jasonpank Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Purely for entertainment purposes, I have a question. Say you had $5,000 to spend on a winter vehicle that meets the following criteria:Fun (already have a 4wd truck/tow vehicle)Street legal4 wheelsAWDSeats at least fourManual transmissionI think that covers everything. Basically looking for a winter beater. Suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRDTurko Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 Since it has to be awd there are very few options. The easiest one to find would be an older WRX. More rare to find would be a Celica Alltrac (more commonly known as a GTfour), there were also a few civic wagons with awd, and some mazda 323 hatchbacks as well. My vote goes for the Alltrac but I am a bit biased. though I would never drive my 4th gen in the winter. It is far too rare. So it would have to be a 5th gen 90-93. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conebasher Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I had a Jeep Cherokee that was all those things and was awesome. Reliable, cheep to maintain, small enough that parking was no problem and would go through anything. Having said that, it was stolen and written off and my next Cherokee was a couple of years newer and was a piece of junk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beau Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 A cheap old beater pickup truck or Jeep would fit your criteria. Not the most fun though.I really like an old Subaru Impreza or Legacy for a beater car, but I'm not sure if you can find a Turbo version of either for under 5k, unless you want to drive a really old JDM (right hand drive) version. Should be able to find a normally aspirated sedan or maybe a wagon. If it was a family car and not modified, it should be fairly reliable. A lot of WRX and STi owners seem to like to modify their cars with BOVs and intakes and other stuff like that, which can lead to engine problems. So I'd stay away from modified cars if you can, unless you know the owner and trust what he's done. Since you're looking for a winter beater, you don't really need 200+ hp with the turbo models. Although it's nice to have, it may be less reliable in the long run.I drove an NA Impreza wagon a few winters ago for about a month. I was surprised just how much I liked it. I didn't really miss the hp because it doesn't take much power to break loose the tires on snow. The wagon was really nice for useability too. If I ever buy a RWD summer sports car, I will likely grab an old Subaru wagon for my winter beater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMGNUTS_Bocar Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 A quick look in Autotrader found me these:http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Suzuki/SX4/OTTAWA/Ontario/5_15547798_ON20090513104408413/?showcpo=ShowCPOhttp://www.autotrader.ca/a/Jeep/Wrangler/WINNIPEG/Manitoba/19_6336918_/?showcpo=ShowCPOhttp://www.autotrader.ca/a/Toyota/RAV4/WINNIPEG/Manitoba/19_6029297_/?showcpo=ShowCPOI like the Jeep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nopistons Posted November 11, 2012 Share Posted November 11, 2012 I go for a Toyota Tercel or Corolla AWD. You could get a decent one for much less than $5000 and put the rest into go fast goodies for the summer toy.Not 100% sure about the Corolla but i know the Tercel had "low" range with the manual transmission so in the spring, you could go mudbogging with it. I have friends who actually did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT_TT Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 Carlin's old forester was a blast in winter! higher enough up to clear the snow, and the soft sprung suspension (compared to impreza's) made it good over the bumpy snow and ruts. drifted like a king yet was sedate when needed. the 2.5l engine had lots of grunt in the lower gears for moving around in snow (little slow in summer when there is lots of grip) and more than room for any type groceries and winter toys in the back. if i was gonna get a winter beater that would probably be it. his was a 98 i believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talon_Claudio Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 There's always the DSM cars. I had a Talon that I wound up selling for around that price several years ago. It was fun in the winter and could go through more than you'd think (even thou it was pretty low). I've heard they aren't reliable, but I had 270k when I sold it and it was pretty good to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRS Joe Posted November 12, 2012 Share Posted November 12, 2012 I go for a Toyota Tercel or Corolla AWD. You could get a decent one for much less than $5000 and put the rest into go fast goodies for the summer toy.Not 100% sure about the Corolla but i know the Tercel had "low" range with the manual transmission so in the spring' date=' you could go mudbogging with it. I have friends who actually did![/quote']The tercel is the only one with low range. As they were mid 80's Its hard to find a clean one cheap. Id find a 88-92 5 speed corolla alltrac (the sedans are rare but out there). If you want fun, the 20v 4age bolts into it and you have 160hp 8k screamer with factory itb's, and reliability to boot. 2200lbs. Fuel economy. The rear end is a ae86 LSD equipped unit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nopistons Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 The tercel is the only one with low range. As they were mid 80's Its hard to find a clean one cheap. Id find a 88-92 5 speed corolla alltrac (the sedans are rare but out there). If you want fun' date=' the 20v 4age bolts into it and you have 160hp 8k screamer with factory itb's, and reliability to boot. 2200lbs. Fuel economy. The rear end is a ae86 LSD equipped unit[/quote']I had an 84 tercel hb that I put a 20v silvertop into. Car burnt in a fire 4 yrs ago. Still have the engine and computer tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRDTurko Posted November 13, 2012 Share Posted November 13, 2012 Saw a car that reminded me of another possiblity... Audi quatro. Something around 95 would probably be under 5k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Eh. Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 The perfect choice:http://www.mpi.mb.ca/salvage/SlvgItmImg.asp?salenm=2539&itemnm=346All it takes is a day off work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRS Joe Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 The perfect choice:http://www.mpi.mb.ca/salvage/SlvgItmImg.asp?salenm=2539&itemnm=346All it takes is a day off work.Also it takes a miracle not to overpay to end up buying it for as much as one without hail damage. The crowds are messing with any small guy who comes in for a car. Its sucks to sit there for the day to not end up with it as your already taking a vacation day so you end up impulsively bidding more.nopistons - As for the 20v, time to find something to put it into..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nopistons Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 nopistons - As for the 20v' date=' time to find something to put it into.....[/quote']Nah. Probably just keep the engine or liquidate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy_Ivan Posted November 20, 2012 Share Posted November 20, 2012 Scooby-doo or cherokee, for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRS Joe Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Nah. Probably just keep the engine or liquidate it.I have a ae101 shell that is a tad rusty on rear 1/4's. Would make a great ice racer with the 20v when gutted. May not be quite as light as a swift but its still not heavy for that power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paceman Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Here is a nice winter car for you!http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/3465598709.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRDTurko Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Here is a nice winter car for you!http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/3465598709.html:eek: That thing is sick! At no time have I ever thought of doing anything that crazy with mine! Wow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conebasher Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Here is a nice winter car for you!http://eugene.craigslist.org/cto/3465598709.html Not that anybody here would buy it but that car is not legal for EMod autocross because of the engine relocation. Now, if you hung MR2 body panels on it, then it would be legal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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