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March 8, 2010

Shopping for My First College Beater

Katakuna

I’ve just been accepted to college, and like a lot of students, I need something cheap to beat around in. But see, I can’t completely throw away the notion of buying a decent car, can I? Especially since my father is willing to contribute $1,500 to my new-car fund, it takes a lot of the pressure off and opens up a world of possibilities. I’ve started out with a list of possible used cars (since insurance on a new Camaro for an 18-year-old driver pretty much rules that out). Continue below the jump to help me decide what to get!

Here are the contenders:

1991-1995 Saturn S-series

1992-1995 Honda Civic

1990-1993 Honda Accord

1993-1999 Pontiac Grand Am

Lastly (dare I say it), some form of early 90′s Hyundai. Depressing, huh?

So, armed with my arrogantly vast knowledge of specs on any car ever marketed in America, I set my hopes for finding a decent ride at a low price. Being lazy and without a chauffeur, I look online. Think that’d be easy, right? Wrong. There isn’t a single damn used car for sale online within fifty miles of my area. However, I did manage to find a few good selections within my price range, even if they aren’t too close by.

1. 1992 Honda Civic LX

Price: $1,900

Pros: has power windows, power door locks, and a 5-speed. That’s about it.

Cons: possibly wrecked, crappy repaint, absolutely laughed my ass off when I saw that it had 296,545 miles on the odometer.

This Civic is 198 miles away from my town of Frankfort, Kentucky. Would you trust this car to make the trip? Just look at the front of this car, it looks like they used house paint to cover up damage that wasn’t even fixed. It’s got an aftermarket stereo, but my experience with cars like this one leads me to believe that even that doesn’t work. I also have the nasty, unexplainable feeling that it was drenched inside-out in a flood.

2. 1992 Honda Accord EX

Price: $1,975

Pros: Optioned to the gills, aftermarket stereo worth something, really nice interior color, mileage isn’t too bad at 197,211, would actually make it across the state line

Cons: Still too far away for me to go, I could do better for cheaper.

My brothers and my grandmother swear upon the quality of the 1990-1993 Accords: both my brothers, who have destroyed/dismantled plenty of other cars out of bad luck, could not kill the one they had. My grandmother now uses it for parts for the Accord she drives, both of which have at least 230k and still run well. Still, I don’t want to travel that far for a car when I can get better for cheaper right in my own town.

3. 1997 Saturn SL1

Price: $1,200

Pros: only 86,000 miles on the odometer, Runs perfectly, probably 5-speed, I know the car back to front (being a Saturn expert), and I can sell it for twice the list price a year from now. Did I mention it’s actually a local car?

Cons: Only thing wrong is the number in the advertisement is no longer a listed number, and my mother said it’s been for sale for months.

Really, this car was perfect. It drinks less than a MADD mother, isn’t all that boring, and the quality of such a car is great. I know the ins and outs of the car without even looking at it because the S-series Saturns were pretty much the same car throughout all model years.

4. 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE coupe

Price: $2,000 OBO

Pros: fairly new, great condition, very fuel efficient, know almost as much about the Grand Ams as I do Saturns, only 112,000 miles.

Cons: Listing doesn’t mention specifics, doesn’t say a damn thing aside from body style and asking price, to be honest.

So Far, this one sounds the best. I love the body style for this year, the interior of the car is comfortable beyond comprehension. I love the split-pod gauges. It’s extremely safe: NHTSA rates both the sedan and the coupe at at least 4 out of 5 stars for all aspects of crash tests. My uncle had a sedan version years ago and didn’t have a single complaint. If I can whittle the price down to $1,700 after the test drive, I’ll have no problem convincing my father to help out.

5. 1998 Chevy Cavalier coupe

Price: $1,950 OBO

Pros: cheap, right down the street, any replacement parts needed in the future are cheap and extremely easy to find. Mileage isn’t horrible at around 150k.

Cons: Probably been driven like a hotrod judging by the ATX decal across the windshield and the read and black ‘pleather’ seat covers.

A lot of you know the type: The car looks great, cheap price, but the second you turn the key, you know something’s wrong. I have a strong feeling this is that kind of car. Cavaliers weren’t even on my list, but I saw this one on the way home a short time ago and it looks too good to not check out. I’ll definitely give this a double take soon.

6. 1988 Hyundai Excel GLS

Price: $1,295

Pros: Pfft, are you kidding me?

Cons: Everything

Okay, I fully admit I checked this out as a joke. This thing is such a piece of crap! These things were having extreme problems from day one and haven’t stopped. There’s a reason this particular model has such low mileage: At 54,832 miles on the odometer, it already looks to be on its last leg. I’m also not about to travel 300 miles for a worthless piece of crap that wouldn’t make it out of the parking lot. With a ninety-three inch wheelbase, I could park it on a twin bed, and granted, it’s got a manual like I want, but a friend of mine had one with even less mileage that lasted about three weeks.I still have nightmares…

I’m not necessarily looking for my first car, but this is the first time I’ve actually had to look. Hopefully I’ll buy something worth mentioning. Until then, keep a look out!

Permalink:

Posted at 3:26 am in Alex Vickers

Comments

tsaojamescar
Mar 10, 2010 at 4:26 pm

Good info Alex, though I have to say that there are lots of other options that you can consider. If you are looking for your first used car, I suggest checking out Carsala. They save you time, effort, and money because they are experts dealing with used car purchases.

Alex Vickers
Mar 8, 2010 at 9:31 pm

You know what I just noticed? I’ve been reviewing these pictures for a week before I posted this, and I’m just now realizing that the Hyundai is actually running…

GTwildfire
Mar 8, 2010 at 8:18 pm

Alex I should have read your entire post before rattling off. Sorry for the clutter, but it was well-intentioned.

GTwildfire
Mar 8, 2010 at 8:12 pm

Oh and I have seen no change in the price of beaters in the Philly area, none at all. In fact I can get low cost rides even cheaper than a few years ago, probably.

GTwildfire
Mar 8, 2010 at 8:10 pm

I have owned a couple Saturn SL’s from the ’90s. Oil starts getting past the valve guides and out the tailpipe eventually, although not leaving a huge blue plume like you’re one of the Blue Angels taking off at an airshow.
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As long as you pay attention to and maintain the oil level in a ’90s Saturn, and otherwise don’t ignore its regular maintenance, and don’t beat the piss out of the poor thing, those little plastic Saturns can go for hundreds of thousands of miles. There is one other caveat. The timing chain really should be changed on schedule, because the guides are plastic.
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Otherwise they get good mileage, are comfortable to drive, handle pretty well (breaking distance could be better, get ABS equipped), and they can be among the most affordable reliable cars you can buy. They’re also not the ugliest things ever made.

GTwildfire
Mar 8, 2010 at 8:01 pm

Alex, it all depends on what your priorities are. If you want reliable, cost effective and it doesn’t have to be American, get an older Camry. If you want something cheap but with attitude, and you can handle little things that may arise (mechanically) there are too many cars for me to list. That would boil down to your own preference.
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I suggest researching what you want before you buy. What I do is browse owner reviews for what I’m interested in, looking for common problems like bad transmissions or whatever. Likewise look for good things that many owners mention. Sites like Epinions.com and others are very helpful. Googling “used car owners reviews” will get you to other sources as well. This technique, aside from looking at MORE THAN JUST ONE of an unfamiliar make/model/year are what works for me.
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Looking at/driving more than one of the same kind of (unfamiliar) car is very important and very often overlooked. This gives you the opportunity to establish an idea of how the car should behave in more subtle ways than would otherwise be realized.

cknarf
Mar 8, 2010 at 6:20 pm

Find a late 80s to early 90s camry. Indestructable I swear.

StreetbikeTJ199
Mar 8, 2010 at 2:43 pm

I’d say you’re right to go for the Saturn,that’s the car I learned to drive a manual in and I know a couple of different people who have them and they hold up pretty good. To answer DaveyBoyo’s question, the reason beaters are so expensive in the U.S. is because of the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers program which gave people $3500-$4500 for their trade in, no matter how crappy the car was. The program dictated that those cars must then have their engines destroyed using a chemical called sodium silicate.

DaveyBoyo
Mar 8, 2010 at 2:15 pm

For one thing: Why are beaters so freaking expensive in Kentucky?? That’s what I want to know! Those cars would all go for between $500-$1000 in Ontario. The price you have to pay for those pieces of crap is ridiculous!!

But that being said, I’m going to go against the grain here and recommend the Accord. I had a 1990 EX-R and it lasted for 517,000 k’s. No joke. If you can get a manual transmission and power options, all the better!

Those cars will go FOREVER. Great beaters. I say buy it.

I’m in college right now and my beater is an ’85 Camaro that I paid $650 for. If you dont pay insurance they’re great!

Monk73
Mar 8, 2010 at 10:35 am

I say the saturn. Tough little cars. The tranny feels a bit sloppy but it gets the job done and for a decent price. And you can buy a 2006 grand am for only $2000 more, bad decision in my opinion.

Bick66
Mar 8, 2010 at 9:42 am

Buy a mid to late ’70′s Firebird or Camaro. Easy to work on, cheap easy to come by parts, fits into your price range and way cooler than any of these. Trust me on this one, you won’t regret it. Get one with a 6 cylinder if you’re worried about gas but the money you same in repairs will pay for the gas.

manchowder440
Mar 8, 2010 at 8:58 am

dude, get somethin rear drive… I’m partial to 70′s american iron, but a decent 240 sx, maybe a 4 banger cherokee 2wd, 5 speed… if you have to get any one of the ones on your list, get the honda

SouthernGuy8503
Mar 8, 2010 at 8:20 am

out of those i’d say the Grand Am or Cavi.
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the guy that said his Grand Am was a POS you can’t say ALL were like that, sometimes you just get a lemon especially when you buy used you have no clue how it was driven or taken care of before you got it.
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now the Cavi i do agree that even though it looks good if it doesn’t sound right to you then it might be something wrong, what you can try doing is finding a Cavi about that year and maybe with the same engine and se if it sounds the same, maybe at a car lot or something. but really you can’t say it was hot rodded only because of 1 sticker on the car so go by the mechanical condition.
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what you could do is test drive both the Grand Am and Cavi and see what you think, maybe even drive the Cavi to a good mechanic that can do a quick free diagnosis to see if there is a problem and how much it would cost if there is a problem. and do that with the owner there so they can’t say your lying or whatever

billsfirebird
Mar 8, 2010 at 7:52 am

AVOID THE GRAND AM LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!!

Speaking from personal experience, you should avoid it. Unless you like to work on cars alot.

Both front power windows broke (drivers window fell down into the door)
Stereo volume would only go “up”. Could no longer turn down the radio.
Front speaker has blown (see volume problem from before)
Front strut mounts have been replaced several times.
Front end has been rebuilt including the rack and pinion steering.
Front wheel bearings have been replaced.
Intake manifold gasket has been replaced.
Replaced blower motor resistor (dash fan quit working).
Hazard switch button recalled. (couldn’t use turn signals).
Dash pad is peeling back from guage panel, revealing the ugly “foam” underneath
Windshield cracked
Drive belt squealed badly. Replaced, still squeals on occasion.
Passenger side mirror very loose.
Water Pump and thermostat had to be replaced.
Replaced Cam position sensor.
Check engine light now on tripping a code about the EGR valve.

There were other minor things as well. This car is built with mostly plastic. (the retainer holding in the headlamp bulb is plastic. When I went to replace the bulb, this retainer absolutely fell apart. Dealer sold me the part for 5 bucks which probably cost them 5 cents to manufacture.

All this occurred during my ownership. I do not hot rod or neglect my cars, I keep up regular maintenance. I’ve own several cars in my life, none have fallen apart quite like this car has.