Buying a hooptie/beater

[David J.]

I was thinking of buying some beater when I get my grand am fixed for $500-$1000.

IS this a good or a bad idea?

[Benjamin]

That's a good idea but a bad deal for that price range. Under $500 would be fine for backup transportation as I consider it, but on the higher end of your scale, you can do a lot better than a beater if you shop around.

My cheapest car ever was a $300 1979 Monte Carlo with a hole in the flow and rust for a body. It lasted me five days. You want something decent for your money, even if it'll hardly see use, so you don't end up with a two ton lawn ornament.

[David J.]

Well, DC... I have to say the body rot isn't too here... Back in NY it was awful.

If I could get a truck for $1K with no body rot and an automatic, which is possible here then I'd buy it on the spot.

[thedaemon]

If you want a cheap truck I recommend an old Nissan/Volkswagen/Toyota. Cheap and they last a long time.

[Iron Lizard]

Buy a car with cheap parts. Something simple you can fix cheaply. Buy something old that is very simple (i.e. carb and two vaccum lines) or something relatively newer ( non throttle body injection). Basically avoid later 70s and early 80s vacuum line nightmares.
I bought my thousand dollar Volvo wagon and while it fairly easy to work on the parts are freaking expensive making not practical to keep going. Domestics tend to have cheaper parts.
I think your truck idea would be good. Any one of the 3 would be cheap to maintain and you could haul stuff.

[David J.]

I do want a truck... I almost bought a 02 S10 with lower miles than my Grand Am had, but it had the 4-cyl engine, and the truck I use at work has that engine and it sucks.

[thedaemon]

I would advise against buying a s10. Crap on wheels.

[Tanegashima]

I bought my '84 Datsun 300ZX as a beater...$1200...and ended up pouring $4000 into it because I loved it so much...so yeah, I guess its worth it. Just don't fall in love like I did

[TmEE]

What's a beater/hooptie ?

[Joe Redifer]

I don't think I even want to know what a "hooptie" is.

A "beater" is an old car that was poorly maintained by its owner(s) that barely works.

[TmEE]

There's a beater then in our back yard...

[Joe Redifer]

That's usually where they live.... unless it is a truck, then it lives in the front by the sidewalk making the entire neighborhood look ugly.

[Now there are no limits]

What's a beater/hooptie ?

I was about to ask the same.. David J. you are the most American person I have ever known.

[Benjamin]

A "hooptie" is just a "ghetto/rap/whatever" word for what is otherwise known as a "beater," except that a hooptie is generally thought of as a big old car with its exhaust pipe dragging on it.

[Phantar]

kinda sounds like my very first car, then. More or less "aquired" it since it was abandoned by its former owner who never claimed it back, so it was consfiscated and later auctioned off by the police. Got it cheap, and it actually ran two more years. (It was a 1984 Volkswagen Golf Model II, by the way)