Are You Buying a Beater Car? Pro and Cons of Beater Car

Hello Guys. Are you planning to buy a beater car? Well buying a car is very confusing job. When I bought my first car I was very much confused between A New One of A Beater Car.

Well In short my journey of buying a car end at a Beater car. My name is John and I bought my first beater car, but why? Is that a good decision or not?

Today I am going to tell you about my journey of finding car and more important why I choose to buy beater car. Hope my research will definitely help you to take right decision.

Oh Sorry, Wait !!

Do you know what Beater Car is? Well I think I should start from the beginning and touch all aspect about beater car and then I will tell why I choose to buy beater car. Hope you enjoy this article and share with needy one.

What is Beater Car?

In short, Beater car is a cheap, high mileage, older car which is unattractive in looks and in finishing. A time ago, these cars captured whole market but in this new era where technology changes the whole scenario changed. These rivals got outdated and all new smart vehicle take places of these champions.

This car do their job of taking occupants from one destination to another destination smoothly without any issue but the big drawback is its looks and its cosmetic issues. Well if you maintained these cars carefully, these will run long last and most important these cars price range from 500$ to 2000$ or can be more or less according to its condition.

A beater car is a good choice for one who needs high mileage for their normal everyday driving. These cars looks are not so much good or attractive but the one thing which attract towards it, is its mileage and price. These become budget car for one who has low budget and need to buy a car for their daily routine.

A beater car has a good engine. But obvious this engine has already run for miles. Some of them beyond 200000 miles but it have capability to run some more miles without any difficulties. So it could be better choice for daily drivers who need only to get to and from word or any other workers like taxi drivers delivery man etc.

Pros:

These are some major qualities of beater cars.

1. Cheap in Price:

According to the definition and as per our discussion, beater cars have low price. If you are looking for a car but your budget is not good enough to buy a new one, you should defiantly go with beater car. I know this car does not feel luxurious or look cosmetic but in term of driving, it is pretty good and more important, it is affordable and save your hard earn money.

You can use some of your saved money to redesign or convert it into a good looking car and trust me you feel special when you drive your redesigned car.

2. Low Insurance Cost:

When you buy a new car, you have to pay around 5 to 10 percent of your cost for insurance. If your car cost is more than 5000 USD, you have to pay for full coverage auto insurance. Which can cost around three times more than minimum insurance coverage. As we know beater car’s price changes between 500 to 2000 USD, so these cars are able to get minimum insurance coverage which save your lot of money.

There is another advantage of buying a beater car. Another benefit in term of insurance is that, you are not financing your car. So you don’t have to pay for full coverage collision and comprehension insurance. You just fulfill minimum insurance requirement of the state and drive your car.

3. No Depreciation Worries:

A car depreciate around 20% to 30 % of their total cost when you taken out it from showroom. This is a huge value cut in car but when you buy a beater one, you need not to worry about depreciation because it has already phase out its depreciation phase. You have already bought it at lowest possible cost. So if you go in market with your car and it has performance issue, you can sell your car without or at negligible depreciation.

There is another benefit. If you buy a beater car and add some value to it like design and performance related, you can sell it at higher price also. If you go to junkyard, you will be paid a justifiable amount. So you should not worry about depreciation of beater cars.

4. No Finance Problem:

As we know beater car’s price is quite low. So you can buy your car without any bank finance. In simple words, you can pay for your car at your own without bank help.  So you need not worry about monthly EMI and enjoy the driving experience. You can put your money into other savings or in other needs.

5. Low Maintenance Cost:

As beater car is a cheaper, older car, you need not to worry more about its maintenance. Its parts are easily available in the market at low price compared to new car’s parts. Generally its mechanic is also not charged more and these vehicles are easily repairable.

One more thing, these cars uses cheaper gas compared to new cars. Many modern cars require premium gas which makes their high operating cost but beater car works on cheaper fuel which results low operating cost

6. Peace of Mind:

There are number of reasons of peace of mind when you buy a beater car. Some of them are listed below.

• These are cheaper in price. So you need not worry about money or break your savings.
• You need not take a bank finance to buy a beater car.
• This car operates at low cost and maintenance cost is also low. This makes you suitable for drive it regularly.
• No depreciation problem.

7. Tax Saving:

A big amount of your car cost is taken as tax. There is a huge tax on cars in every state. Tax depends upon book value of the car. So if you buy a beater car, you have to pay lower tax compared to a new one due to its lower book value. If a car has low book value means cheaper from tax point of view. So when you buy a beater car you will pay negligible amount of tax compared to newer one when reduces its overall cost.

Cons:

1. Safety:

Safety is a major concern in beater cars. All new and modern cars are equipped with many safety features and provide their occupants a safest ride. But the beater car does not have much safety features which make them unsafe. Sometimes basic safety feature like brake, tire, lights etc. are also unavailable or broken. You should fix all of them before driving. You should always take care of safety first.

2. Less Reliable:

As we know this car has already run a miles. So its engine has already done its job. This reflects that driving beater car on long journey is not a good idea. If your primary concern to buy a car is to drive it on long journey, you should not go with beater one. These cars are best for city riding where you can easily find mechanic anytime in trouble.

3. Higher Risk:

When you drive a beater car, it is always at a higher risk side compared to new one. Its engine, transmission, brake, tire or any other important part can break down in middle of the journey. We have discussed that these cars are not safe for long journey. You should check your beater car properly before buying. When you are planning for a long trip with your beater car, you should always check all its important parts before for safe trip.

4. Risk of Fraud:

When you buy a beater car please make sure that all major parts like engine, transmission, clutch, brake etc. working properly and in healthy condition. Sometimes the seller hides the major issue with his car and tries to cheat the customer. This is the major issue with these cars. So before buying, please check it properly and if possible arrange a mechanic for inspection.

How to choose a good beater car?

We have discussed earlier that there is a higher risk in buying a beater car. Sometimes this car save your money but other side if you pick a wrong one, you looses a lot of money too. Many of beater cars have already covered 200000 miles or more and there is less probability of their engine to run smoothly without any break down. So you should be careful before buying a this car.

 I am sharing some tips related to buying a beater car. I think if you follow these tips, there is less probability of cheating.

• Make sure the car you are going to buy have passed from only one owner. First owner carefully drive his car and maintained it properly. So it is less likely to run into problem in the future. Sometimes two owner car is also good if it maintained carefully. But one thing keeps in mind “fewer the owners, better the conditions.”
• Check the asking price of seller with the Kelley Blue Book price.
• Try to buy beater car with your known persons like family members, friends, friends of friends, colleague etc.
• Why the seller selling his car? Please make sure the reason of selling the car. If the reason is well justifiable than only go further, otherwise drop the idea of buying beater car from this seller.
• Proper inspection of all its important parts like engine, transmission, brake etc should be done before buying beater car. Arrange a mechanic for inspection if possible.
• Ask for the lowest price and make a market research before buying.

Should You Buy a Beater Car?

This is a personalized question. I can’t answer it properly. This decision completely depends on the buyer and his needs. I suggest if you are a first time buyer you should buy beater one. First time buyer suffer some accident and if you buy a new car, it cost higher for accidental damage.  If you have a low budget and need a car you should defiantly go with beater one. If your primary need to buy a car is daily routine work like go to and from work place, deliver items, use as a taxi etc. you should go with a high mileage beater car. One more thing if you want to save your hard earned money for future goals, you should buy beater car if needed.

There are some top beater cars available in global market.

Toyota, Corolla, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic, Nissan Altima, Ford Focus, Ford Escape, Honda Elantra etc.

In the last I must suggest before buying a car take a look at beater one. May this will fulfill your requirements and saved your hard earned money too.