I am planning to travel from Middletown, CT to Riverside, CA (Cross country drive)

[soumyasamanta]

Hi Guys,

I am planning to travel from Middle town, CT to Riverside, CA in early fall (August). DO you think it is a good idea to do that with a 2002 Toyota Camry LE? Do you guys think it will be a viable option, given the age of the car? It has already ran 88K. Or do you think I should ship the car? It will cost some $1200 to ship and go by plane. Will driving be any cheaper?

Any suggestion or advice is welcome and appreciated.

Soumya

[glc]

Welcome!

If your car checks out good with a mechanic, I would not even hesitate taking it. People make cross country trips all the time in vehicles that are older and have a lot more miles on them. My 2003 Ford truck has 136k and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere. I think we have some regulars here whose road trip vehicles have over 200k.

Rough costs:

2850 miles = 5 days of dedicated driving. Using $4 a gallon and 25 miles per gallon, gas = $450. 4 nights in budget hotels = $250. Tolls = $25. Free hotel continental breakfasts, fast food lunches, restaurant dinners = $150. Total - $875.

You could stretch out the trip to a few more days and take the opportunity to do some sightseeing rather than just grind your way day after day on the Interstates. It's all what you want to do.

[Southwest Dave]

Hello and welcome to RTA !

I agree, if it has been looked after and serviced and is mechanically sound there is no reason not to take it other than time constraints if you have any. At 88k it's barely run in and if you have a little extra time to spare you could turn it into a little adventure and make it memorable.

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Your car's just starting to get broken in!

For comparison sake, my main roadtrip vehicle is older (2001) and has 3 times the miles of your car (240,000), and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to take it cross country.

Of course, before you go out on any long roadtrip, it always is a good idea to get the car inspected, and take care of those maintenance items that are due to be fixed/replaced. But just based on the age/mileage, you really have nothing to worry about.