Would you take this car on a road trip?

[Anonymous]

It depends on how far you're planning to go. Personally, I would rent a vehicle. Rentals are not very expensive, especially since you only need a car and not a van. Make sure you add rental insurance. I think the last time we rented a van with insurance it was $500 (last June), so a car would be a lot less. We went across the country, the rental had unlimited mileage.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have a truck with 200K and am taking it to NY today. That said, I would not take it south or west unless I was on a route that was populated.

Going north, I have family/friends all along the way and I know my cellphone won't lose service. There are parts of the west (driving from Phoenix to Albuquerque or from LA to Phoenix) that I'd be concerned about a breakdown.

So my advice to you is take it so long as you know you can get help if needed.

[Anonymous]

You should always rent a car for any significant road trip. In your case, with your description of the car, I'd say it's a must.

[Anonymous]

No way. Just rent a car.

[Anonymous]

we have a 2002 honda, and have started renting a car for road trips. More comfortable, and feels safer (more up-to-date safety features.)

But we've certainly taken many roadtrips in cars like yours, so go for it! (do you have kids? That's what made me more car-safety conscious. That and getting into an accident.)

[Anonymous]

First of all, congrats for getting it to 400,000 miles!

This is the perfect example of why Japanese brands@ hold up so well.
Toyotas are no.# in longevity!!

Secondly, no way would I take a car w/that many miles on a road trip.
Just local driving.

Either rent a car or take someone else’s.

Hope you have a great time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldnt take that junk car to the corner store. Are you poor?

What a dickbag

[Anonymous]

No, we have a 20 year old Corolla, just shy of 200K miles. Two years ago we took it to the OBX and the bullet for the serpentine belt snapped, we managed to limp the house before the belt fell out of the car lol. Needless, to say, after that we rented cars for road trips until this year when we finally got a new van.

We still have the Corolla and DH drives it to work every day, which is does fine with (well except the door handle just broke off lol).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, we have a 20 year old Corolla, just shy of 200K miles. Two years ago we took it to the OBX and the bullet for the serpentine belt snapped, we managed to limp the house before the belt fell out of the car lol. Needless, to say, after that we rented cars for road trips until this year when we finally got a new van.

We still have the Corolla and DH drives it to work every day, which is does fine with (well except the door handle just broke off lol).

I meant to say BOLT not bullet.

[Anonymous]

I used to take my 2001 Dodge Shadow on 1000 mile road trips. It only had about 200k miles on it.

If you're comfortable with the idea that it could break down anywhere at anytime and you can handle it on your own, then go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're asking the wrong people. Post it in Fairfax Underground and you might get a different answer.

Exactly. Most people on this forum literally have ZERO understanding of how anything mechanical works. They are Eloi. They understand things like "feelings" and being triggered and hating republicans. All that stuff is right in their wheelhouse. How cars work? Not so much. Most couldn't change a tire at gunpoint.


Actual answer: in all likelihood the car will be fine on that trip if it runs as well as you say it does. The cats needing replacement maybe throw a check engine light, but it'll keep going. Other stuff should be checked too though:

Engine oil level
Transmission fluid level, and check the fluid itself. It should be pinkish and sweet smelling, not brownish and burned smelling.
Coolant level
Battery (look for and clean any corrosion around the terminals. Soda can actually be used to do this if you don't have terminal cleaner)
Check the serpentine belt! Look for any cracks or fraying that run the length of the belt. Small tiny cracks that go across the belt are fine, btw.
Tires. Make sure they have at least 3/16" tread and are at correct pressure.
Brake fluid level
Power steering fluid level
Top off washer fluid reservoir


All this can be done in less than 10 minutes, and if you do every item on this list you'll not only detect any obvious issues that would cause you trouble on this trip, but you'll also be in literally the top 1% of people here who know anything about cars afterwards.

[Anonymous]

400k? Damn.

My dad is concerned because I'm planning to take my '04 Acura with 118K miles on a road trip to Savannah/Charleston. It's well-maintained and I have AAA. We're also planning to stop overnight after 4 hours in each direction, and I routinely do 3-hour drives on weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, congrats for getting it to 400,000 miles!

This is the perfect example of why Japanese brands@ hold up so well.
Toyotas are no.# in longevity!!

Secondly, no way would I take a car w/that many miles on a road trip.
Just local driving.

Either rent a car or take someone else’s.

Hope you have a great time!

Over in Japan, they are all like “woohoo! We’re number#! We’re number #!”

[Anonymous]

If it still has get-up-and-go to it and doesn't take forever to get to speed.

My dad had that exact same car that had over 300k when he finally got rid of it. It took forever to get up to speed and became too dangerous to drive on the busier roads around here. Unfortunately, he didn't see a problem with his car taking a little longer to reach speed like everyone else around him. So many times I was sure the 18-wheeler in the right lane behind us was going to flatten us as he tried to merge onto high speed roadways.

It wasn't until he got TWO tickets within a span of a month for impeding the flow of traffic (going too GD slow) that my mom put her foot down and told him he had to sell it. Even at that age and with those miles, he still got nearly $1,000 for it. This was 3 years ago, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldnt take that junk car to the corner store. Are you poor?

Yes, I am thank you. And it goes to the grocery store very well.

Skip the road trip. Save the money towards the new car you need.