The student news site of Benilde-St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, MN

It’s getting real in the BSM parking lot

Mark Racchini sets out to find the beater cars inside BSM's parking lots.

Many people think of the Benilde-St. Margaret’s parking lot as being famous for parking new “Beemers,” Audis, and Mercedes. Although this myth of always driving a luxury car is not always true, it is rare to find used cars more than a few years old in BSM’s senior and junior lots. Once in a great while, however, a student will pull up in a rare find: a beater car. Beaters are commonly known to have been passed down from older siblings after being once driven by parents or other relatives. Many of them carry unique characteristics, ranging from hail damage, to rusting doors, to falling off bumpers.  Here are some of the rare finds that are found in the BSM parking lot.

Lilly's-Truck-2
Effertz’s car is a 1998 Chevy pick up, driven previously by both her older sisters.

Lilly Effertz
Knight Errant: What kind of car do you drive?
Lilly Effertz: I drive a blue Chevy pickup truck. Yeah it didn’t start once. It has two doors and it’s a 1998. It’s an old car.
KE: How many miles does it have?
LE: We’re pushing 200,000.
KE: Why would you consider it a beater car?
LE: It’s really old; my sisters both have gotten in accidents with it, so there are a lot of dents from that. I haven’t made any dents yet––keyword “yet.” A lot of stuff goes wrong: the brake lights go out, and the speakers are really bad.
KE: What memories have you made with your vehicle?
LE: I went to a drive-in movie with it and have made many long drives to the cabin.


Bird has affectionately named her car “Harold.”

Emma Bird
Knight Errant: What kind of car do you drive and what year is it?
Emma Bird: Late 90s or early 2000s, some sort of Subaru.
KE: How many miles does it have on it?
EB: Not that many miles for how old it is.
KE: What makes your car a beater car?
EB: It was my Grand Aunt Betty’s. When I got it, she smoked, so it smelled disgusting. There are dents all over it. Two on the driver side, one on the other, paint is chipping on the back.  The other day I was driving and there was a rattling noise. I got out and it was a piece of metal dragging on the ground. I ripped it off and have been driving ever since.
KE: Were the dents made by you?
EB: No, they were there when I got the car.


Drew Ormsby's vehicle
Ormsby’s car has nearly 200,000 miles on it.

Drew Ormsby
Knight Errant: What kind of car is it?
Drew Ormbsy: Subaru Legacy ‘98
KE: How many miles does it have?
DO: 177,000
KE: Was it passed down to you?
DO: Yes, it was passed down from my brother. He found it in some scrappy place or some place online. He then gave it to me. Well, he didn’t really give it to me, he just kind of left for college.
KE: Why would you consider it a beater?
DO: Teal wheels, tape over the fog lights, window stickers all over the car, after market radio and suspension. My brother added all of this.
KE: What cool tricks can your car do?
DO: The radio changes color, and the car makes a really annoying noise when I unlock it.

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