I am hoping the supercharger comes out on time so i can put it in over the long New York winters. Even if it does not come out in time i plan on not driving my tc during the winter. What do you think is the best winter beater for the buck? I plan on spending $500-$1500.

 

Any help on what i should choose?

 

500- 1500? maybe an early 90s Tercel or Civic? afterall, it is just a winter beater.

 

2005 Ford focus

you could find a lot of hoopdies in that price range...when you get one though....hand paint flames on it and post the pix

 

lol... thats not bad

 

Flames would make a hot beater. You think a civic over something with 4 weel drive?

 

Lol, what 4wd do you think you're gonna buy for 1500???
not one that runs, and or passes inspection

 

i see some blazers out there, some jimmys around that price.

 

guess prices are a bit diff there than they are here. Not much in 4wd for < $1000, at least not running

 

Off topic...but where in bergen county, NOX??? I'm in Glen Rock.

 

greandeville,

Shop around and you'll be able to find a decent Jeep Cherokee for 1500-3000. A lil more then you were talking about but perfect for the winter.

 

thank you, That sounds like the best piece of advice so far.

 

I am doing the same exact thing. There's an auto auction near me that is running an online auction this Tuesday. I'm bidding on a 95 Geo Tracker. Hopefully I'll get it for $1000-$1300. If I don't get that, there's about 6 other beaters I have to choose from on there, mostly old Accords so we'll see what happens.

 

NO, Cherokees are crap, seriously, get something that will at least run most of the time. Do not mean to offend anybody but they really are just plain terribly unreliable, I have known to many people that owned them!

Really hard pressed to find anything in that price range you can depend on, at the minimum you may need new tires, a tuneup, fluids, belts, etc, etc.

Since you need to get around in rough weather the best bet would be the best FWD Toyota or, erhh, hmmmm, honda, you can find and take it to a shop to get checked out first!!!!!

Rick

 

I've thought of putting my tC up in the winter and finding a cheap rat to drive, like a tercel/civic/corolla/geo (haha, i traded in a 95 geo prizm for the tC.. probably should have kept it for the winter!).. BUT, I think it would be more of a pain than anything.

For starters, you need to store it somewhere. Well, most of us would probably just keep it at home in a garage, or in the backyard, free of cost. The downside is that if you're planning on removing your insurrance on it for the winter, you can't keep your plates, and thus you can't keep it on your property legaly. So, if you keep your plates/insurrance, and you decide to keep it at home, or even in a paid for heated garage, it's recommended that you start it once or twice a week, and move it around. It's just a giant pain in the @ss. Honestly, the tC is a nice car, but some snow and slush aren't going to destroy it.

I won't lie to myself. I probably won't keep my tC for more than 5 years, and I know it'll at least last that long. My only question is where the hell can I buy a set of steel wheels for it? So far I've been unable to find any. I really don't want to wreck my 18" enki's.

 

You can keep a bare minimum of insurance, some sort of non op, etc, ask your agent, not a good answer, ask other companies! ( I am not from your area but have done this in three states;)

Not really needed to drive it, just let it warm up a bit or take it out when nobody around on decent days, a few blocks will lube all the seals, etc.

Go to Matrixowners.com and post a WTB, I bet you can find some, I gave away a set with decent all seasons three months ago that would of been just fine.

Rick

 

just buy some cheaper rims. i was going to buy a set of steel rims for my protege's snow tires and the difference between steels and something else really isnt that much.

 

$1500 winter 4x4 beaters

Jeep Cherokee - get the 4.0 liter, available from 87+. The 84-86 had the 2.8 liter gm 60* motor..

90+ Geo Tracker / Suzuki Sidekick 4x4 - Great in snow, generally go for cheap.. I bought one for $650 roughly..

86+ Suzuki Samurai - Hard to find rust free under 2k, but still awesome in the snow. I pulled many people out with mine.

That's the 3 that I'm shopping for right now, within the same sort of budget.

As for cherokee's being unreliable, i guess it depends.. It's no toyota, but the 4 liter 6 cylinder, coupled to the AW4 auto tranny and the NP231 transfer case... good for 250k miles with just basic maintance.. I consistantly see them running well past 200k miles.

They've used that engine for so long now, Wrangler, Cherokee and Grand Cherokee all had the same engine, so parts are plentiful and cheap.

 

Head on down to Chesapeak, there's a couple guys down there that have the Geo/Suzuki market on lock down.. lots of good 4x4's for under $2k.

 

I have a 96 Saturn SC1. 165000 miles, nothing in the way of breakdowns other than an alternator at about 150,000 miles and a bad plug wire once... hardly any real breakdowns. My father has multiple customers with these as well him doing nothing but normal maintenance for the first 150,000 - 200,000 miles.

A big plus as well is that the entire body other than the trunk, roof and hood is made of ABS plastic, so no cancer. The only reason I am driving the tC this winter is that my fiances car threw a rod, so she is driving the saturn untill we buy her a new car in January. I wont get rid of the saturn until it literally dies!