[Tapish]

I have somehow never been comfortable with a beater car or a scooty to run errands. My car serves me well in the city and on the highway and I use UBER for places I don't want to take my car to. What also helps is I stay very close to my workplace and that I avoid commuting so I'm always itching to take the car out.

[FrankMartin]

Originally Posted by Varun_HexaGuy

I recently sold my 2012 Tata Nano for a 2005 WagonR for all my in-city runs. Someone with a bit of common sense may not agree with me but for me, the upgrade from Nano to WagonR was quite significant and the WagonR worked on the weaklings which I found in the Nano. Also the fact that I got a slightly bigger car for the exact same money. Sold the Nano and bought the WagonR for similar price.

Good part about the WagonR is the resale. Even if I use it for a couple of years and sell it, I'll still recover a significant amount.

Attachment 2081149

I too own a 2005 WagonR and its my first love. The machine is an absolute workhorse, easy to maintain, easy to drive even in crowded city lanes, easy to park. I take my Waggie when i have to park on busy streets or when feel that parking is going to be a problem, it squeezes into the tightest of spaces. The magic seats are a gem of a design. The rear seats fold down flat and entire rear section becomes like the back of a pickup truck. Have transported household furniture and bulky things. Have also used the Waggie as a camper using a mattress on the full flat rear to sleep at night. Have recently renewed the RC so peace for another 5 yrs and my daughter will use it as a learner vehicle next year ... full paisa vasool !!

[adi58]

Voted NO

Reason being

1- Bad for the ongoing parking/traffic problems within metro cities. If people keep having additional cars this won’t help.
2- Expensive cars depreciate heavy even if less used. So make the most of it.
3- Cars that only run once or twice a week will have higher chances of parts failing.

[88_TANK_88]

A beater car is the the one you use for errands and take it to places you dont want your pride and joy to go. That doesn't mean the oldest car in your parking is a beater car.
We have 3 cars in the family. Duster is the newest, it is with me in Delhi. Two cars at home are 1st gen swift and last gen Ritz. Funnily, the Ritz is the beater car for chores and school runs while Swift is taken for trips around Uttarakhand by my father. The Ritz had some niggles initially and thus is relegated to city run duties.

The need of beater car is created by the infrastructure of the town. NCR with its generally wide and well laid out roads with ever improving parking facilities etc mean that you can take out your primary/bigger car out more often. Smaller/more congested cities need beater car to prevent dings and scratches on the primary/preferred/newer cars. Bikes/scooters may fill in for beater cars when the weather is not extremely punishing.

[aniketi]

Ritz can be really good beater car. It's very reliable as its a Maruti, it has high seating position, small footprint for city commute, easy on pocket, fuel efficient. Looks wise it's not that great but does your job well.

[nerd1200]

Voted NO!

Apologies in advance if my views are in stark contrast to that of a lot of bhpians' here. Also, my point of view is from that of typical nuclear families of today.

I simply could never grasp the concept behind a beater car. Probably because I was brought up in a household without cars and owning a car itself was the stuff of dreams - let alone two. Or maybe because for a long time I lived in by-lanes of cities overcrowded with parked cars, such that it had very little space for pedestrians themselves, while cursing those owners who buy more cars than they probably need. Or maybe because the pollution levels in our cities had grown to such astronomical limits that a state govt. had to implement a ridiculous odd/even rule to reduce the traffic in the city.
You get the drift.

Going grocery shopping or running errands in the city in a 50 lac car wouldn't be demeaning for the car now, would it? Okay maybe that favorite restaurant of mine is located in a narrow street and doesn't have a valet. I can still park at a nearby parking lot/mall parking and walk down. Better still, Uber!

I simply do not have the heart to designate any of my loved cars as a beater.

[ps_abhijith]

Voted a big "YES".
In fact, I have been keeping a "beater" car since 2018.
Our trusty Nano Twist, which we had picked up as used, 3 years old and 9k km on the odo for the cost of a bullet has been serving us a lot. It had been primarily being used as a city runner, grocery shopper, school runs, office runs, gym runner, cycle transporter, etc etc. Cheap to maintain (7k INR service cost for 2 years) and almost a no tension drive. When we take out the i20, always need to be worried and be mindful of the surroundings. With the nano, minor scratches from bikes/ autos is nothing for us.
Plus the nano can be virtually parked anywhere, and can squeeze through unimaginable traffic.

But we all seem to be forgetting the ultimate beater India has ever seen. The generic "Activa" or all the modern scooters seems to be working as the real beaters. Men, women, students, moms, dads, grandparents, delivery boys, milk wala, paper wala, puncher wala, and other countless walas... everyone uses it. Looking at the recent scooter sale numbers, almost every home should be having at least one scooter by now. Used activa's are kings of the used scooter market, and still hold a premium. They truly seem to be the fill it, forget it role model. Easy to handle, light on the pocket and if u have the will, can move more stuff than a small pickup! Scooters are playing a huge part in empowering a lot of Indians with affordable transportation, and honestly lot of people I know wouldn't have had a mode of transportation if it wasn't for the scooter. Activa did start a revolution.

[whitecloud]

My family has a creta diesel and a Etios Liva diesel .
While the former is a year old car with barely 3k kms on the odometer but 8 year old Toyota Liva has 115k kms on the odometer .

Most of the times it is the Etios Liva which does the regular city duty .I would not classify this car as being a beater car because during the pre covid days ,it used to be used to chauffer my Dad to his hospital 40 kms away.With a daily run of around 80kms in pre covid era , the car seems to have fallen in bad times in this covid era primarily being used to do the city duty .

Although ,I have voted yes, yet I would not like any of my vehicles to be a beater car .I take full care of all my vehicles and it aches my heart if any of them gets any scratches.

[shaheenazk]

I have a 20 year old Indica Petrol car. It has served me well all these years. Bought it primarily for its fantastic pickup. Planning to buy a SUV for trips to the mountains of Leh, Himachal and Uttrakhand. There are issues of spare parts for the Indica but Boodmo comes in very handy and having access to a reliable and trustworthy mechanic is a boon. RC is due for renewal in 4 months and I intend to get it done unless Uttrakhand RTO rejects it.

Here are a few of its pics...

[peyyala]

I have a 2003 wagon r which is just perfect for all the rounds one makes to the market or a short distance. The convenience of a car with comfort of ac and being able to lock your shopping cannot be understated. On the flip side , the car does not have any of the safety equipment like abs or airbag so one tends to drive in a sedate manner. I do a regular maintenance at a friendly authorised service station. Other than normal wear and tear, have not had the occasion of paying more than 4 k a year for servicing . Absolutely love my beater car .

[88_TANK_88]

Originally Posted by nerd1200

Voted NO!

Apologies in advance if my views are in stark contrast to that of a lot of bhpians' here. Also, my point of view is from that of typical nuclear families of today.
=======
I simply do not have the heart to designate any of my loved cars as a beater.

No apologies needed sir. A beater car is not a neglected or abused vehicle. All of us here love cars that we own or used to own. In a multi car garage, there may be two or more type of vehicles like hatchback & SUV or sedan or two of the same type. It generally happens that we take smaller car to run errands and bigger car less frequently.
When we had a humble Maruti 800, our Activa was the beater vehicle. Still was when we brought home our Swift.

I believe the term 'beater' is misguiding but finds use due lack of a better word.

[123.rishabh]

Voted Yes
I Find my Jazz to be one of the most practical beater hatch for any kind of grocery runs & going to congested market places.
Two ends of a spectrum in one picture (The weekend driver & The Beater)

[Vipin Kumar]

I have voted yes. In fact, I am about to look for one. There is much running that I do everyday within the city, and of late, I have begun to feel that a beater hatch will do the duty better and make life easier for parking the vehicle. A used diesel does seem ideal here. The sedan I have is less suited for shoulder to shoulder parking inside the city spaces.

And yes, at the same time, I should be having enough space in my society to keep both, and I should also be taking care, more or less, that both vehicles are not put to use at the same time for different purposes in the city. There, I should be following some sort of domestic car-pooling, if not social pooling in the days of corona.

[theunstabledesi]

A different and interesting thread. My personal take on this is :

- Calling cult cars like Esteem/Civic a beater would be reducing their status.
- Driving a car with all those continues upshifts/downshifts in a city has its share of fun too. Plus you get to know how your beloved beauty behaves in stop go traffic.
- A scooty/two wheeler makes more sense (in terms of utility, maintenance, parking, commuting) than a beater car.
- They do not make sense to people like me who have to perpetually spend their life in very small cities.
- If you have spent a moolah on your dream car, why not enjoy and flaunt it.


Yes for those who have that extra cash lying around, beaters might be an option.

[VijayAnand1]

Yup, voted a gleeful yes. I think beater cars make more practical sense especially with the current traffic scenario. Drive it, thrash it, repair or DIY-it, and back on the road again. There is a sense of security to let a car be driven without the thought of nicks and dings and that's precisely where beater units shine exceptionally well. But with a house with four to five cars and still having a beater makes no sense; that'd definitely classify the driver a covetous one, rather than being used, they just sit there being a dead weight and eye candy -- for the most part.

Cheers!
VJ