It appears to me that the point is being missed. The original poster says he wants a "clunker" (later amended to a "beater" so as not to offend). He already has an NID (a nice gun), so why point him toward a Fox, Smith or Parker, which would be on par with the gun he already has (or possibly better as they go up in grade)?
That Hunter Arms, a Western Arms, or a Nitro Special would seem to be the obvious choices in a "step-down" American double. Or my personal favorite, a nice old Stevens 5100.
Because he ASKED specifically about Foxes, and their virtues. That's why. There ARE beat-up Sterlingworths around, ya' know.
SRH
Easy there, pard; no offense intended. He asked about "clunkers" and folks start telling him to look for Foxes, Parkers, Smiths, yada yada. After someone suggested a Fox, he asked about them. Those guns are not my idea of clunkers, and if one of those were to qualify, I'm not sure I'd want to own it. But I guess like Chuck says, one man's clunker is another man's Purdey. I happen to be a Fox guy myself; I'm lucky enough to own a few. Now, if I misread his original post and his query, sorry.
But to Sidekick I'll say this: folks'll tell you that you can find a fine gun for the price of a 311, but in my experience such finds are few and far between; far enough that I've never found one at least. Any upper level gun you find at a 311 price is likely to be in a basket - either that or those guys are paying way too much for their 311's. I don't know how old you are, but at my age, I don't have time to wait for the deal of the century, and I don't have the money or the patience to waste on guns I can't shoot. But that's just me; you asked a question and I gave an opinion, just like everybody else here. Good luck with your search!
