What is the ideal road trip car for a college student?

[TonyRajah]

Hey all,

I just discovered this site and it's really blown me away. Great work to everyone who's contributed to this place! I'm just starting to browse and get a feel for it.

Now, I bet this has already been answered, but I'm posting anyway. Here's the deal, I currently go to college in Evanston, IL and I'm planning on a road-trip for next year from here to Berkeley, CA. It's kind of a calling for me as a college kid to do something of this nature with a few friends.

At any rate, what I need now is a car for this adventure. We're planning on getting one for the year for general use, but I also want to know what car would be good for general every day driving as well as long term cross-country driving. Keep in mind, that we're looking on getting a used car(college tuition being what it is, a new car just isn't in the works) possibly an old Volvo or Saab.

Any thoughts? Thanks much in advance!

[Midwest Michael]

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

The perfect roadtrip car has been discussed before, but of course there never is a one size fits all answer.

What I'd recommend is finding a car that you enjoy driving and passes close inspection by a good mechanic as your most important criteria. Certainly, size and cost to drive would play a role in it too.

I will say that I might have some slight hesitation about getting a Saab or Volvo, simply because it could be a little more challenging to find parts if you'd have a breakdown in a rural area. This isn't a huge problem, but the odds of having to wait for parts with those cars are certainly going to be a lot higher than an American car or even a Japanese brand.