gear ss or the COOL-ROLA id chose it cause its just so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:chug:

whenever someone asks about a beater car I always bring up Buicks, there dirt cheap and pretty damn reliable.

If that 88 camaro wasnt so far away I might be interested in that. That 305 is a dog but it runs forever. My brother had one in high school and it ran like a champ in any condition.

:werd: 91-96 Buick Park Ave/LeSabre- you can find them all day long driven by some old people with less than 75k on them for $3000.

Also, 91-96 Caprice, Roadmaster, Fleetwood. Very reliable cars, easy to work on, not a lot of stuff to break. Trans is the only issue, some last 100k, some last to 150k+.

If you want a smaller car, can't go wrong with an Accord, Corolla or Camry. I'd stay away from Civics, Celicas, Integras, Predules, all the sporty ones. They tend to get stolen and stripped.

A Saturn S-Series. They're very reliable as long as they're in stock trim. Automatics are more reliable because they're less prone to diff-pin failures. If you do get a manual, keep the one-wheel burnouts to a minimum. They're easy to work on and parts are cheap. Plus there's plenty of them in the junkyards. They make good beater cars and they're not too terribly slow, provided they're DOHC. Good mileage to boot.

I'll second a 91 LeSabre. My Dad had one, ran great all the time, he just got tired of it one day and the rust that was eating up the bottom half. All leather, cruise and climate control, enough balls to at least pass a car if need be. Hell his S/C 97 Bonneville was in the same boat.

I really liked that Buick though, first car I ever drove, they are nice.

Love my 98 Jeep Cherokee Sport. Averages 17mpg mixed city/highway. Get about 260-270 per fill, that costs about $30. Plus it has 4 wheel drive when needed.


I'm with this fellow. I bought a '91 Cherokee with 200k that had been beat to death, driven hot way too long, and put through hell a few times over. The four wheel drive worked flawlessly, it got decent mileage and was tough as nails. Not to mention the 4.0 is an incredibly reliable engine.

I'd definitely prefer one as my next beater.


Also any 4cyl Toyota pickup made within the last few decades, be it an SR5 or Tacoma. We have a '98 with over 330k on the clock that runs and drives like a champ. No trans fluid changes, no rear gear problems, no issues with the four wheel drive, nothing. Amazing vehicles.

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I doubt she'd be into a truck, but I'll definitely take a look at some Corolla's, Camry's, and early 90's Buicks.

Keep the ideas coming!

Ls1!!!!!

Ls1!!!!!

If you can find me an LS1 that runs (well), isn't just the engine/drivetrain (ie. full car), and isn't hot or wrecked, anywhere within in the USA or Canada for $3000 or less, I'll buy it.

Another vote for a Civic

I have a 94 Sunbird 2 Door 4 banger with 160k miles. Got it for $1,200 with a new top end like in 2004. Had to replace the cat once, had to saftey wire up the muffler, had to replace the plug wires once, needing an alignent it gets 25mpg mixed.

Need to get the stereo working, need to replace the front brakes soon, and it looks like it may need new ball joints... I can't complain honestly.

My brother has a 96 cavalier that did not start acting up untill it hit like 210k miles.

A friend of mine's mom has a 5 speed civic 4 door. 300k miles and still going. Just regular cam belt repaclements (when needed) and a clutch... thats pretty much all it has needed.

Another vote for a Civic

Get an Accord or Camry, my friend's civic got stolen and stripped. Along with another guy on this forum got his stripped. I've read they are one of the most likely to get stolen cars, and insurance is cheaper on the Accord or Camry.

I like my Eclipse actually. 2Gs are nice, for being a girl car. But hey, it gets good mileage, parts are cheap for non turbo (since its Chrysler parts), and its damn easy to work on. Gotta get that recall on the control arms checked though... :)

anything with a series II 3800 lol

i like my grand prix

^ +1 3.1 or 3.8 you just need to know about replaceing intake gaskets, i have heard about problems with the 3.4 snapping rocker arms?

A first gen S-Series Blazer, Jimmy or Bravada with the 4.3. I'm a huge fan, they're reliable as hell if you beat on them and even moreso if you treat them nicely. Hell my dad had his 88 Blazer with the piece of shit 2.8 v6/auto combo, bought it with a rebuilt tranny and engine at like 115k miles and drove it until it had 234,000 miles and sold it to a friend of mine for $200. My dad only changed the oil 3 or 4 times, tranny and diff fluid twice and put gas in it. Literally. Never once broke down or left us stranded in the 6 or 7 years he had it. Then my friend absolutely THRASHED the shit out of it, worse than I've ever seen someone beat a car before. He did everything you possibly could but roll it. He would wheel it to the worlds end, there was no rev limiter so when he was stuck in the mud you could just hear the valves sticking open and crying for lower revs. He drifted it into a bridge footing and drove away, hit a tree wheeling and a day later the hood flew up on the highway and smashed the windshield to hell. Drove it up on boulders and the undercarriage loved it. Absolutely could NOT kill it.

I'm actually kind of pissed he fucking junked it, I would've taken it back and properly killed it...

But IMO 2.8 suck! Your friend should get a 4.3 Blazer. The 4.3s are pretty much unkillable, parts are dirt cheap should you need some, fuel mileage is pretty decent for a V6 SUV, nearly 20 around town and depending on the gears and how well it runs I saw nearly 30mpg in one of my Blazers on the highway. The 4L60E/700r4's are just fine in these cars because there isn't LS1 power in front of them. I never had a transmission fail on me, just one engine and that was the previous owners fault for letting the fuel injectors leak into the intake manifold which dripped into the crankcase and ate away at the main/rod bearings.

My dads current car is a 94 Bravada 4.3 CPI (200hp Vortec V6) with the 4L60E and full time AWD as all Bravada's have. He bought it at 130,000 miles from some hot little slut for $600, the front end was a bit messed up because she clipped a guard rail and a deer but it was all cosmetic. It now has 184,000 miles on it and runs strong as hell, we've been on numerous long trips with it, a 2,500 miles round trip to St. Louis a couple years ago, two weekend trips to Canada and various other day trips for no reason. Once again, never left us stranded as far as mechanical issues. The only thing he's replaced is the transfer case because the chain was slipping when you got on it in first gear. $300 later and it's been perfect since then.

More importantly, they are very safe in an accident, I know people who have crashed these and the worst injury was a black eye because the mirror flew off and whacked him. One rollover into a field, one into a tree and the other crashed into one car head on, rolled over a Jeep and landed on a Subaru and that's where a black eye was sustained. ;)

...Yes I can type forever about nothing...

My friend had an early 90's GMC Jimmy, loaded to the hilt, leather, push button 4wd, cd player, etc. Biggest POS ever, it was constantly in the shop for something, engine blew up with around 120k on it, just a terrible vehicle.

That family also has a 1990ish 4 door Nissan pathfinder. Never any trouble out of that unit. It was a v6, 5 speed, loaded. Even with 350k on it, the body was very straight, no rust, shiney paint, mint burgandy velour interior(it felt very upscale IMO), working 4wd, orginal engine/trans. The motor finally gave out on it, they got one from a junkyard. They still have that truck, my friend's dad has been commuting from Memphis to Nashville for the past 3 years in it, it still looks nice and has to have at least 450k on it now.

I got a few beaters for you...

^ +1 3.1 or 3.8 you just need to know about replaceing intake gaskets, i have heard about problems with the 3.4 snapping rocker arms?

yea it was common on some of those motors...i know for sure the 3.1 has issues with the intake gaskets and it'll leak coolant...

i've also heard good things about some of the older nissan trucks lasting forever.

LOL! I think I'll jump on the wrecked R34 :D

LOL! I think I'll jump on the wrecked R34 :D

I had that picture forever and I never realised that it was a wrecked R34...Good eye Spd Kilz :D

if you can find one, early to mid '90s geo/chevy prizm - rebadged toyota corolla. excellent little cars.

Shit I couldnt kill my old 305 third gen and believe me I tried, Took the mofo on beat to hell dirt road at 60+mph, disabled the top speed limiter and had it at 120+ almost every week for a year and a half, (speedo only went to 115) had it spun to God knows what rpm, it was past all numbers on the tach, It smoked on start up and I only changed the oil once in the two years I had it and only added 1 quart one time after I changed it. I was tring to kill it so it would speed up the 383 that was gonna go in ot but I ended up selling it and buying my SS, which I take GREAT car of.

a few of my freidns have turd gens, and they start up when its -30 outside, and keep on runnin. they are always beatin on em, and they take it. not enough power to break stuff hahaha

so, I would either get a 3rd gen maro, or a early 90's honda. some of my freinds had them, and beat the snot out of them....I'm talkin 9,000 rpm clutch dumps, and it came back for more.

ford rangers are also good. my buddy has a 92 with a blown headgasket, and a 5 speed. the transfer case makes a terrible crunching sound, the struts are shot, no front axle fluid, and it POORS white smoke out of the exhaust. he had it floored in 5th gear at 85 mph, for over 40 minutes striaght. truck still runs pretty decently.

a few of my freidns have turd gens, and they start up when its -30 outside, and keep on runnin. they are always beatin on em, and they take it. not enough power to break stuff hahaha


Those 305 and 350 TBI V8's are awesome. Not a lot of power, but they run forever and don't break. You can find them in 87ish-94 pickup trucks, late 80's-93 caprices, roadmasters, and Caddies, along with 3rd gen fbodys. I have one in my 1991 Cadillac, 111k and it runs like new and uses no oil.

91-96 Caprice