So I've got an interesting conundrum. We have three cars, the Thunderbird that is my toy, my DD 2011 Focus, and my girlfriend's DD the 2012 Mustang. We would like to not drive the Mustang in the winter, or basically early December to early March, to keep it out of the salt and snow. She likes the car and wants to keep it nice for a long time, which means no salt exposure to rust it out. The other 9 months of the year the weather here is fine for daily driving the Mustang.
The logical thing to do is to buy some sort of winter beater so the Mustang can sit in the garage with the T-bird for 3 months. I would be driving the beater as I have a 3 mile round trip commute and the girlfriend would drive the Focus as she has a 27 mile round trip commute. Here's the thing with buying a beater: the other 9 months of the year we won't use it. It will just sit in front of the house not moving.
So what do you think is the best course of action here? I thought about just renting an extra car when we need it or signing up for zip car (an hourly car rental service) instead of buying a cheap beater. Do you think we would be better off buying a beater (which will sit for 9 months a year) or just renting a car when we need it? Thoughts?
I'd buy a cheap beater and then dump it in the spring... rinse and repeat.
I say beater.....here are a number of cars local to you in the 1-1.5K range......my fave is the Ford 1994 F150 and the 1997 BMW.....
http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/3251944487.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/cto/3283697106.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/cto/3283670065.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/3283682649.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/3283668112.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/cto/3276812618.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/cto/3283626606.html
http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/3221786652.html
It sucks living in the salt belt and not wanting to drive cars you care about in the winter, but also not really wanting to drive a car you don't care about, period.
I'd say a beater for the season, then dump it. You most likely won't make any money on the deal, but you won't have to drive something in the winter weather that you'd rather keep in the garage.
Pick up a cheap subie, rock it all winter and throw it away. Won't win any beauty contests, and won't make you popular, but they're good at what they're for. IF it survives, maybe wash it off and put it away for next, or sell it, maybe crush it with a large truck. Your call.
Honestly, it's been a while since I've seen salt on anything other than my eggs. I am very aware of what salt does to a vehicle. A couple of issues popped into my head when I read this. One is safety, most women know only a little about cars. If you decide to go this route, just make sure she has a cell phone and realize that most beaters are not well maintained. Which brings us to issue #2. You may have to put a little money and time into it so it will take care of your girl. Once you do this, you might not want to get rid of it so fast. If you have a place to park it, you might just keep it as a back up. Here we have a lot to consider, insurance, emissions, registration, it all adds up.
He'll be driving the beater. She'll be driving the Focus.
My mistake. Salt sucks! I've bought new cars and driven them into the ground, resurrected them, drove them until dead, then gave them to charity (many miles and years later). The beater I've driven was once my pride and joy. At the rate the automotive industry is going they will be selling all plastic cars (-500 lbs. of computers) soon. I really don't know how you guys do it!
Its real easy.... I dont know anything different. Been here my whole life.
Get a ranger or something you can use to hall stuff or a trailer for the bird. Then it will be worth while to keep around
Good luck
A work truck...I like that idea!
I'll look over the next two months or so for something. It's not like there is a lack of beaters to chose from in my area. The problem is finding a beater that isn't beat to hell already :mullet:. I had never thought about selling the car after the winter. Depending on what I buy and what shape it's in I might even be able to make some money on the deal. I don't know about a work truck. If I buy a pickup then I'm going to have to help people move stuff;).
I did look into renting something and it turns out that even with the cost of registration and insurance it is still cheaper to buy a beater then rent a car for a few months. What ever I get will probably be a FWD and small, with a 4 banger. Unless I get a great deal on a panther. I don't mind RWD in the snow as I had a MN-12 T-bird as a DD for 4 years. A 4 banger would be better on gas.
My vote: 4.0 explorer, or even a 5.0 version (or Mountaineer)
Pros: easy to work on, brakes, oil change ok to drive, etc
cons: py mileage (5.0 especially, but can pull a decent trailer if needed), and did I say that it's 5.0 compared to 4.0? Plus you have a short commute...
Buy a rusty but reliable Mounty/exploder, get it dirty, salty, dented, whatever...put it away at spring..do it all over again when cold wet white falls from the wild blue yonder.
ANd the Mountaineers are AWD, as opposed to selectable 2wd/4wd like some of the Explorers...just get in, drive, and arrive. No fuss. ;)
Of course, I'm biased as hell...plus it beats a truck, AND it has a backseat for those double date nights lol
My crownvic wagon has been going well with amtinance in the last 3 years only in the $500 range.
I personally prefer cougar/birds as beaters. Good reliable cars, still fairly cheap, and you can junk them for $350 if they die on you. And they do well in snow, considering rwd.
I've pretty much decided that it's not important as to what the beater is but what condition it's in. I'm going to take my time and look at a few cars before I just buy something. I want something cheap that will just run without any money/repair for a few months, something that is probably impossible to find ;).
I think I found something. Seems like $500 would be more realistic given the paint fading and MASSIVE dents on the driver's quarter and door. Plus when it dies spare parts!
http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/cto/3325255715.html
Hey Lou, That looks like it would be a real good winter beater/parts car for ya :D
+1
The Mounty is also a good suggestion.
Wellll here's an update on the situation. I'm going to look at the 87 T-bird I posted earlier in the thread tomorrow. I talked to the guy and he said it starts, runs, and stops. It has 104K on it. The car does have an overheating problem, which he believes to be the water pump. I'll look at it and see but if it's just the water pump that's an easy fix.
I did look at another car today. A 1992 Taurus Vulcan 3.0 V6 with 90K. The body is in pretty good shape it has no rust but some clear coat/paint fade. The engine trans, radiator, and electronics work fine. It needs a ler (no biggie) but also a passenger side half shaft at some point. The half shaft is only $47 buuuttt I've never changed one and it looks like a beoch to change out. The seller wants $950. I would jump on it except for the half shaft issue. The boot is torn but not leaking grease everywhere. I only would drive it about 3 miles a day, but I'm sure it's a bad idea to chance it over the winter till I would have time to dive into it in the spring.
I'll have more info on the T-bird tomorrow. If not for the half shaft issue with the Taurus I probably wouldn't be looking at the T-bird. Any thoughts?
Taurus is better in snow. Period.
For axle, you need a jack stand, a prybar, some basic sockets and ratchets, a 29 or 30mm deepwell, and a reasonably strong impact gun. Lift, pull wheel, remove axle nut, remove pinch bolt from lower balljoint, use prybar to disengage balljoint, swing brakes assembly away from axle (if the axle doesn't freely slide out of the hub, put the axle nut back on 3 or 4 full threads and drive if out with a hammer), use prybar to pop the axle out of the trans. Reverse to install, drink beer, feel like a man.
The only tool I don't have is the impact gun. So I'm basically screwed on changing the half shaft at home :hick:. I know it would probably cost me about $200ish over the cost of the half shaft to have it done.
Got a big breaker bar? Pop the center cap off and crack the nut loose before you lift the car up.
The impact gun would make the job easier, but as Foe has already said, bust the nut loose before lifting the car. I might have to look up the spec, but the nut should the be torqued to about 250 ft. lbs or in that vicinity. Easy enough to do with a decent cheater pipe and a breaker bar. Good Luck!
I'd probably take the taurus over the Bird....you didn't say (or else I misses it) if the Bird was 3.8 or 5.0 so I'd be careful of the overheat issue. As states, cv shaft is no big thing on a Taurus, done about 100 over the years, never used air tools.
Well I looked at the Thunderbird I posted about before today. 87 LX 5.0 car. The interior was in pretty good shape. It is a fully optioned car except for leather seats. It has a red interior with the sport seat option (TC seats) the LX had in 87 with a floor shifter and even a sunroof. Yes it was an LX with sport seats and a floor shift. The exterior on the other hand.....oh boy. The drivers door had a large dent at the rear, the driver's quarter has a huge dent for most of the length of the rub strip, and the passenger fender is dented all to hell. The paint is faded beyond saving. Rust has made a hole in the rear rocker that requires replacement of the rocker. The under body has a fair amount of surface rust but no holes. Surprisingly, no strut tower rot! Mechanically it's screwed as well. The water pump is bad, so bad that it leaks like a sieve when it's sitting. The overheating problem has, in my estimation, popped a intake or head gasket as it had some water in the oil (which he said may be because it has been sitting for several months). It doesn't smoke (like it's burning coolant) so it might just be oil condensation from sitting. The exhaust is full of holes though.
All in all it's a parts car, and one that does me no good as the interior parts are all red. I have no room to store it and strip it at home, otherwise I would do so. I feel sorry for the guy as it was his mother's car, which she bought brand new in 87. His daughter drove it as her first car after his mother passed and pretty much destroyed it. He wants to restore it but he doesn't have the money. Plus it would never be worth what he would have to put in it to put it back to where it should be. I could have it for $400 though, but it makes no sense for me. I put some pics of the T-bird on here so you can what shape it's in.
I'm going to call the guy with the 92 Taurus to see if I can buy it. He want's $900 for it, which seems like a deal. I'm pretty sue me and my buddy can change out the half shaft and I'll have a winter beater:D.
Well I passed on the Taurus. The guy wanted $900 and I wanted to give him $800 because of the half shaft issue. He wouldn't budge so I passed. I figure I'll find something that needs a bit more minimal work.
See here: http://www.foxtbirdcougarforums.com/showthread.php?34909-Now-we-have-4-cars-floating-around.
Nice! Congratulations. If you want to get rid of it in the spring, let me know.