all depends what your idea of a "beater" is... 999$ will get u a car that runs at the time its bought.. thats bout it..keep it for 2 years and run it every day. tally up the receipts and c where your at... forget the down time... even if it was a diy fix, you get what you pay 4.... all the things that usually go with a almost 15 year old truck have already been done either by me or the previous owner... ball joints, uv joints, steering components, brakes, tires, gaskets, fuel pump, etc, etc, would be something that a 999$ car would need over the course of 2 years... add a clutch to the mix and your well above the dollar range of getting even when its time to get rid of it... with all the non greasable compontents changed over to being greasable, there should never b a reason to change them again if service is done as its supposed to. not to mention there is no rust anywhere on the truck... kinda hard to come by any chevy pickup that isnt rotted somewhere.. usually the bottom of the doors and back corners of the cab are the first thing to show signs of rust. plus, this is a truck, not a car.... for the person who just needs to go from point a to point b, a car is the way to go. but, if your haulin stuff every so often what good is a car? i guess it all depends on what your lifestyle is and your line of work... i guess its all about what the purpose is of the vehicle... either way, its better than a payment...