[GTO]

Guys, please note that Parag's & Leoshashi's car pictures were added just for "representation" purposes as you can very well get old 800s & WagonRs to use as a beater.

I know they pamper their cars, but no more than I pamper my own Jeep which is also on the 1st page of this thread.

No more off-topic posts please.

[atnyia]

There is a variety of views here. I have had beater cars and nowadays I don't have them. Instead, as someone mentioned in the beginning, I have a beater Activa nowadays.

It all starts in 09 when I was going to have a year-or-two stay in Mysore. Back in Delhi, I had been riding Pulsar or a Car and hadn't used public transport for a long time. Within 20 days of commuting from Vontikoppal to Infosys, I bought a 'beater' XCD 125. A truly horrible bike but did the duty. I was able to sell it for a barely 3 K of depreciation after 1-2 years.

Then, it hit me. Since then, I have moved to three cities (not counting Delhi where we already have lots of vehicles). At each place, after securing a house, the first thing I buy is a 'beater' two-wheeler, to be sold within the same city once I move again. The objective is to have an easy on the pocket steed which can be disposed of quickly when I move.

This works in tropical cities with pleasant weather like Pune/Bangalore etc.

The situation is totally different in NCR. For a variety of reasons, I would have to have a beater car in there. The climate is extreme which makes riding a two-wheeler quite draining both in summers and winters. There is scant regard for two-wheelers in NCR from other motorists. Add the overall reckless driving behaviour from everyone, two-wheeler riding is fraught with physical risks. I am not even talking of fear of snatchers n all. And because I end up covering more distances on average (market runs etc), I would prefer a car.

We always have had two cars in NCR (even family members are more there). Everywhere else, a scooter is sufficient to run the errands. They are easiest to park, turn and carry stuff over short distances, for ex for Diwali shopping.

[audioholic]

I can self nominate my Celerio for being a real beater. I brought this car for my office commute and being the first automatic car at home, Dad also found it very convenient. This made it the most used car and though the distance covered isnt any record breaker, the car has been on the road for the highest amount of time compared to any other car we have owned till date. Some stats so far:

• The initial 10k kms were done within around six months of purchase.
• My office commute is 50kms daily, after which it would be used by parents for errands
• On the weekends, it would be used to visit my village which is around 70kms.
• Later my commute came down gradually once I started using the train to commute.
• This car is used by me, dad, mom, driver, brother and so on and in comparison, our SX4 and now the Crysta has seen only me and Dad at the wheel and lately the SX4 is also used by my mum along with driver a few times
• Though I have taken some care of this, it has never been babied and things like detailed and so. Just gets a wash once in a while
• It has also got the most abuse to the body, visiting the bodyshop already twice for repainting and I no longer feel bad if its brushed or damaged.
• During Covid times, when we got the Crysta, dad had planned to sell the SX4. But various reasons like low resale value and increased reliance on cars made us not to sell it, and even then we had all three cars being used simultaneously on many days.
• Now it is primarily used by my mother ferried by the driver and I have hardly used it over the last few months.

Like many pointed out earlier, a high mileage car or an old car we can get for cheap is never a beater IMO. I am sure that my Celerio will age worse than my other vehicles and also it wont be comparable to say Parags Ertiga. I cant even imagine my Celerio crossing 1L kms in a good shape. Thats not because of the car, but because of the use it has been put to and my own negligence towards the car. If I had primarily used it along with dad, it would have been kept in all its glory. But I guess pretty much from the day I brought it, I was sure this would be heavily used.

On the other hand, a beater car for me is something that is extremely reliable - which is the case with my Celerio even though I was always apprehensive of the AMT given how much abuse it has gone through. Hence, even if I get a car for cheap, or a car that is not reliable enough, it is difficult to use it as a beater if it is prone to issues. This car is just fill it, shut it and forget it types and apart from the issues with the Clutch I had in the beginning, all it takes is the regular 10k kms service and these days thats the only time I really take the car into my hands to see what is up with it.

My 60k kms run SX4 was and is never a beater. Even now, I ensure it gets its share of TLC, and I must say it has aged far better though it is already ten years old. I plan to keep it for longer as I still enjoy the car, it is still reliable as ever and if I really have to find an upgrade to it, then I will have to spend upwards of 15L in todays market which I see as unnecessary. That is more like a keeper than a beater. A simple head unit upgrade increased its tech and maybe apart from a few fancy features as well as the safety tech of today, there is not much it lacks. Hence, when I was offered upto 3L for the car, I simply refused to sell and kept it for myself.

[Sreesh1009]

My Santro would qualify as a beater. The car was used by my Dad as his daily driver from 2005-2010 and then by my mom for the past 10 years. I'm learning how to drive it as of now.

At 120k kms, here are some positives and negatives as a beater.
Positives:
1. Easy to maneuver and has great low end torque.
2. It's a tall boy and perfect for me and my dad (we're both 6ft tall).
3. The build quality and attention to detail is something that a lot of newer cars lack.
4. Can park it anywhere without having to worry.
5. Quite cheap to maintain, quite frugal for its age.

Negatives:
1. AC struggles to cool down the cabin.
2. Black paint is tough to maintain and even the slightest scratches are visible.
3. Lacks safety features (ABS, Airbags etc)


Overall, a fun tallboy. I find it more comfortable to sit in and now enjoy driving it

[Turrrb0]

A big YES!!

I am incidentally looking around for a budget beater in the <1.5L rupees range. I feel like I need to retire the JTP from daily duties and keep it as a fun night time/weekend car.
If anyone has any leads for sucha a car (wagonR, santro, i10) please give me a shout!!

[fhdowntheline]

After all the hoo-haa in my house about selling 2 existing cars and getting just one new car, and posting a thread here, getting mostly brickbats for wasting money selling 2 perfectly working high pedigree cars (City, Polo GT) and settling for a 2020 Creta, there was a new discussion, where my wife evinced interest to re-learn driving (a car).
She was apparently coaxed into this by our neighbour who questioned the logic of selling off the Polo GT. Our neighbour perhaps had no idea that my wife used to drive a M800 in her family earlier, essentially using just the first 2 gears. Its a testament to Suzuki engineering that the car lasted many years. To hand over the Polo GT to her would be a travesty.
I'd better not show this thread to wifey (we do discuss team bhp a lot these days). Otherwise the clamour for a beater car would grow.

[drift87]

I even follow the same concept when it comes to motorcycling too. The humble Access is used for daily chores, including traveling to office. In fact its something that I cannot live without in a city like Bengaluru. The Jetta is predominantly used for inter state, while the i 10 automatic does the job that it was designed to do in the city.

[pradeepkc]

My only requirement was it had to be an automatic. Hated the AMTs, ended up picking up an AStar. Love how compact and easy it is to drive! Maintainance has been pretty low too.

[shree_shell]

Voted Yes!

Back in India, my parents have the i20 as a beater car and the Octy 1.8 TSi as the ghari ki Shaan - aalishaan sedan

Here in US, beater cars can be defined as utilitarian cars that you can also take to road-trips and for other practical applications, especially when you have that special weekend car.

My garage in US:
Practical/Beater: 2014 VW Tiguan 2.0 TSi with a lame AT.
The Special Car: 2007 BMW Z4M-Coupe with 6-spd MT.

[Dr.AD]

Of course YES!

I actually have a lovely beater car and I love it as much as I love my "non-beater" car.

My beater car is my 2010 Maruti SX4 ZXi. Still going strong after 10 years and 124,000km on the odo.

Here is a picture when she was brand new:



And here she is in a relatively recent picture. Apart from a few scratches, bruises and some paint fade (all expected after 10 years and 1.2L km of fighting it out in our road and traffic conditions), there is nothing else that is wrong:

[jassi_jeeper]

Voted Yes
I have a Ciaz and an Alto K10AMT.
The Alto does all the city duties. I live in Chandigarh and keep travelling to Himachal and Ludhuiana. Parking space is really not available in all these three places and the Alto is in its real element here.
Also dad is not exactly a super driver and the Alto does not mind dings and scratches!
The little car loves it with it's boot full of vegetables and grocery.

[tharian]

2005 Swift nearing just 65k kms.

It is used by my dad primarily and is used as a beater car when he isn't using it. Got the FC renewed few months ago and although it has plenty of dents and scratches around, it passed. It is bone stock including the the same JK tires that were replaced with the same type 5 years ago.

This year had few expenses with the AC overhauling with the condenser having to be replaced for the second time and the radiator cleaning and cooling system flushing.
The coolant system wasn't flushed in a long while and after fresh coolant was filled and the radiator cleaned, the engine smoothness increased quite a bit.

The car runs fine otherwise apart from the bad suspension which even after replacement was more or less the same.
I take the car out once every couple of months for a spin on highway which I still enjoy on this car and is easy on the pocket as well when it comes to maintenance.

No plans to sell it off as of now and will probably keep it till the next FC renewal comes up.

[KarthikK]

Voted for Yes.

We own a pre-worshipped Brio VX Automatic from 2018, just before it was discontinued, and it has been a fantastic ownership experience so far. I am a sucker for a purpose based garage distributing roles across vehicles, rather than having one car do everything, and would love the combination of a Fast premium sedan + a reasonably fun beater hatch + a go-anywhere 4x4 SUV.

I love the idea of a fun, small hatchback as a beater in the city, preferably a Jap with stellar reliability levels, and good service support. This standalone role makes sense to me on several levels:

- Easy to use and park in the city due to compact size. Almost anyone in the household can just pick up the keys and go take it out.

- Ability to multi-task: commute to work, ferry family members, use for outings and errands, heck, can even take it out for a long drive or roadtrip if need be.

- Cheap to own, insure, service and tank up (better FE). Even things like tyre changes, batteries, etc are all cheaper for a beater segment hatch compared to say an expensive sedan / SUV.

- Avoids unnecessary attention when I don't want to flaunt an expensive car or superbike at an inappropriate event / among inappropriate audience. Everyone I meet doesn't need to know about the enthusiast (spendthrift in their eyes) in me

- If owning a car from a fuss-free brand with low cost of spares, no need to worry about minor nicks and damages due to usage in city traffic and parking anywhere. Replacements and repairs are quick and cheap.

- I won't absolutely obsess over detailing and keeping it in spanking new condition 24 x 7 x 365, although we enthusiasts will be guilty of still doing it that way to some extent An expensive vehicle is more likely to get that pampering though.

- Reasonably fun car will ensure one doesn't miss out on driving pleasure while commuting, albeit in a miniature package.

- Can own and use for a long time (low car change frequency) if the car is from brands with good service support such as Maruti, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota, etc. where spares support is stellar even a decade after the product is discontinued.

[sreejithkk]

Voted Yes,
I am using my 2007 wagon R as the beater car, since I bought an Ertiga in 2019. Wagon R was our only car before that. Since I am not yet comfortable driving ertiga on narrow market roads n streets, using WagonR for that purpose. Since I am using WagonR for 13 years,I kind of familiar with its dimension on tight turnings. Till I get similar confidence in ertiga, will keep WagonR as a beater

[bosem123]

How does the Lancer manage to cross so many places in 20 years with its low ground clearance? I had this but did face a lot of trouble in several places, including the road to Damdama Lake and to Bhangarh.