When I picked up my r33 GTR I flew to northern england to get it and drove/chunneled it back to south Germany. I would do it again but not in a marathon single day like I did last time.
When I picked up my r33 GTR I flew to northern england to get it and drove/chunneled it back to south Germany. I would do it again but not in a marathon single day like I did last time.
Anna OH to York PA to trade a running Riviera for a non running Wrangler. Both sides of the trade walked away feeling good about it, which is nice. It was an opportunity to do a twenty hour cannonball with my dad, so that alone made it worth it.
Hartford, CT to LA to pick up a B-13 SE-R with my friend is my personal record. The drive back was just shy of 3,000 miles that we covered in 2.5 days. I've also been down to VA twice now to pick up cars (Mustang SSP, BMW E36 328is), Buffalo, NY to pick up our Rav4, and Philadelphia to pick up our Saab (purchased on eBay).
Longest I've gone is arkansas. ~1200 miles round trip for the C4. How far WOULD I go? depends on the deal 
There are obviously some adventuresome folks here. 
As for me.....
Rye NH to Daytona Beach FL --- to grab a TR-6 (in February)
Richmond VA to DB, FL---- for an AMC Eagle
Denver CO to DB, FL ----- another AMC Eagle
Santa Ana CA to DB, FL--- with Tim in the 59 Edsel Villager
Chicago IL---DB, FL--- for the priceless 1981 Plymouth Champ
All of these cars were driven home---not towed.
There are few things more fun (and harrowing) than hitting the road in an old--- totally unknown machine. Maybe it's fun because it's really kinda stupid too! 
I've been eyeing box-'burbans in the Phoenix/Tucson area for a while now.... no rust. 3/4T 4wd's just waiting for a D-Max/Allison combo dropped in.
I flew to Salt Lake City, UT to buy an unrestored neglected '69 SAAB 96V4 DeLuxe. Drove it home in two days. ~1650 miles.
Flew from Newark, NJ to LA. Picked up a Honda S600, drove up to Monterey and back to LA and then back to NJ. Over 3,000 miles in a car with 606cc's. Replaced a water pump in LA and got stopped for speeding in Indiana..
As far as I need to.
I fly from Tulsa to Newark, NJ to drive a car home.
Had a different one shipped from Florida.
Drove to Texas to my NC Miata.
Fly to Austin and drove back to get the 4Runner I wanted.
Drove from Cape Cod to Kentucky to deliver a car to sister. Flew from NC to KY to pick up a garage find/beater. Drove 250 miles to Nashville for the Phaeton. I keep toying with longer trips for things I find but haven't yet. Bucket list.
I used to love telling people that I flew from Philly to Atlanta not once but twice to buy a used Neon.
I bought a '74 X1/9 in CA, and I live in North Alabama. It was within 15 serial numbers of the 1st X1/9 brought into the US, but of course that does nothing for the value. I just wanted a '74 and they were, are, impossible to find locally. The owner shipped it to Arkansas as he had relatives there, then buddy Challenge Pro Driver Steve Hoelscher picked up there for me. Sometime you'll need to ask him about his trip there if you see him, it was quite the adventure. 
I've sold one to a guy in Utah, a Fiat 600, and he wanted to drive it back, but in the end a friend delivered it to him. He hadn't realized it would have taken him something like 3 weeks at top speed!
If we're also using drop-offs, its 981 miles. I really want to get over 1000 miles to pick one up. Just because.
Not a car,it was a boat. But I picked up a 41' Viking in Ft. Lauderdale Fl. & sailed it from there across the Gulf, up the Tim-Tom Waterway, Ky. Lake, and Ohio River to Cincinnati Ohio for an ill friend. One of the most enjoyable long boat trips I ever took. I did it in a week and a half.
He used to make that round trip every year down to Lauderdale in the Fall, with a slight detour to watch Tennessee play football in Knoxville. Then back to Cincinnati, his summer home, in the Spring. His average travel time? At least a month each way. (He retired at age 38.)
Don49 wrote: Flew from Newark, NJ to LA. Picked up a Honda S600, drove up to Monterey and back to LA and then back to NJ. Over 3,000 miles in a car with 606cc's. Replaced a water pump in LA and got stopped for speeding in Indiana..
Why didn't you just put it in checked baggage, Don?
I bought my Mini about 600 miles from home. Attempted to drive it home, but started losing oil pressure in the middle of BFE WV and ended up parking it in a shopping center parking lot and getting it with a trailer the following weekend. That's the only car I've purchased at any sort of distance.
A friend of mine and I made the plan to drive out to look at the car around 9PM Friday night. We both had to be at work at 6AM Sunday morning. Drove out Friday night. Looked at the car Saturday. Bought it and headed back. By the time the oil pressure started dropping it was about midnight and too late to rent a trailer en route and we couldn't just spend the night where we were since we had to be at work in the morning.
Back in 1999... I lived in the Poconos, and there was an AE86 GTS in Pittsburgh. I got up @ 5am, my wife drove me to Philly, I then took a plane to Pittsburgh, met the dealer, got the car, and drove it back to the Poconos... all in one day
Usually I'd go all the way to wherever the car is unless shipping it made more sense at the time.
My parents live in El Paso now. It is ~1800 miles to michigan, but that is where I am going to buy my next couple of cars.
I went to hell and back to get my old car. Beat that.
Lansing, Michigan to Colorado Springs with a friend to pick up a TVR 2500M he bought based on a videotape walk-around. Took Amtrak out there, rented a car in Denver, drove to the seller's place. Had to get it running, fix broken swaybar and r&p mounts, and some other obvious issues. Got in and drove it back. Through the first major winter storm of the season. Snowed an inch/hour. Throttle cable was freezing open. They closed 80/90 and we ended up in what was a closed motel. An epic road trip. Not pleasant, but epic all the same...
He still has the car, but it's home to a built Ford 5.0 liter/T-5 now. Sort of a modern take on the Griffith... Downright scary.
Over half of my current fleet was purchased out of state. AL for the P5, NC for the '06 Mustang, and Maryland for the 2500HD.
And I live in the south.
If I lived in the rust belt, I'm pretty sure 100% of my purchases would be from the south.
Far. I've always wanted to fly to the West coast, pick up anything that's normally rusty over here on the east coast, drive the length of the PCH, drive back.
Dr. Hess wrote:Don49 wrote: Flew from Newark, NJ to LA. Picked up a Honda S600, drove up to Monterey and back to LA and then back to NJ. Over 3,000 miles in a car with 606cc's. Replaced a water pump in LA and got stopped for speeding in Indiana..Why didn't you just put it in checked baggage, Don?
Because 606cc's is smaller than most carry-ons
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