Would you drive your older vehicle 1300 miles for vacation?

[Shmily1]

I have a Durango with 130,000 miles and many of those were put on it going to WDW! I've been everywhere in that thing and I love it! It's comfortable and I've "wallowed" out my spot in the driver's seat. As long as I've had regular maintenance on it and it checks out good, I'll keep taking my high mileage vehicle.

 

[luvmy3]

I wouldn't take may van, it has 65000 mi. on it but has lost the transmition once while we were traveling and I'm not convinced it won't do it again. Its paid off so we rent a car and I justify the expense as what our car payment would have been.

 

[horseshowmom]

Also, with AAA you can get discounts at Disney/Orlando. If you buy your tickets through AAA they are discounted plus you can get an AAA parking permit for the special lot at the front (no discount on parking though - also, once that particular area is full, you go to the regular parking instead).

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

Definitely get AAA. The peace of mind is worth the small yearly fee. I've been on trips before where our car broke down. We ended up putting it in the shop, getting a rental and continuing on and it was ready to be picked up when we came back that way. You just have to make sure you have the money set aside to fix it if something happens.
We are driving my FIL's van on our trip next month. It isn't new by any means, but it does have less than 100k miles. We wanted to use it for space. That way we can split our children up if they start driving us crazy!

 

[Mathfailure]

I agree with renting an unlimited mileage car, and you can often find great deals - check on line from nearby airports -, and keeping your cars for life at home. Paid off cars are great, I would like to keep them as long as possible.

 

[dizluvah]

How many miles per week do you drive the car? For us 1300 hundred miles would only take 16 days (80 miles per day)- so do I expect my old car to last more than 2-3 more weeks? If yes, then I would take it on my roadtrip.

 

[Planogirl]

I think that it depends on the vehicle. We have two high mileage vehicle right now and they are quite different. I drive a Ford that I don't trust driving to the next town but our Mitsubishi I'd take almost anywhere.

 

[Jitzy]

I think that you should take your car. Get AAA. It sounds like you keep up with the maintenance, so don't worry. Cars are meant to be driven. I surely wouldn't buy new to make the trip ~ the old cars get the miles.

If you are still worrying, you could look into rentals. For such long distances, maybe a more modern, amenity filled car would be more comfortable for the long haul?