I am just beginning to think about a cross country road trip, going from Florida to the west coast in spring. The eventual destination probably is Portland, OR. I will be driving alone. I expect that I will be staying in motels for most of the time, but will also stay with friends and family in various locations. I am not opposed to sleeping in my vehicle occasionally, but I am not a camper and am not really interested in staying in RV parks. I have tossed around ideas for various vehicles to drive, but have not settled on anything yet.
My budget could go as high as $30,000, but I wouldn't have a problem a with a reliable $5000 20-year old vehicle. I usually drive sedans and convertibles, and have never owned a van, SUV, RV or any kind of truck. My first thought was to buy a station wagon, maybe a BMW 3 Series, Mercedes E-Class, Cadillac CTS, or Buick TourX. All of these should be a pretty nice car for 400 or 500 mile days, and I could sleep in the back if necessary. The next obvious choice would be a van or SUV, but honestly I really don't know anything about them because I never wanted one and never paid any attention to them. This is where I could really use some help. If you were considering a van or SUV for a long trip, what would you buy?
I suppose that I could also consider a Class C motorhome, something like a Mercedes Sprinter or whatever. Would I hate driving something like this for a month or more?
I guess my chief consideration is comfort for long haul drives. Fuel economy is something to think about, and I would buy a diesel, hybrid or plug-in hybrid if it makes more sense than a typical gas-powered vehicle. Another thing that I thought about is the possibility of selling the vehicle on the west coast and flying home. Is there anything that you can think of that would be easy to sell quickly? I bet an AWD wagon would sell quickly in the northwest.
My brothers on the west coast do this kind of travel frequently. They both leave their wives at home and go wherever they want for a month or more. One drives a relatively new Honda Civic and the other drives an old VW Eurovan. I suppose I could imagine a Eurovan for short trips, but not for something like this.
If you were going to plan a trip like this, would would you drive? What ideas do you have that I should consider?
My budget could go as high as $30,000, but I wouldn't have a problem a with a reliable $5000 20-year old vehicle. I usually drive sedans and convertibles, and have never owned a van, SUV, RV or any kind of truck. My first thought was to buy a station wagon, maybe a BMW 3 Series, Mercedes E-Class, Cadillac CTS, or Buick TourX. All of these should be a pretty nice car for 400 or 500 mile days, and I could sleep in the back if necessary. The next obvious choice would be a van or SUV, but honestly I really don't know anything about them because I never wanted one and never paid any attention to them. This is where I could really use some help. If you were considering a van or SUV for a long trip, what would you buy?
I suppose that I could also consider a Class C motorhome, something like a Mercedes Sprinter or whatever. Would I hate driving something like this for a month or more?
I guess my chief consideration is comfort for long haul drives. Fuel economy is something to think about, and I would buy a diesel, hybrid or plug-in hybrid if it makes more sense than a typical gas-powered vehicle. Another thing that I thought about is the possibility of selling the vehicle on the west coast and flying home. Is there anything that you can think of that would be easy to sell quickly? I bet an AWD wagon would sell quickly in the northwest.
My brothers on the west coast do this kind of travel frequently. They both leave their wives at home and go wherever they want for a month or more. One drives a relatively new Honda Civic and the other drives an old VW Eurovan. I suppose I could imagine a Eurovan for short trips, but not for something like this.
If you were going to plan a trip like this, would would you drive? What ideas do you have that I should consider?
