As much as I hate to do it, I should consider a second vehicle that will be driven exclusively in snow. Equipped with snow tires, my 987 is more than capable to be driven in the snow provided the roads have been plowed. The problems are twofold. One, I'm worried about undercarriage corrosion from the salt/brine. Two, I have limited ground clearance due to coilovers. Here are my ideal specs for a winter vehicle that will be driven, at most, 500 miles per year (most likely less than 200). This winter's halfway over so I have time to explore options.

Cheap....no more than $7500. Preferably $5000 +/-
Reliable...Japanese maker almost certainly
AWD...I'll be mounting snow tires too

Suggestons?

 

I just bought a 2012 Subaru Outback: lots of clearance and very capable in the Canadian snowscape! Subi Crosstrek or Forester would be good choices too.

 

No experience with one, but I'd say Subaru outback/forester given their proliferation in states like CO.

 

Another recommendation for the Subaru Forester/Outback. Although my winters are 50 deg. with some rain, the Forester was reliable, spacious, and a great beater. I actually miss that car quite a bit.

I moved into my 2011 Audi A4 for $5k. It drives really well, but repairs are German pricing unless you do the work yourself...

 

Get an 06-08 Cayenne that is well maintained... has had the coolant pipes done, check history on things like ball joints/etc. Incredibly fun and reliable car. They can be had for $5-8K.

 

I bought a 2009 Honda CRV, very boring and almost no maintenance, makes me like my Cayman even more.

 

Good point. AWD with winter tires might be overkill for my situation.

 

I had an '04 wrx and even with its extensive mod list, it was incredibly reliable.

 

In my (admittedly simple) mind, a $5000-7500 purchase + tags/registration + insurance + the reality that parts/systems often fail from disuse come to a lot of money spent on a vehicle that is only going to be driven 200-500 miles annually. You could probably find a true HonSubNisToy beater on Craigslist for $1000-1500 that would more than fill the bill for 200-500 miles per year.

 

HonSUbNisToy you say? Even Google can't identify that one.

But yes, I would hate to spend the all-inclusive amount on a very rarely used car.

 

HondaSubaruNissanToyota

 

Winter beater would assume its role is to handle winter - colder temps and unfriendly roads. I picked up an '04 Jeep Grand Cherokee years ago that fit the bill for many seasons. Sold it to CarMax when the repair costs would exceed the value. Prone to plenty of "Jeep" issues, but cheap to fix and keep running.

 

Get either the Infiniti G35x or Infiniti G37X. I have both and with snow tires they are a beast in snow. The G35 has over 285k almost trouble free miles, and the 2012 G37 is at 100k now without any issues at all. You should be able to get a nice one around $7500 or lower.

only $4.5k
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...2026/overview/

 

Rental.

We can rent the cheapest vehicle at Enterprise.
One month cost $750
As above post mention, a winter car will not be driven that much.
You will save a lot in headaches of purchase, tax, maintenance, etc.
Rent a car for January and February.

 

Just remembered...My grandson has a 199X Jeep Cherokee 4WD with a blown motor...I'm sure he'd let you have it cheap...You could pick up a Jeep 4.0L six out of a parts yard and be good to go...Good gearbox, decent sound system and it even has the optional rust holes in the floorboard so any water that leaks in around the windows can just exit through the floor...

Terry