Moving Dilemma

[Pigs]

So, I have an '87 vert in pretty decent condition. It's not perfect by any means, but it runs great, has a good body (very few dings), and has lived most of its life in rust-free California until I bought it a year ago and brought it over the border to NV.

Now the problem: I received a job offer which will likely take me across the country. The company I am going to work for won't pay for the move and I can't afford to have it shipped.

I would like to keep the car, but I'm not sure if it's worth bringing across the country to a location that will put it in danger of rust. What do you think?

Should I just sell it here before I go? It will be sad to part with the machine. I managed to find it at a steal for $750 and put some money and work into it to make it drive-able and reliable. I fear I won't ever find such a deal again.

[2mAn]

Wheres the new job, is it somewhere youd want a convertible? If it is, then drive that b!tch across the country. If not, sell it or trade it here for a rust free E30 and take that instead...

[TobyB]

Road trip!

I'd keep it- there are few E30's left on the rust coast, and as a 'vert, you can justify parking it for 4 months out of the year.

Whut I'd do,
t

[psmura]

Keep it!

Rent a U-Haul truck and car trailer. Pull the e30 with the trailer, should be a fairly easy tow.

The e30 may be worth more on the East Coast in the event that you do want to sell in the future.

It is also untrue that the Rust coast has very few e30s. Sure many of them were run in the winter and obviously have rust which will be very noticeable. There are more people then you think that store cars each and every winter and keep rust free examples.

[Rusty.Piranha]

Show us pictures of your convertible!

[MR E30 325is]

I too vote for keeping it.

Roadtrips are always worth the memories they create.

[Pigs]

I definitely like the idea of keeping it. I've owned various older cars, and I must say I haven't liked any of them as much as this one. I'm still torn though.

I could also store it for about a year. In a year I'll be in a much better position to move it 2,500 miles.

I attached a picture for you guys. It's a work in progress, but it's also my daily right now (you all know the struggle :p).

[cheffy30]

dude... drive the car. keep the car. find a garage. it's better to burn out than it is to rust.

[superj]

pay some college kid to drive it behind you and then send him home on a bus. you might even find people willing to do that on craigslist. I have seen people offering that service so they can see other areas of the country

[Mwishlist]

Keep it. Unless you are moving to an island or a salt mine, it's going to take a long time for rust to strike a really clean car, especially a convertible which you probably aren't going to drive in really bad weather anyway.

Maybe if it were an investment car or something, but if you like it; keep it and drive the hell out of it.

[roguetoaster]

It takes at least 5 years of winter driving a nice E30 for even the smallest bit of real rust to start to show, and even then with regular (yearly) winter prep (undercoating/paint/Fluid Film) and cleaning/waxing the car will be fine, even if parked outside on a road that gets salted. Ask me how I know.

[dnguyen1963]

If the car runs great then driving it cross country should be just fine. Just pack tools and a floor jack along...think about the experience! I drive my vert year-round through snow and ice for many years. Take care of the underneath in springtime and you'll have no worry about rust.

[superj]

another thing to think about, its way easier to replace furniture and tvs than a clean e30. so you can sell everything off but the necessities and drive it across America by packing the trunk and putting stuff in the back seat. than it will save you from having to rent a truck and you will get great gas mileage.

its not a long trip. it takes about 2.5 days to go from where I live in south texas to Disneyland, and that is sleeping at night at taking breaks to sight see. and its the same going from my house to camp lejuene north Carolina. same deal, stopping to get a hotel at night and during the drive to see things and eat.

and it would probably be faster to go straight across because I live at the bottom of texas so its 8 hours to new mexico and 6 hours to Louisiana for me.

[Das Delfin]

Keep it.. there are plenty e30's out here on the east coast, and plenty people who know how to weld and do body work. I've driven my '87 from CT to SF and back without an issue. Pack all your tools and a floor jack in the trunk just in case and do some preventative maintenance. Once you're out here buy a subaru for the winter - there's plenty of them as well

if you were planning on renting a uhaul to move furniture anyway, add on a trailer and load the car up. There are plenty of people who do just that

[Pigs]

Yeah, I think it's settled. I'm most likely going to keep it. If nothing else, I'll store it here for a while until I have the time to drive it across the country.

You definitely have a good point about the furniture and other items. It's true, those are much easier to replace than a good e30. I was planning on getting rid of my furniture anyway.