The winter beater: Great idea or money pit?

Winter beater — if ever a term belonged in a Canadian dictionary, this is it.

Say those two words to anyone standing in a Tim Hortons line and you'll instantly conjure up the same image of a battered, slightly rusted 10- or 15-year-old sedan being driven through the worst of our winters by someone with a north-of$50K prestige vehicle parked safely in a hermetically sealed garage.

Most winter beater drivers brag more about the prowess of their saltand-slush-ready wheeled warrior than they do about the Bimmer or Lexus collecting winter dust at the home front. But are there solid reasons to support divesting ourselves of all the comfort, technology and safety that our new ride can provide just when we need it most?

It's easy to peg the additional costs of acquiring a used vehicle for winter use. If you can fit all your driving needs into a compact sedan and you stick to something in the 4- to 8-year age range with less than 150,000 kilometres on the odometer, you're likely to start at the $7,500 mark to purchase one of the top two entries in this class: the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla.

If you can settle for some alsorans, you can still find a good selection in most markets for less than $7K, but the days of a cold-season chariot for less than $3K are long gone unless you're a wrench wiz and have the tools and skills to rebuild a lost cause.

A pre-purchase inspection is a must when considering a candidate for winter duty. Corrosion is still the main killer of Canadian vehicles, and while a little surface rust isn't too much of a drawback, any weakness in main body panels, subframes and suspension components can be a sign to move on to the next entrant. Getting a thorough fitness examination by a qualified tech can help reduce your risks.

No matter what price range you're in, you'll most likely have to make some type of an investment in prepping your winter beater.

A set of new snow tires and rims will set you back $1,000 for the average passenger car. A pre-season maintenance service will provide a $100 hit to the wallet, not to mention what else a thorough tech might find that's in need of repair.

Most vehicles in this class have a limited-lifespan timing belt on their engines, and it's a favourite service item for many consumers to skip due to the high parts and labour costs — but heading into cold, damp driving conditions with a past-due timing belt can lead to major engine damage in the event of an engine misfire.

The biggest benefit to a winter beater is extending the life of your fair-weather pride and joy, thereby increasing its trade-in value. If you can extend the enjoyable life of a primary vehicle by two or three years with the use of a winter beater, it's easy to calculate the number of monthly car payments you'll save. But other benefits are a little harder to peg.

WHAT FEATURES MAKE FOR A PERFECT WINTER AUTO?

If you've had enough close calls on slippery ice and snow-covered roads, you might want to consider a few key items that won't impact your fairweather driving experiences but will keep you safe during the winters of our wheeled discontent. And spoiler alert; all-wheel drive isn't on the list.

SMALLER VEHICLE

In terms of winter survival, smaller is better. Few four-door pickups regularly survive spin-outs on an icy road without hitting something. A new kink against these ultra-long vehicles is the penchant of housing developers to try to jam as many units in a subdivision as possible. Before you sign on the bottom line for a crew-cab long box, just try to park it in your driveway without hanging a third of it over the sidewalk.

HIGHER GROUND CLEARANCE

Low-slung bodies don't do well in deeper snow. No matter how good a vehicle's traction control system is or how expensive a set of snow tires are, you're going nowhere fast when your ride gets hung up on deep snow.

FRONT WHEEL DRIVE

Front-wheel drive is infinitely better than all-wheel power. As my colleague David Booth has written, the only advantage to all-wheel drive is straight-line acceleration from a standing start. My favourite adage on this is all-wheel drive will get you into trouble twice as fast and twice as far as two-wheel. The best allwheel drive on the planet won't give you better steering or braking control. Fortunately, we have front-drive SUVs and CUVs to choose from, which will also reduce your fuel bill.

SMALLER ENGINE

High horsepower, high torque engines don't make for great winter traction. They easily overpower snow tires, and of course leave you gasoline-poor at the end of the month. Even the most cautious drivers can get caught off guard, as it only takes a small stab on the pedal to get wheels spinning. Unless you need that power for towing or hauling, consider a smaller engine alternative.

NARROW TIRES

Narrow tires make for better snow traction. Many vehicles can accommodate a narrower tread as an optional winter tire size even if originally equipped with something wider (say over 275 mm). But if there's no way to fit a slimmer tire due to steering and suspension specs, you might want to keep looking.