In Grand Theft Auto V, a few beaters can actually be given more performance-oriented modifications than their undamaged counterparts, making the beater variants more desirable these include the beater Rusty Rebel, which can be turned into a trophy truck, and the Rat-Loader which can be modified into a high-performance rat rod. GTA IV beaters can be partially repaired and repainted, though the weak performances remain. In Grand Theft Auto IV, beaters tend to have delayed ignitions, very weak suspensions, weak tires and a tendency to backfire. In addition, damaged variants of the Glendale and Sadler are scattered throughout rural San Andreas, with their body panels dented and irreparable. In GTA: San Andreas the Clover and Tampa appear with mismatched body panels, the Tampa itself featuring lopsided license plates. Both vehicles, which are essentially variants of commercial vehicles, feature multi-colored body panels and paint jobs, as well as graffiti on their sides, but they are both superior in performance over the vehicles they are based on. Earlier signs of such vehicles are primarily present in Grand Theft Auto III's Hoods Rumpo XL and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City's Gang Burrito (variants of the Rumpo and Burrito, respectively). The Grand Theft Auto series has not traditionally featured working cars in dilapidated form until GTA: San Andreas.

In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, these are actually separate vehicles to their normal counterparts in the game's code, explaining why they cannot be repaired or modified. These cars are old and rusted, but still drivable, albeit with reduced performance.

Tampa tuned gta san andreas