Open-ended question: Winter beater for $4-6k. What should I get?

[rdub315]

Originally Posted by smrtypants44

I've always wanted a 9-2x as a winter beater

I'm with this guy. A good 9-2x can be hard to find, but they're out there. I absolutely love mine. Would also recommend any of the turbo Subies (WRX, Forester, Outback).

[DaBean]

Update:

I've looked to check out a couple of Subarus, but by the time I get to each, they've been snatched up. Popular car, these ones!

I've also checked out a few early gen X5s. Decent price, but each had some issues (one had no power steering, both had the airbag light on, etc...). So I'm still looking.

As of now, here's what I've been looking at:
- Subaru Legacy
- X5 / X3
- 4Runner

I'll add the Element to the list, though I'm not sure they fall in my supercheap price range... I'm weary of adding Audis, as much as I love Allroads and the wagons, for the maintenance and potential risk. But since I'm only going to keep the car a few months, maybe it's not a problem?

Didn't get a chance to look this weekend since I got back from powder days at Tahoe (amazing!). But to get there, I had to trade my M4 for my sister's 328xi. Worked well and she took good care of it on her trip to Napa, but I would rather not do that every time

Again, thanks for the tips and keep them coming!

[nick3753]

This winter I've been getting a rental car to ski when the weather has been bad and 2 wheel drive is a no go. Pain in the ass , but short term is cheaper. And who knows, it might not snow much again for another 7 years out here.

[DaBean]

Originally Posted by nick3753

This winter I've been getting a rental car to ski when the weather has been bad and 2 wheel drive is a no go. Pain in the ass , but short term is cheaper. And who knows, it might not snow much again for another 7 years out here.

I'm just planning on going quite often, and spending $3-400/weekend on rentals is quite steep. Given that I won't know until a few days before what the weather will be like, might as well get something cheap and resell it. Given my season pass, I don't want additional rental fees to stop me from going. Silly perhaps...

Decision isn't made until I've bought the car, but I'm headed in that direction.

[IEDEI]

set of Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 snow tires : $1000

set of spare 18 or 19 inch winter wheels: $1500

put them on the M4.

you're done.

say NO to beaters. M cars are meant for winter driving...they do great with the right tires.

[RM7]

There are places where "winter" only exists a few days at a time, at the most. In places where it may snow, roads are cleared, the sun comes out, it melts/sublimates off, roads get dry, you get back to the daily grind rather quickly and have another few weeks (at least) of good non-icy weather.

There are places where winter lasts all winter and there is constantly a layer of ice on the road. Even with AWD and dedicated winter tires, you can be sliding around a lot with poor control relatively. I was in Fairbanks last weekend doing exactly this and while you could "get by" with this setup, it's inherently more dangerous and you are hoping your ability to stop exceeds the requirements at any given time, which if often doesn't. RWD with just winter tires? lol, not even. Down a little further south here in AK it's still good to have studs, but there are plenty of places in the lower 48 where at least AWD and winter tires are still good to have and much more practical, ski towns, northern plains and northern great lakes, etc. The M4 ain't going to cut it in most of these places, but the amount of people that live in these places/situations isn't as huge as the dealers would like is to believe and their thought is if you live in a place that gets snow at all, even if it's gone in a few hours, you "need" xdrive. I think that's where this discussion keeps going, yes, it can be good to have, but it's surely not "needed" in many climates, but in some of the extremes, it comes back to being pretty important, and the guys that claim they are driving with rwd doing "just fine" are simply not in these extremes.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by DaBean

Update:

I've looked to check out a couple of Subarus, but by the time I get to each, they've been snatched up. Popular car, these ones!

I've also checked out a few early gen X5s. Decent price, but each had some issues (one had no power steering, both had the airbag light on, etc...). So I'm still looking.

As of now, here's what I've been looking at:
- Subaru Legacy
- X5 / X3
- 4Runner

All good choices except, not sure how I feel about X5/X3 as a beater (out of warranty I mean).

I cannot recommend Subaru enough for winter car, Forester and "much nicer, more refined and more practical space wise" Outback. They are stupid good in winter condition, and fairly fuel efficient with their 4 cyl engines.

Outback has tons of space for skis and ski gear, comes with factory rack if you want to mount ski box and has huge amounts of headroom and legroom font and back.

They are also probably the most boring cars to drive (especially if you end up with 4cyl CVT on Outback) but, function, safety and reliability are hard to beat. No clue if you can find one within the budget you set out for yourself though.

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by nick3753

This winter I've been getting a rental car to ski when the weather has been bad and 2 wheel drive is a no go. Pain in the ass , but short term is cheaper. And who knows, it might not snow much again for another 7 years out here.

Hope your rental had winter tires, most of the time they don't bother

Good winter tires, and common sense and there's no such things as "2 wheel drive is a no go" in urban areas or on the way to a ski resort. None that I've experienced yet in my many years of skiing and many snow storms.

No doubt, AWD is great and much better suited for winter conditions, but not a must, winter tires - yes, a must have.

[eric@helix]

Originally Posted by EEBreh

Biggest moneypit I ever owned was a B5. Poorly designed POS.

Get an older Benz like a 190e. They are built like tanks and insanely cheap / easy to work on.

Certainly the B5 S4s were money pits, but the more boring NA cars were more reliable--not great--but more reliable. A 190E is also a good suggestion, although buying parts for that car is a painful experience.

Originally Posted by Bbb34

All good choices except, not sure how I feel about X5/X3 as a beater (out of warranty I mean).

Spot on. Older X3/X5 that come through this shop are garbage. Machines specifically designed to separate you from your money. I can't comment on Subarus: I haven't worked on them for nearly two decades. When I did, I hated them, but they have a loyal following that's kind of culty like SAAB owners.

[W///]

My money is still on the 4Runner. Just do it, it won't disappoint you. Drive it, if you don't need it anymore, sell it for what you bought it for.

[msp0rt]

First post. Still trying to become a "full fledged member."

Look into the Infiniti QX4. There are a lot of hidden gems out there. They are all 4x4, leather interior and run forever. You can get a VERY nice one for less than $6k and beaters are typically less than $4k.

[M3FISH]

I bought at used 2006 Pathfinder for 6k with 92,000 miles. It's a tank, highly recommend one!

[Fundguy1]

Mid sized suv or pickup with good tires all day long. I like the suv more because your gear is protected.

[nick3753]

Originally Posted by Bbb34

Hope your rental had winter tires, most of the time they don't bother

Good winter tires, and common sense and there's no such things as "2 wheel drive is a no go" in urban areas or on the way to a ski resort. None that I've experienced yet in my many years of skiing and many snow storms.

No doubt, AWD is great and much better suited for winter conditions, but not a must, winter tires - yes, a must have.

Actually they did have winter tires. In California at least, when weather is bad in the mountains you must either have chains on (regardless of drivetrain) or have AWD/4WD plus winter tires.

[DaBean]

Originally Posted by nick3753

Actually they did have winter tires. In California at least, when weather is bad in the mountains you must either have chains on (regardless of drivetrain) or have AWD/4WD plus winter tires.

... hence my need for another vehicle

[Bbb34]

Originally Posted by DaBean

... hence my need for another vehicle

Don't overthink this one, lots of good "winter utility cars", and good advices in this thread.

Make the call before the season ends (or before there's a thread on M4 forum - "redlining my brother's M4 on weekends")

[DaBean]

Ok, so after trying to buy no fewer than 15 Subarus in the Bay Area, I found it near-impossible. Maybe it was my bad luck but each ended up being sold (or I never heard back).

So I bought an '02 X5 4.4i. This one seems to be in decent running condition, with the last owner having had the car for 10+ years. I had the guy make some repairs before I took possession (alternator, front bushings) and the usual (oil change, etc...). We'll see how it goes - I'm taking it up to Tahoe this weekend.

I'm hoping I won't have the car long enough for it to turn into a moneypit, but #famouslastwords. So far, I'm happy with the car.

Next step: finding parking in SF...

[Bbb34]

Brave move Hopefully it works great for you and you get to use it a lot this winter. For the record though I envy you on Tahoe weekend.

[DaBean]

It's good - there's a slight vibration on smooth highways at speeds of 60+ mph, which I did not detect on my test drive. My mechanic also has no idea what it is... so time to get to work.

But aside from that, the car is in great shape. It's nothing that prevents me from going up to Tahoe.

[3tekcorps]

Subaru Outback.

[murph914]

Jeep wrangler. In the summer it will be fun too. Just make sure you get Nokians or better to keep you pointed straight when the water turns solid on you.

This guy is $3,800 Not fast, but super cheap, and you can bomb around in it in the summer with the doors off, and it will bounce off anything you crash into.


The boring lame choice is a Subie, but its the smart play. Whatever you do, get good tires!