barnca
barnca New Reader
4/3/10 5:02 p.m.

fly to fla to buy a clean vehicle. and drive it back to nh. lookin at a jeep. looks rust free compared to what i would find here. price seems right. just kinda wonderin if it would be worth while.

oldtin
oldtin Reader
4/3/10 5:07 p.m.

I went long distance and drove my car back to Chicago - worth it to me - visited some family and drove back - the trip was about $100 in fuel.

mtn
mtn SuperDork
4/3/10 5:11 p.m.

I'd do it for the right car. But I'm only 20, and I live in the heart of the rustbelt.

Woody
Woody SuperDork
4/3/10 5:12 p.m.

It would probably be a better idea to take a quick drive down to Connecticut and buy this one.

From me.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/classifieds/2062/

Photobucket

Photobucket

grimmelshanks
grimmelshanks New Reader
4/3/10 5:25 p.m.

i agree with woody

plance1
plance1 HalfDork
4/3/10 7:42 p.m.

Depends on the vehicle. Jeeps are a dime a dozen aren't they? For the 69 olds shown in my avatar, I flew out of cincinnati to CT for 40 bucks (thanks to my friend at Delta!) and drove it back. Hat to replace those bias ply tires halfway though, boy they sucked!

barnca
barnca New Reader
4/3/10 7:45 p.m.

i want a cherokee.. found what looks like a clean one in orlando.. plus bein from new england.. would be kinda nice to have one thats cleaner than what i may find up here.

amg_rx7
amg_rx7 Reader
4/3/10 7:56 p.m.

Absolutely if it was worth it

Raze
Raze HalfDork
4/3/10 8:01 p.m.

Woody, thought the freeze plugs went in that engine or did you swap it out?

ignorant
ignorant SuperDork
4/3/10 8:08 p.m.

didn't woody buy that thing for $2k with a wrecked motor?

Woody
Woody SuperDork
4/3/10 9:21 p.m.
Raze wrote: Woody, thought the freeze plugs went in that engine or did you swap it out?

Swapped in a new engine. Plus LOTS of other new stuff.

pigeon
pigeon HalfDork
4/3/10 9:48 p.m.

Do it, if it's really the right car. I bought my BMW in Cleveland and drove out to pick it up and drive back to Rochester, about 12 hours round trip. Flew out to Boston for $150ish to pick up the Wife's Volvo XC90 and drove it back, 6 hours. I was this || close to flying to Florida and Chicago for 2 other XC90s but the Florida deal fell through and the Boston deal came up literally minutes before I put the deposit down on the Chicago deal, I already had the plane ticket in fact and had to change it to Boston.

aussiesmg
aussiesmg SuperDork
4/3/10 9:57 p.m.

I have picked up cars from New York, to Virgina, to Tennesee, to Oaklahoma, to Kansas.

Hell yeah its worth it

doc_speeder
doc_speeder New Reader
4/3/10 10:18 p.m.

I live in Alberta. I flew to Atlanta, drove home in a G35, drove it for the summer, sold it and cleared $2G's on top of my flight/trip/etc. 3700 km's one way! Did it for the drive and experience though, not just the car, though I did really, REALLY get attached to that car quite quickly.

mr2peak
mr2peak New Reader
4/4/10 1:08 a.m.

It's better than buying a car sight unseen...

EvanB
EvanB HalfDork
4/4/10 1:15 a.m.

Definitely worth it. I drove to Arkansas to get the right WRX, 12 hours round trip.

MrMook
MrMook New Reader
4/4/10 1:34 a.m.

I've been thinking about doing something similar when shopping for my next car. Living in the northeast = way too much rust. Also, my brother recently moved to LA, and I haven't been out to see him yet.

So, I figure...hop a plane to LA for a week, check out a few rust-free desert cars with my bro, pick one, buy it, and take a road-trip back east. I'll spend a few hundred dollars on travel, but I could spend just as much on rust repair on a nor'east car, without ever having done a x-country road trip.

4eyes
4eyes Reader
4/4/10 2:32 a.m.

It pays to shop around for destination airports in the LA area. Adding an hours drive time may save 100s of dollars.

njansenv
njansenv Reader
4/4/10 7:32 a.m.

I'd recommend it for sure! Working on a Texas E30 has opened my eyes as to how NICE a rust free car is. I've even considered (if my wife and I can't find the time) asking a friend/family member to do it for us, though we'd miss out on the experience.

Nathan

CLNSC3
CLNSC3 Reader
4/5/10 1:45 a.m.

I love road trips so I would most definitely fly out to buy the right car and drive it home! It would be a great opportunity to really get to know your new car, and you'd likely find any flaws as well...

Appleseed
Appleseed SuperDork
4/5/10 2:46 a.m.
mtn wrote: I'd do it for the right car. But I'm only 20, and I live in the heart of the rustbelt.
  • eleventy billion.
924guy
924guy Dork
4/5/10 7:30 a.m.

ive gone all over the country for cars, even actually returned home with a few. mostly ive driven both ways, and towed the second vehicle home or took someone with me to drive, but i have been known to take the train or even the bus. when i lived in the north east there wasn't an opportunity passed to go south to find or help friends out in bringing cars back. even made a few "repo" trips, which were always interesting. ive been as far west as texas to pick up vehicles.

the trip is always worth it, even if the car isnt ;)

CGLockRacer
CGLockRacer Reader
4/5/10 8:16 a.m.

I'll be doing this in a couple of weeks. I've bought a '91 Miata (new DD) off of a friend (he's now getting '99 Miata) who lives in NC. Plan is to fly down Friday and pick up the car, stop at VIR for the Grand Am race Saturday, then drive to MI Sunday. There will be another thread closer to the date for some hopeful couch surfing requests. :)

Tetzuoe
Tetzuoe Reader
4/5/10 8:39 a.m.

I ended up flying out to Iowa to get the zhp, that was an awful drive getting back to PA, great chance to get to know the car though, I know that I probably should never drive from PA to DC on that severe a lack of sleep in such a smooth riding car. serious hallucinations.

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