I'm very protective of my Rx8 and so I'm contemplating getting a VERY cheap second vehicle so I can drive that once the snow come around. I plan on putting my 8 in my garage once the snow comes around. (they salt like absolute crazy and plowing isn't good at all) Last winter my boyfriend got his rear wheel drive camaro stuck on his drive way half way down >.< and I very well remember drive home when it was clear whn I started and halfway home it was imposible to go over 35mph when the speed limit was 55mph and I remember seeing cars go by and then mins later passing them in a ditch(that happened a few times) and even cars going slow would slip or drive to close to the edge and tip. It was very scary. And well, the point of this i that I'm terrified to drive my precious 8 and have anything happen to it.
Here's want I need in the truck/suv
Small is ok as long as it's got the clearance to go over snowdrifts if need be.
I want to be able to park it in my one car garage.(want is a loose term so it doesn't have to)
I need 4wd.
backseat/rear storage that'll fit a snowblower easily.
paint quality doesn't matter, a little rut is fine, prefer none tho.
heat! it's gotta be warm.
Gas mileage, something better then the rx8 with preferably regular gas.
age doesn't matter and millage matters in I want it to last with little to no problems for at least 20-50k miles.

Price: when I say cheap I mean $750 or below.

I can't think of too much else. What I've been looking at is something around a jeep wrangler, Chevy bronco, Subaru's and ford rangers.


Thanks and sorry it's so long.

 

Older Jeeps (CJ5,7)'s flip over too easy, so if you do go Jeep then definitely go Wrangler..

Avoid 80's Bronco, my dad used to own an 85 and it wanted to fall over standing still.. Any other bronco accept the early ones are more like a pickup, so you might as well get that..

I'm a bit partial to the 80's Blazers and Jimmys, but gas millage would sort of suck.

I think a 4x4 ranger with 200,000 miles would be perfect, as long as most of it worked..


But alas for $750 you'll probably end up choosing from the rust buckets of you're local "It's better than nothing" wreck yard/car lot...

 

Good plan and probably best served with a Subaru (even tho' I drive a Jeep in Winter). They do very well in the snow, there's a ton of them around so you should be able to get one at a good price, and better gas mileage. Besides, how much does it snow in Virginia (unless you're in the Blue Ridge mountains)?

 

Jeep Cherokee. Possibly the only SUV worth 750 and it's last forever.

 

I think $750 is too cheap a price to find anything that doesn't have any potentially serious mechanical problems that may strand you on the side of the road.

time to look into some winter tires methinks

 

750 ?

and you want 20-50K of maintence free mileage ?

sorry I am trying to give you some respectable answer but.

ARE YOU DREAMING GIRL ?

you might want to use those money to get you a set of winter tires and wheels.

if you really hate salt (which I do !) then you need more than 750 bucks to get any decent 4WD car (the ones that wont break in 20-50K miles)

 

Wait... How is this related to rx8s?

 

nycgps: 20-50k is kind of dreaming I'd be allright if it would last at least 10k with some maintinece.
SayNoToPistons: I was comtimplating putting it on general automotive but I chose here cause I figured more people who have winter vehicles would post here.

Huey: thanks, and no it doesn't now that much but it snows all at once which is more then what snow plows we have can handle and so instead they salt everything like crazy and it ruins paint really bad.

 

its like why do u think oj drove so slow when evading the police? Any faster and he'd tip.

BUT in my opinion save yourself some money and use that $750 to get some undercoating ($50-70), and a good car wash once a week ($6-9) or whenever your car seems exceedingly dirty. Most of the times that happens after the roads are plowed and the snow is melting with the salt/sun and roads are wet.

You'll save a TON of money considering paying 750 sticker for a beater, plus registration fees etc etc....

 

only problem with winterizing my car is that I'm not just afraid of it getting messed up. I'm more afraid of getting it suck/hit(very likely where I am cause no one drive like they should in bad weather)/messed up in other ways.

 

Just stay away from people in 4 wheel drive and you should be fine... they tend to drive like conditions don't effect handling.

two types of drivers make the roads un-safe... those who drive too slow or WAY too cautious, and those who drive too fast thinking 4x4 will save them.

The thing i hate the most is people that SLAM their brakes on when they hit visible ice on the road... freakin idiots don't know how to drive... much safer to lift off the accelerator and slow down naturally. Especially when there is another 1-2 miles of straight road with no obstacles in front of them... but now theres an obstacle in front of me which is out of control and going sideways... all i can do is use the 10-15 car lengths and threshold braking as best i can... which i now have some idiot following me too closely that had to slam his brakes on... *sigh*

 

Thats funny. 3 years ago a friend of mine had an impreza RS and hydroplaned off the freeway. The funny part was when I asked him how fast he was going and he said, "I was going 70 but cuz my car started slipping sideways, I'd figure I can throw it into a lower gear and make the wheel spin faster to catch some ground." I just stood there gawking at him. The other funny part was that his car ended up a good 30 feet up hill and the back of his car looked like a meteor came and hit it.

 

Ti8omgWee you should get a used honda crv. I remember years ago during one of my snowboarding trips. me and my friends were in the CRV driving back to our cabins from the resort. All the really expensive SUV's would get stuck. And here me and my friends in this small CRV would just drive on passed them all.

 

i have an 01 Chevy Tracker for winter driving, plus my everyday car since gas has gotten so expensive and we all know the 8 sucks gas.

I paid 7500 for the tracker - don't think you're gonna get much for 750 except a headache.

Good luck!

 

After looking at my tires today and noticing that they're so smooth, I'm guessing they're just the original ones that got a little bit of normal wear, but If I decided to try to winterize my 8 I'd HAVE to get winter tires or I'd deff go no where I decided that spending more the 750 wold be ok, I'll just save up harder. I'd rather have something that I wouldn't cry over for 1k then winterize my car for 1k (winter tires plus everything else) and cry because some idiot doesn't know how to drive and plows into my beautiful 8.

Oh and I think I'm leaning toward like a 95ish subaru impreza wagon. any opinions on that in particular?
and thanks for all the advice keep 'um coming!

 

My boyfriend's mother drives a 93 or 95 subie (well, she just bought a new one, but likes the old one better and kept it) and she has never had one issue with the old car - I think it's an impreza. They seem to be very reliable. I have no idea on prices for one - I would think fairly cheap because of the age.

I agree with you completely about putting our beautiful 8's out on crappy winter roads....it would kill me to have to hit the roads in it on one of those "warm, sloppy snow, everything brown" days. My tracker is not glamorous, but the fuel mileage is great, it's not unpleasant to drive, and when I clean it up, it actually looks nice too.

 

Snow tires? Pssssh.

Don't need 'em if you're reckless and crazy...like me >_>

I almost had so many wrecks leaving my apartment going to work the 3 days it was snowy last year. The exit slants downward into the street, and it's a pretty nice and long slant so if I go over say, 3-4 MPH on that slant, well lets just say after that I cross my fingers, cause I won't stop very fast and just keep on sliding out :p

I got lucky, the two times I did slide out no one was around so phew.

I'm going to take the added risk again this year rather than spend $700+ on tires I use maybe 3 days of the year!

Edit: Were your boyfriends tires just completely worn? I had a set of RE-910's on my Trans Am and when it snowed I had no problems at all with grabbing traction anywhere.

 

But having a car that has a higher chance of breaking down on the road, looking hideous, and if something mechanical breaks it costs you more money, and if you don't fix it you sink 750 dollars into a nothing car?

Atleast with the 8 you have a reliable car, don't look homeless, and if something mechanical breaks it's under warranty?

 

Some old Subaru or something.

 

My wife had a wrangler back when we got married, lots of fun, but by no means a "safe" vehicle..try catching one on ice once it starts slipping at speed and you'll see. Make sure tires are top notch

Get a non rusted out (good luck) 4.0 and you'll be happy (4.2 had carb problems), just make sure the previous owners changed their driveline fluids regularly.

 

An old Volvo is great. Alot of their cars have been 4WD for some time now.

 

Shini: I would much rather sink 750 dollars into a car the dies at the end of winter instead of siniking 900+ into making my 8 drivable only to get body damage or having someone run into it and losing the 18000+ I put into it since I just bought it.

 

$950, subaru legacy. maybe negotiate the price down a bit?
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...454128269.html

i found my rx8 through craigslist at a good price. there seem to be a few subaru legacys in the dc area for sale under $1k.

 

yeah deff been looking mostly at craigslist. and I think that guy posted before like last week that he had engine problems and he heard loud noises and pulled the car over and it wouldn't start. lol. And I'm gunna save up my monay as well as keep my eyes open on craigs list.

 

you make sound as if you definitely WILL get damage if you drive the 8 in winter, which i highly doubt you will

i think you really are just trying to find an excuse to pick up another car, the whole $750 'beater' is just a cover; you want a nice late model AWD sedan, that's what you really want lol