Wow. i definitely have a different idea of what a beater is. It shoudln't be just a second, slightly cheaper fun car like the primary car. M3 or WRX as a beater? Wow.
Recently bought this beater for my brother in law for $400, and it's everything a beater should be. throwaway cheap, reliable as the sunrise, practical, and it doesn't matter if the salt attacks it in winter or people open their doors into it, or you load up dirty car parts/kegs, etc in the back of it.