eBay Finds: Winter beaters for under $3,000

eBay Finds: Winter beater style

Winter is here, and if you’re like most folks in the Midwest and northern regions, it came as a surprise. In Michigan (home of Autoblog HQ), some areas received nearly a foot of snow or more in the storm that blew through at the start of the week. It wasn’t pretty out there, but it also got us thinking.

With snow on the ground and temperatures in the single digits, it’s time to break out the winter beater. If you already have it ready, good work. If not, we have a few suggestions for you. Being a winter beater, finding something cheap is of paramount importance. A good beater may have an unsavory number of miles, or a few dents here and there, but one thing it definitely needs to have is a solid powertrain in good working order. The car needs to start every morning, and the heat better be working at maximum capacity, too. All-wheel drive is a plus, but a new set of winters will get you through nearly anything with just two wheels doing the work. We’ve kept all of our picks around $3,000. Even if you drive it all winter, it’ll still be worth about what you paid for it at that low price. Keep it for next year or sell it and try again next winter. Either way, a winter beater isn’t a heavy investment. Winter tires and a new battery (if it needs one) may end up being the most burdensome expenses. Click the slide to see which cars we’d recommend that are for sale right now.

2002 Toyota Tundra

Consumer Editor, Jeremy Korzeniewski: Why not kill two birds with one stone by buying a truck for your winter beater? This Toyota Tundra may have a lot of miles, but there’s a good reason that Toyota’s trucks are sought after on the used market — they have earned their reputation as reliable workhorses. If it were mine, I’d spend a long weekend with a wire brush or maybe a grinding wheel and some underbody paint to deal with the surface rust hiding under the bodywork, but that looks like all that’d be required to make this thing ready for the winter driving season. This one has four-wheel drive, which means it’s less likely to get stuck in a snowy or muddy winter mess (it looks like there’s good tread on its tires, though a proper set of winters would be ideal). Plus it gets bonus points for its manual transmission.

1979 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser Wagon

Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder: I have a fondness for Malaise Era wagons (who doesn’t?), and this Olds Custom Cruiser is a shining example. Well, maybe “shining” isn’t the right word, but you get the point. It’s a winter beater you could live in, if you had to. There’s plenty of room for sleds in the back and a tree on the roof, and it evokes the sort of nostalgia I feel when I see any movie with Chevy Chase in it. Plus, the seller says he’ll throw in a set of winter tires for the right price.

2004 VW Passat GLS Wagon

Assistant Editor, Zac Palmer: What’s the point in buying a car specifically for winter duty if you’re not having any fun in the snow? Exactly, there is none. That’s why this sweet 2004 VW Passat GLS 4Motion wagon is the way to go. It has a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, five-speed manual transmission and all-wheel drive. The seller has made a few choice modifications to make it even more fun. It has an APR 91 octane tune, full aftermarket exhaust system and Bilstein shocks. The 200,500 miles gives me pause in an old Volkswagen, but hey, this is your beater, not a sports car. 

The interior looks clean for a car of its age and mileage, and there’s tons of room for any winter gear you may need to bring along, due to it being a wagon. In case you were looking for testimonials, the seller even claims “it is amazing in the snow.” Be loud, and have fun. Buy the wagon.

1996 Saturn SW2

Associate Editor, Joel Stocksdale: If you’re on a tight budget, or just don’t want to spend much on a car you don’t care much about, check out this 1996 Saturn SW2 for just over $1,000. It may not be all-wheel drive, but front-wheel drive is perfectly adequate for snow. It can be amazing if you pair it with a set of snow tires, which you’ll be able to afford with how cheap this is. These Saturns famously used plastic body panels, too, so you won’t have to worry about ugly rust on the outside (though keep an eye on the metal parts underneath).

This is a fairly well-equipped SW2 model, too, so it has power windows, air conditioning and a double-overhead-cam engine that made more power than the standard single-cam engine. This has a manual transmission to get the most of the car’s 124 horsepower, and the wagon shape will let you carry all kinds of winter gear be they blankets, skis or a Christmas tree. It’s a brilliant budget beater.

2001 Ford Ranger Edge

Managing Editor Greg Rasa: This is a nice color, has a 4.0-liter V6 and 4WD, a crew cab, and it has clocked a mere 144,000 miles. There’s even a tonneau bed cover and running boards to dress it up, and it looks well-cared for with a clean vehicle history. Just load some weight in the bed for winter driving, and when winter’s over you’ve got a pickup truck for spring gardening. It just needs its airbag inflator recall performed at a Ford dealer. Best of all, you’ve got budget left over for winter tires because the Buy It Now price is just $1,400.

2004 Nissan Xterra

Contributing Editor Joe Lorio: For a winter beater, of course you want four-wheel drive, and you probably want an SUV. This Nissan Xterra fills the bill, and with a $2,295 Buy It Now price, you won’t feel bad actually beating on it.

The Xterra has become the homely step-sister to the far more popular (and therefore more expensive) Toyota 4Runner, but this pickup-based SUV has many of the same qualities. It has only 164k miles on the clock and recently passed New Jersey state inspection, so with any luck it should make it through the winter without requiring any major wrenching. Hopefully you also won’t get a flat, since that spare tire underneath looks seriously rusty. The best part of the Xterra is its major roof rack — perfect for bringing home a Christmas tree, and with four-wheel drive and decent ground clearance, you’ll have no problem trekking out into the woods to get it.

1994 Pontiac Grand Am

West Coast Editor, James Riswick: Is a 1994 Pontiac Grand Am objectively a good car? Oh hell no. But this particular 1994 Pontiac Grand Am is basically a brand new car. It has only 26,000 miles and the interior is SPOTLESS. It still has plastic on the carpets from the dealer. I’d be somewhat concerned about the thing barely running in 25 years, but apparently a full service has been performed, and how could it be worse than all the beaters at this price point? Seriously, this is absolutely my best bet. And honestly, I think the Grand Am looks pretty good and green-on-tan is a classy color combo.