To Ship Or Not: A Potential E30 Cross Country Voyage

[BobombETA]

Get it looked over. Drive it.

Quick Story:
Never drove an e30 across the country, but I did drive one for 14 consecutive hours once. Ran great until I downshifted to 4th (nice and easy) on the off ramp and it wouldn't come out of 4th for the remaining 20 miles of hills and stop and go city traffic. That was fun. Change your transmission fluid if you haven't already.

[Garageaholic]

Drive it!

[z31maniac]

Drive it.

As long as all your maintenance is up to date and the car is running well, you'll be fine.

Grab some spares, like belts, oil, coolant, a small tool kit and go.

[agent]

Drive it.

[willworkfore30s]

Drive it, and look forward to doing it! I would love to do this but don't have the time. I will make the time in the future though.

[slammin.e28]

Drive it.

[MC Hammered]

Drive it as there is nothing like a great road trip!

I had a friend drive my touring from Blaine, WA to NJ and then had 2 friends drive it on the return trip home. The stories I hear from them about the journey are epic!

[RUFFLZ]

drive it.
I bought both my cars pretty much sight unseen and drove em 1500+ miles back home without a single hiccup.
Well worth the experience, not to mention you really get to know yourself better throughout the journey.
Take your time, meet new people, and enjoy the trip.


P.S. Be sure to have some kind of towing coverage on your insurance before the trek. Always gotta have a plan B, just in case.

P.S.S. Bring some good tunes and stock up on some red bull.

[CrusherCurtis]

1. Sell the car here in DC. Use the money accumulated to potentially buy an E30/E36 in Seattle.

Fail.

I would definitely ship it

[TurboJake]

I just looked through some of the pictures on your thread. Very inspirational stuff! Looks like the experience of a lifetime.

It is. Don't think, just do it. I promise that even if you do break down, you'll thank me later.

Seriously. There's nothing to be scared or even worried about. Small box of tools, Tent/sleeping bag/air mattress optional/flashlight, small cooler and plenty of water. And if you aren't as brazen or confident in fixing your car on the side of the road as I am. AAA

[LateFan]

Give yourself plenty of extra time to eliminate stress. Take tools, spare parts, r3v contacts.

Beautiful car - it'll be fun!

[TFJR]

After having purchased many cars sight unseen and driven them long distances myself. Drive it.
This includes an E30 that I bought in utah, installed an unknown transmission into, and drove back to Wisconsin the next day.

I just looked through some of the pictures on your thread. Very inspirational stuff! Looks like the experience of a lifetime.

[TFJR]

as long as basic maint has been done ie. water pump, belt etc it shouldn't be an issue. I've driven my iX all over the country with no problems. I say road trip it!

Water pump, timing belt, cam seals, oil pan gasket and valve cover gaskets were all addressed when I had the head gasket done.

I'm most worried about breaking down in the middle of nowhere with nothing around for miles in the winter. Not a great thought.

I love road trips (I drove a big UHAUL from Atlanta, GA to Portland, OR) and drove from Portland, OR to Chicago once before as well. I guess I'm just skeptical to drive a 25 year old car that far that I've only put 1,200 miles on myself.

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

[TurboJake]

After having purchased many cars sight unseen and driven them long distances myself. Drive it.
This includes an E30 that I bought in utah, installed an unknown transmission into, and drove back to Wisconsin the next day.

[aaron325ix]

as long as basic maint has been done ie. water pump, belt etc it shouldn't be an issue. I've driven my iX all over the country with no problems. I say road trip it!