One of the main advantages to driving a beater in the winter is that snow is a somewhat unpredictable surface, and even though you might consider yourself be an extremely cautious driver, which I'm sure most of us here are, that 16 year old driving the 240sx on summer tires isn't the smartest driver in the world. Some accidents are unavoidable in those instances, and if your car gets totaled, who cares?
BTW OP, just found this:
http://baltimore.craigslist.org/cto/2527706559.html Pretty rare to find one with AC, but not so rare to find one with rust.
I just love Honda's. They're like Legos.