18 hour drive with a high mileage car??

[athumann]

Hi! In January my daughter will begin an adventure in the Disney College Program and she really wants to have her car so we are considering driving it down from Iowa and then I would fly back.

Her car is a 2005 Chevy Malibu with about 180,000 miles. This terrifies me!!! We have had the car since about 36,000 miles and have always taken good care of it. We have a mechanic that has always serviced this car that says he thinks it would be fine but I don't know, we are driving 1235 miles and that's a long way to go.

We could ship her car down there for about $600 plus our airfare would be at least $200 - $300 versus driving which i'm estimating would be around $300 which includes a hotel about half way. So driving would save us about $500-$600.

I know all vehicles are different but what I would love are some success stories to help me decide if it's worth the risk or not, and maybe some tips to help the trip go smoothly.

Thanks so much!!

 

[HizMinnie2015]

If they mechanic says it will make it then I would trust him. He would be the one who can tell you yay or nay. We own a 1998 Ford Taurus with 219K and have driven it round trip to Cleveland, Ohio which is 1200 miles and to Iowa near Webster City. Round trip for Iowa is about 900 miles.... we never have an issue. Just change the oil and check the tires and trust the mechanic.

 

[athumann]

Thanks!!!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

What's the worst thing that could happen? It will have an issue and you can fix it. Just make sure you have towing insurance. It will probably be fine.

 

[kj2mom]

Since she will not be driving alone I would go for it. As was mentioned, be sure to have a roadside assistance program, a charged cell phone and drive safely!

 

[MinnieMSue]

Should be fine if tires are good and it is serviced and checked out before trip (brakes, battery etc). My 2001 CRV has 222,000 miles and is going strong (well except the catolytic converter).

 

[supersnoop]

If it would break along the way, then it would break while she's there alone. What's the worst that could happen? Plan for that.

 

[cranbiz]

I drive my full sized 4x4 pickup to and from WDW from Durham, NC and to and from Plymouth, MA regularly and it's got 175K on it. In the 5 years I have been doing those trips, I have had exactly 1 issue, a transmission sensor went bad on the return from FL. It did not cause any issues other than the check engine light and I made it home safely.

Change the oil, make sure the tires are good and have a mechanic go over it to make sure it's in good shape and that the belts and hoses are good. Provide her with either a jump box or jumper cables and a small tool kit, extra anti freeze/water, oil and duck tape.

 

[Jimsig]

If you don't already have it her get AAA. If you already have it could always look at upgrading to AAA Plus. Always a good idea to have AAA with a high mileage car anyway IMO

 

[athumann]

Thanks everyone!! I really needed some opinions! I'm thinking we are going to go for it! As for the AAA I will definitely be doing that!!

 

[sam_gordon]

I disagree on AAA being an "automatic" need. We had AAA for decades, as long as we've had our cars. Very rarely used it, but it was great for the times we did. So that's fine. Then we found out this year (thanks for prompting from Dis boards) that our car insurance (Nationwide) also offers roadside assistance. All three of our cars have the same coverage AAA gave us, for less than the cost for one of us to be a AAA member.

I'm not saying AAA isn't worth it, but you might want to check with your insurance company and see if they offer something similar for cheaper.

 

[a742246]

I wouldn't worry about it either. Just tell her to drive only in daylight hours and to keep a fully charged cell phone. She will be fine!

 

[piccolopat]

I disagree on AAA being an "automatic" need. We had AAA for decades, as long as we've had our cars. Very rarely used it, but it was great for the times we did. So that's fine. Then we found out this year (thanks for prompting from Dis boards) that our car insurance (Nationwide) also offers roadside assistance. All three of our cars have the same coverage AAA gave us, for less than the cost for one of us to be a AAA member.

I'm not saying AAA isn't worth it, but you might want to check with your insurance company and see if they offer something similar for cheaper.

Make sure you know what your roadside assistance coverage with your insurance actually covers. For example, some may give you towing coverage but only if you've been in an accident. I don't know what Nationwide provides but you should understand the coverage and compare the details to AAA or another service before deciding.

 

[sam_gordon]

Make sure you know what your roadside assistance coverage with your insurance actually covers. For example, some may give you towing coverage but only if you've been in an accident. I don't know what Nationwide provides but you should understand the coverage and compare the details to AAA or another service before deciding.

Agreed and I did. I'm just suggesting it's something to research.

 

[athumann]

I'll definitely look into both AAA and our insurance company. Thanks for the suggestions. I'm actually looking forward to a road trip with the 2 of us!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

But then again if something happens you have to trust that you have found a reliable mechanic and that he has the parts on hand to fix it. Other wise you could be looking at a day or two in a hotel with no vehicle while you wait for your car to be fixed. And then hope that it gets you there. .

 

[LadyBeBop]

But then again if something happens you have to trust that you have found a reliable mechanic and that he has the parts on hand to fix it. Other wise you could be looking at a day or two in a hotel with no vehicle while you wait for your car to be fixed. And then hope that it gets you there. .

That's a big problem. And you're travelling in the middle of winter.

I'd do it, but I'd leave a pretty large cushion in case of problems. If you can, I'd leave a week before she has to check in. You can get down to Orlando in two or three days (I'd take three, and take it easy on the car). If you get there very early, just head to the beach or Universal for a day or so. (I'd say Disney, but...)

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I have towing insurance coverage with our car insurance policy with USAA. It covers towing for any breakdown and is ridiculously cheap; something like $10.00 extra a year.

 

[Jimsig]

I disagree on AAA being an "automatic" need. We had AAA for decades, as long as we've had our cars. Very rarely used it, but it was great for the times we did. So that's fine. Then we found out this year (thanks for prompting from Dis boards) that our car insurance (Nationwide) also offers roadside assistance. All three of our cars have the same coverage AAA gave us, for less than the cost for one of us to be a AAA member.

I'm not saying AAA isn't worth it, but you might want to check with your insurance company and see if they offer something similar for cheaper.

AAA also get you discounts all over the place like hotel rooms, movie tickets, auto repairs etc. You can ever get Disney tickets at a discount If you use it enough for those discounts you can easily pay for it's fee.

 

[sam_gordon]

AAA also get you discounts all over the place like hotel rooms, movie tickets, auto repairs etc. You can ever get Disney tickets at a discount If you use it enough for those discounts you can easily pay for it's fee.

And if you don't? Look, I'm not saying someone should stay away from AAA. If it works for them, that's fine. All I'm doing is pointing out there are other options that may fit someone better.