In high school, I was like most of the normal teenagers, being I had one car, enjoyed it, modified it and took it to my first year of college. It served its purpose beautifully! However, I soon grew bored of my car and finally decided to purchase my dream car, a 2006 Pontiac GTO. This presented me with a small issue, as a car enthusiast, I did not want to ruin the vehicle with our salted roads during the winter months. I decided that it would be in the best interest for me, and everyone else to, to buy a winter beater car, for these reasons:
1. Your insurance will probably decrease!
A personal example of my experience with beater cars is that the insurance companies tend to favor people who daily drive beaters. When I purchased my GTO in 2014, my insurance payments were close to $300 per month. This of course was until I purchased my current beater car when it dropped to $220 per month. Not only does my GTO not need to see the salt and snow, but I end up saving nearly $300 per year. The magic of the multi-car policy is a beautiful thing. However, I do advise to call the insurance before making this decision, if it ends up costing way more, the beater might not be worth it.
2. Beater cars are Cheap to purchase!
There's a fine art to finding the right beater car and frankly it takes failing or overpaying for one or two to realize this. I figured that out after my first purchase but ever since have gotten amazing deals on cars. When it comes down to brass tax, these sub $1000 cars are so inexpensive, who cars if you over payed for a beater. The likelihood that you'll loose a substantial amount of money is slim. So keep the purchase of the car cheap!
3. You never feel bad about replacing parts with super cheap aftermarket ones.
During the duration of the ownership of my Ranger, I had to re-build a substantial amount of things on it, from the front rotors, pads and calipers, to the shocks as shown above. No expense would be spared if these issues arose on my GTO, but the beater car received the absolute cheapest aftermarket parts I could find. This does not mean the truck was unsafe, simply I was able to have the piece of mind that the car was working, and I accomplished it for super cheap!
4. The magic of snow hooning!
Some of the most important things with regards to safety on a vehicle you might be tracking or presenting at shows is the suspension. Components are essential for that perfect stance and the maximum amount of traction. A beater car, as long as its safe, doesn't really matter if you hit a curb snow drifting. The magic of snow drifting (hooning as is refered to by some) is the art of sliding a vehicle in a snowy area for the pure enjoyment, also because you watched Tokyo drift once and think you're DK. Anyways, a winter beater can be drifted and enjoyed in the snow with little to no worries about the well being of your primary vehicle (race car).
5. Salt and rust are no longer a worry.
When I owned one vehicle, I was constantly worried about all the decay salt and snow were doing to the underside of the vehicle. Constantly spending $15 too wash off the salt from your car became dull after a while. Having a winter beater totally eliminated this phenomenon for be because, well I don't care if the vehicle is covered in road salts. It's most likely already rotted to bits so who cares if it rusts some more.
6. You'll appreciate your race car even more than ever!
Picture in your mind a lovely spring morning, birds chirping, children playing in the street, your neighbor who finally was able to pull out his race car from the garage! His face is filled with glee as he primes the fuel pump and starts the engine. A loud noise is heard as eight cylinders fire into life! The owner has never been happier and is re- living the magic he first got when he built and purchased that car in the first place. That is the best reason I believe to keep and drive a winter beater, you start to appreciate more and more the beauty in your dream car!
