prius

[rubberbands]

I'm going to be driving to college- from New York to California- in a used 2003 prius. Is this generally a bad idea? Of course I'm not going alone and of course I'm going to make sure I can do some minor repairs if things go wrong, but I don't know.

[glc]

People routinely travel cross country all the time in cars older than that. Have it thoroughly inspected by a competent mechanic before you go and have anything that needs to be done taken care of.

[Southwest Dave]

After all it is a road trip forum, Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

As glc has said, as long as your car is in good shape before leaving and serviced etc you should be fine. Bad idea? any reason to take a road trip is a great idea !
Are you getting from A to B as quickly as possible or do you have time to explore a little on the way ? How much time do you have ? If you have any other questions regarding your trip just ask

[rubberbands]

I have a few days, but the trip isn't for a while. Like, next august. My basic goal is to eat at small-town diners and see stars at night. 'eating my way across america', definitely.

[Southwest Dave]

We generally recommend 5-6 days to cross the country and even then they will be quite long days.

[Midwest Michael]

I too am a bit concerned about your "a few days" statement. As Dave mentioned, you need 5-6 full days just to make the trip on the interstates. When you talk about visiting small towns, eating at diners, and seeing stars that would also imply that you would want to do some driving on 2 lane roads away from the freeway and probably some camping - which is going to take a little more time. Admittedly, you've told us very little about your plans, but I'd think you're going to want 7-10 days to do the kind of trip that you are hinting at.