98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

Ok, here's my question for everyone: I have a 1998 T/A with 60k miles on it, and i was wanting to know whether or not i should buy another car for about $400 so that I wouldnt put miles on my T/A or should i just spend all the money that i would dump into the $400 car and use it for mods for my T/A?? I am just worried about racking up miles on my T/A and having performance begin to decrease. i maintain the car, and change all of the fluids and filters, but i just bought it and have only put a few hundred miles on it, it had 59k when i bought it, what do you guys think i should do.Thanks.

blkZ28spt

Why would you buy a shitty $400 car and "dump money into it"? Then you will have two money pits. Just drive the TA unless you drive lots of very rough miles. Your performance shouldn't really decrease even if you add thousands of miles, especially if it's well maintained.

Lithium

iTrader: (47)

What he said. I would get a beater if I drove a bunch of miles. Otherwise if the miles were not that much, the money would go into mods.

98RedBird

iTrader: (77)

i put about 15k to 20k miles a year on cars. is that too many ya think?? i dont drive that hard, i get on it a time or two when i drive it, but who doesnt who has an f-body?? overall though, i dont drive that hard on it, i try to take care of it.

Lithium

iTrader: (47)

Thats kind of a lot of miles, I do maybe 7 thousand a year. I dont know what other people consider a lot of miles, but I would buy a beater if I drove that much.

blkZ28spt

What kind of miles are they? I got mine almost four years ago with 32k miles, and it only has 57k now. That is a little low from leaving it at home most of freshmen year though.

Allergik2dyin

I think the general rule of thumb is 10-15k miles a year. As with any car if you maintain it well, it will live a long, healthy life. There are many people on this board with LS1's with over 100,000 miles and theyre still strong as ever. I'd say put the money into mods as long as you change the fluids on a regular basis and keep good care of it in general. As long as you do that, enjoy!

2K2WS6TA

iTrader: (2)

It's better to drive the car, than keep it stored away in a garage, keeps the problems of dried out seals, gummy gasoline, etc. away. Besides these cars are meant to be driven and enjoyed, it's not like they only made 10 of them, drive it, enjoy it, and don't worry about miles (engines/trans/rearends can all be rebuilt if they wear out)

Luna

iTrader: (6)

I would definetely like another car for a winter beater but then again I live in Chicago w/ rough *** winters. It's really a question of economics for you is it going to be worth it to spend 400 bux on a car that may end up costing alot more than that over a year or so ?

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

Buying the -right- beater is the trick. Something that
is priced based on ugly vs something priced based on
chronic health problems. I've had $300 beaters that
drove for years without any parts or labor, and I've
had ones that died inside a couple of months.

Probably the best one for miles/$ and operating cost
was my little '78 (?) Corolla wagon, rusty little POS
but the 22R motor and 5-speed gave no trouble at
all, I bought it at over 100KMiles and sold it, still
running, for what I paid several years later.

I frove a $450 Chevy van for about 8 years but I
did rebuild the motor and trans on that one, so
about $500 in parts & machine shop plus my free
labor.

You do have to factor in the insurance and registration
but, the beater is now your primary transportation
(yes, it is) and the F-body is driven for pleasure less
than 5000 miles a year (yes, it is). So you might -save-
money if you have full coverage.

Thing about beaters is, you can cut your losses at
a very low dollar point by just driving it to the bone
yard and unscrewing the license plate. Or sell it for
$300 to somebody else who's more hopeful.

Sometimes you can get a beater for free. Guy I used
to work with used to get all his cars for $100 or less.
But he was more hooked up, immigrant community
and church etc. Still, a sharp eye, a willingness to ask
and acting poor (hint: walk up, don't drive the T/A)
can maybe solve two peoples' problems for low or no
exchange of cash. Can of starting fluid, can of Fix-A-
Flat, no more dead patch on the lawn for the nice old
people down the block.

Jake19_2

Your now going to be performing maintenance on two vehicles, paying insurance on 2 cars and also gas on both cars. I've contemplated the same thing and decided against doing it, you payed good money for your car, why let it sit and waste away? After you start modding you won't want to drive another car.

Kirby

As JimmyBlue was saying, if you get the right beater, you won't have to perform much maintenance. I agree on your insurance for 2 cars but what really gets me is your claim on gas for both cars like thats a bad thing. If you think about it, you will be spending the same amount of gas if not less because you are only spending the same amount per week for 2 cars as you would for 1 car. Its not like your f-bod is gonna drink gas while you're driving the beater around. Gas won't change.

I've also considered getting a second car. I bought my car exactly 1 year ago from now with 24k on it as my graduation present and now it has 48k. I do a lot of driving but my car still runs great with those extra 24k being hard city miles. Also if I want to do a mod that takes a couple of days to finish, I can't because of my lack of extra cars to drive. It all depends on what mods you want to perform and how long it will take you. If you drive as much as I do, I would recommend getting a second car.

2K2WS6TA

iTrader: (2)

Here's something else to think about, if you do get a beater, you could get your T/A insured under collector/speciality car insurance (Depends on your age and driving record) but you can save a substantial amount of money I was quoted $310/year (I'm 40 and married YRMV) but that was for an unlimited mile policy, with the only stipulation that it couldn't be driven to work (except in case of emergency)
Sorry I can't recall what company it was, but a Google search should turn up several companies

Kirby

Doing this could save you a load of $$$. I would seriously consider it since if I had the $$$.

dave70

iTrader: (2)

drive it like you stole it dude!! Just get a good set of sfc to avoid all those rattles and squeaks fbodys are famous for lol

Red Orange 96

iTrader: (2)

What jimmy blue said. I got a second car because of stupid New England winter, which it still feels like today, May 27th. I spent a little extra for the beater(>$1000), but it was well worth it. Basic maintenance is cheap, if you do it yourself, and I've spent only a few hundred dollars in repairs on mine. My Daytona is pretty fun to drive so I don't mind getting in it every day. I also save on my insurance w/ a low mileage discount on the ta and a dual car policy(which kind of contradicts itself).

The downside is I don't drive my car very much. About twice a month November-April, and almost every day May-October. From March 04 to March 05, I put just a hair over 1600 miles on the TA. These things make better weekend cars anyway, I guess.

DeanerZ28

With those miles you put on in a year I would buy a beater... but you really don't have to worry much about decrease power.. Ls1's can take a **** load of miles... I have a friend who is in the 110,000 mile club and he is only 1 upgrade ahead of me, just a cam, and he still beats me without a problem, and he doesnt complain about the miles, to qoute him " When the engine blows up, thats when Ill get a new Engine"... The car will be fine as long as you take care of it... The T/A will not dissapoint you in power w/ extra miles.
He is in the 11 Sec club and when his engine goes thats when hell get is Heads, so no worries bout speed.

firechicken2k

NDFORSPD

it really is a toss-up, it all depends. i bought my ws6 when i was 23, and then bought a 99gtp a couple of months later. now all my money goes to cars!!! and a little bit to but to me its all worth while! all in all i love the fact that the t/a is always clean and inside and that i only have to pay insurance for the summer months. however when both cars are on the road, insurance gets expensive and lets just say if i wasnt living at home, this wouldnt be happening. beater cars can are a good idea(the ta is like an investment) maintenance can get expensive but if you do alot of the maintenance yourself, your laughing.