FromZto5

Sooooo... I've been enjoying the living daylights out of this car for the last few days. Upon getting it, I immediately did the following things:

replaced battery
oil change
air filter change
clutch master cylinder change (was leaking)
rotate tires
top off power steering fluid
top off coolant
clean inside

Things you realize when you buy someone else's car: People are LAZY and SLOBS. This car lasted 23 years not because he took good care of it, but because the car was a Toyota and survived his abuse. LOL. This guy was CHEAP and a SLOB. I have a LOT more to do with the inside, but some of it was caked on spilled coffee and crap. Ugh.

But I love it.

Also, the kids love it because they're like "Daddy, you're not mad if we eat in here?" "You mean I can step on the carpet and kick the seats and you're not angry?" I said NOPE. Go nuts, kids

I tell you what, there is something SO RELAXING about owning a Piece of $..t car that you really don't care about. I can kick the door shut. I can park as CLOSE to the building door as possible. I can squeeze in REALLY tight spaces. It can rain, it can snow, it can be muddy, I don't give a flying f***. I just drive from A to B, while my new Infiniti rests in the garage until I have the whole family for a trip on the weekends.

Here's a quick pic:

Stage_3

^^LMFAO
I love it bro!!! Something I don't give a **** about is right! I need a beater as well Burton. Something that I can park near the front door of buildings and not give a **** if it gets dinged or scratched! Don't care about the weather if it is crappy out or not.
That's awesome bro. Enjoy.

FromZto5

Haha it's worth every penny tony. Worth every penny I tell ya. Just make sure you get a good running car though, free of problems. The only issue this had was the owner "didn't know where the leaking clutch fluid went". Upon first inspection it was a leaking master cylinder through the firewall. Fixed that right away and voila! Good as new.

2k7gtcs

LS1 swap

FromZto5

Hah! That would be the biggest waste of $$$ and time on the face of this earth. My beater is not even worth a drop of oil that goes into an LS1

I tell you what though, there is something so utterly satisfying about my beater. It snowed again last night, a light dusting...maybe 1-2" tops. So the roads were fine in terms of safety/handling, but it's just a slushy mess. I got in my car today and drove it with a huge smile. Just HUGE. I could hear the salt pinging off the fender wells. Still smiling. In fact, before I even drove, you know what I did that I thought I'd never do? I always shake my head in disgust when I see people do this. I DUSTED THE SNOW OFF MY HOOD/ROOF/etc... yep. I dusted it using the rough bristles of my snow brush. I knew it was scratching the paint, but man, it felt good to just brush away. LOL.

Long story short, EVERY car guy needs a beater. A real POS beater.

FromZto5

Another first for me today... I filled up for the first time today, in this car. I was on 1/4 tank/between E. Took 8.3 gallons or so, $1.71 of the cheapest gas, with 10% Ethanol. I filled up for like 13 bucks. How f'ing awesome is that.

God I love this thing.

Stage_3

HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Gabe

Lol .....

Filled up the truck with 87 gas at $1.69/gal today, it was cash only, but luckily I had some cash on me and didn't have to pay the $1.79/gal credit card price

Plim

I checked, and unfortunately it is not the cause.. But thanks for sharing! Any more suggestions are welcome!

Coyote5-0

These are good cars because they are rebadged Corollas with all the reliability, but without the perceived value. People will ask for $1-2k more for a Toyota Corolla than a Geo Prizm despite them being the same cars. If I'm not mistaken, GM and Toyota got together because GM needed some vehicles to reduce their CAFE and use Japan's own cars to compete with Japan lol

FromZto5

Yes that is correct. I agree. Yeah this particular car was beat to death by the prior owner. He completely disregarded this thing for 23 years. It's actually embarrassing...he treated this thing worse than his worst enemy. So the fact that this thing is still running good (engine, transmission, etc) is a true testament to how good this car was (for its time) in terms of quality. The interior is beat to crap and is falling apart, but again that's not the car's fault... That's the owner's.

FromZto5

Still can't get over how much I love this thing. If I was a doctor with a patient who has high automotive stress, I would definitely prescribe a beater such as this.

So this morning, we got freezing rain, then topped off with 2"-3" of snow. So the roads were complete junk. I get in that Geo, start the car with one crank, scrape the windshield and rear and headlights, and voila, I'm good to go. It started warming up today up to upper 20's, so the roads were just a complete slush/icy mess. I just can't IMAGINE subject my other vehicles/new vehicles to this abomination. I can't begin to think what the salt would do to those. But alas, I smile because it's happening to this beater/junk car ONLY. I walk out of the gym today, and I see THIS, and I smile a BIG grin.

Stage_3

HA HAAAAAAAAAAAA

That's awesome bro. My truck is killing me. It looks so bad! I was going to do a touchless wash today, but it'll just come back tomorrow, the next day, and the day after that,.......lol
(I only use the touchless wash in the winter months on the daily driver. Does the undercarriage as well.)

FromZto5

See tony? Your truck doesn't qualify as a beater. A daily, yes. A beater, heck no! I'd be as stressed with that as I would my new Infiniti

Stage_3

Trust me, I know. My truck is filthy and it's driving me nuts!

Gabe

It's a truck.
Go get it muddy!

Twin Turbo

Haha.....I did the beater thing about 6 or 7 years ago.

This was a Ford Mondeo (I think it was sold as a Mercury Contour over there?). It was actually a superb car to drive.........well, as superb as a 1.8 litre 4-cylinder, front wheel drive car will ever drive. The inside was in pretty good condition, and I don't think the rear seat had been sat in much. But rust was nibbling at the arches and the paint was flat.

I ended up using it as my daily driver for 18 months and 40,000 miles! It was probably the most reliable car I've ever had. Just bung in petrol and go! I hate to say it, but I didn't bother to service it. I bought it for £500 and sold it for £300, so also the cheapest motoring I've ever enjoyed.

I'm totally with you on the stress-free element. I beat on it and it just came back for more!

I kind of miss having a beater! Enjoy yours

The first winter, I even removed the plastic wheel trims for that seriously entry-level look




She didn't look too bad after a final wash before selling her

Coyote5-0

you never even changed the oil?? lol

FromZto5

that's awesome Paul! FYI, my beater is in MUCH MUCH MUCH worse shape than that. Not of my own doing of course, the prior owner was terrible on it. Your car compared to mine is like a Ferrari to a Pinto. Mine's the pinto! lol.

But the crappier they are (exterior and cosmetic) the better I like it. It makes me NOT care. If I DID care, that would be stress, and I have enough of that with Marilyn, Portia, and Quincy. I don't need another...

Coyote5-0

Am I bad for not naming my cars?