There’s a saying that ‘there’s a butt for every seat’ or something along those lines. Every car has at least one person who is madly in love with it, and that person may be willing to travel long and far to get that vehicle. How far would you travel to buy the right car? What travel antics would you go through for your unicorn?
One of the worst parts about living in the Midwest is that everything corrodes. Even brands known for longevity like Toyota cannot beat ol’ rust. This sucks for car enthusiasts because fan-favorite cars like Mazda Miatas and BMW E39 5 Series cars begin rotting out before you can get to them.
You’re left with two options: You can repair the rust or fly to a part of America that doesn’t know what snow is.
I’ve frequently chosen the latter option. I don’t mind buying beaters and daily drivers from the Midwest, but my forever cars come from the South and the West Coast. Most recently, I flew 1,200 miles south between hurricanes to buy a 2009 Smart Fortwo Passion Cabriolet. I then drove the car back home in the road trip of my dreams.
In 2021, Sheryl and I drove 1,200 south into Texas so I could buy my 2002 Nova Bus RTS-06. We then turned around and drove the bus and her car 1,200 miles back home.
Perhaps my most ambitious car purchasing trip thus far was when I flew out to Los Angeles, bought a brand new 2016 Smart Fortwo Edition #1, and then drove that back to my home in Illinois. It was a 2,200-mile trip that was supposed to take 31 hours. I cannonballed it in 36 hours, which is accounting for all fuel stops and even a nap.
That trip was rivaled only by the trip I took to pick up my Honda Best. I drove 2,200 miles to pick up the car before turning around and driving 2,200 miles back home. I’m not sure I have a limit to how far I’ll go for a cool car.
I don’t think I’m done yet. Next year, I want to fly out to Europe to drive an Audi A2 and perhaps some of the other cars I want to import.
What about you? How far and just how adventurous are you willing to go to get a sweet ride?
Most of my cars have been in-state purchases, but not all of them; the farthest in-state drive was to Petoskey from Dearborn Heights for my Miata (which is somehow rust-free), although I did go all the way to the Upper Peninsula for a free 1st-gen Insight, I guess that’s farther, but also, free.
Several have come from Ohio, including one of the first 3 Saabarus I owned, and the most expensive car I’ve ever bought, a 2017 Kia Forte5 SX. It was the closest blue one that had all the options I wanted.
I also picked up a SVT Focus-swapped 80s Fiesta from the east coast once, which I turned around and sold to a guy in Kentucky, and took it down to him as part of a car-swapping scheme with a guy in Ohio that wanted his Toyota Corona.
I’ve done two other east coast trips too, to pick up my Nissan Be-1 and Suzuki Alto Works from the port in Baltimore. Those cars have traveled the farthest, but most of the journey was on boat compared to the miles spent on my trailer.
I’ve also picked up GMC Envoy from California, but that was to bring stuff back here, so kind of doesn’t count.
About 375 miles is the furthest round trip I’ve done, and that was just one time and still in AZ. But then, nothing here rusts, so there is no real reason to go very far. I’ve never looked for anything so specific that I couldn’t find it in the state.
Based on this week’s antics, about 30 miles one way. If you total it up for trips to that dealer, it’ll be 180 miles worth of round trips.
2013 Civic SI Sedan W/Nav Just waiting for them to get the title from the trade-in payoff* before I can make the last trip to bring it home.
*Delaer took it in on Trade Friday night, and immediately posted it for sale. I saw it online at 10AM Saturday morning, was there by 11, and had put a deposit down by 12, they hadn’t even washed or inspected the car yet.
During Covid (May, 2020), I flew from PHX to OKC to buy one of 12 manual Volvo C30’s for sale at the time in the US.
This year, I bought a Ford Maverick used (the 5th one I tried to buy!) in NW Arkansas.
For the right car, I’d probably go as far as I needed to in the US, as long as it was a 1-way trip. If it was a non-runner, that is harder calculation.
I did close to 2K miles for my Road Runner.
Each way.
I’d consider two days of traveling, for the right purchase.
I have flown and drove back 3.5 hours. Spent more time at the dealer than all the traveling combined. They knew I was coming, picked me up at the airport and had the paperwork prepped. They ‘forgot’ to prep the car and absolutely would not let it off the lot without the window tint and pinstriping. I talked them into omitting (but I still pay for it) the pinstriping since it would have been after 8pm before their guy showed up to apply it, but the window tint was mandatory.
Really depends on the car. Was looking at a 1600 mile round trip for a car, but couldn’t verify it was the specific one I thought it was.
I would much rather spend a weekend driving than a lifetime fixing rust.
Being in the Chicago area, pretty much anywhere in the country is do-able for the right car. I have a truck and trailer which makes it easier to get questionable stuff home. The farthest I’ve gone for a car in a weekend is Oklahoma for a rust free car that was only moderately fire damaged.
Well, we picked up my grandfather’s 68 Beetle in Orlando—but trailered it back to Va, so that doesn’t count. I’ve done a couple 4-5 hour ones while playing Devil’s Advocate for my bil (we’d go along with the other to be the bad guy/point out flaws), but, I think I’ve only done an hour or a bit more to get & drive back one for me
I like the idea of flying out & driving back, but am at an age where the possibility of breakdowns loom less as an adventure and more a major pita to be avoided.
Depends on the car. If it’s a dream car, I’ll go anywhere in the US from Milwaukee. I almost got on a plane to Miami to buy a E34 540i/6 a few years ago, decided not to go through with it when the guy wouldn’t take any underbody photos. Would have been a nice casual 1500 miles home.
About 350 miles, so I can make the trip in 1 day.
The farthest I have driven is 500 miles. Did the round trip in one day starting at 4:30 am and getting home at 11:30 pm. It would have been much quicker if the new acquisition didn’t destroy its alternator belt, which required finding a parts store with one in stock before they all closed for New Year’s Eve.
The farthest I have flown is 1,300 miles and did the return trip over four days spread out with some stops along the way.
I always search nationwide. Finding the perfect example is far more important to me than finding something close. I love flying out and driving the car back, but I have also shipped previously. Longest drive picking up a car so far is about 2200 miles.
My most recent purchase saw me driving from Michigan to North Carolina to drive a 40 year old truck with unknown history back to Michigan over the course of a weekend. It’s what you have to do if you want to be free of the Midwest corrosion. The ones sold here came with the cab corners pre rusted.
I’m kinda hoping for my next purchase I can make a whole trip out of it, fly out to the west coast, grab the keys to a new to me car, hit the PCH then take a week to get back home with it. Maybe next spring/summer.
I don’t think I’ve ever travelled more than about an hour and a half to buy a vehicle, so I guess that’s my answer.
I flew from CVG to Wilmington, NC to buy the Beige Unicorn, (500 miles) got picked up at the airport and driven to Sneads Ferry, NC (42 miles), bought the truck and drove back to down town Wilmington for the night (56 miles), saw the USS North Carolina (7 miles), got to meet Torch and the Changli in Chapel Hill (161 miles), and drove home avoiding tolls (506 miles). Grand total of 1,272 miles travelled to get the truck.
I enjoy driving, so if I have to come from multiple states back home, it is worth it if the plane tickets are not too high.
Depends on the type of car. an NA/NB Miata, probably not more than 2-3 hours round trip, simply because they’re small and that amount of highway driving sounds terrifying. A kei class car of any kind? Same as NA/NB but only if I can avoid highways. Anything larger, highway capable, and safer, I wouldn’t put a limit on if it was the right car.
Haha that’s funny to me. I road tripped my first NA from Utah to North Carolina then to Alabama for a few weeks before then heading to Texas, and loved every minute of it. I was devastated that I couldn’t pick up the new one in person and drive it from Washington back to Virginia. I love the NA as a road trip car
I just get so nervous on the road being in something with the strength of a tin can, and being 1/3 the weight of most of traffic. As fun as a roundtrip in one sounds, the fear is too much for me. Also the NA I used to have had crank windows, inoperative AC and no Cruise Control, so would have been a fairly miserable road trip car. I’m sure a nicer and higher spec one would be excellent, especially with a hard top.
Mine had AC, but cranks, no cruise, and top down the whole way.
And the trucks and suvs are so high that a rear end crash will either break your back or decrapitate you…And that sucks.
# why we can’t have nice things.
Oh, well. I’m driving my little car if it kills me.
agreed.
Nah, in Texas I could look under most of them haha. They’d just sail right over my head.
I bought an ND RF Miata last December. Picked it up just outside Miami and drove it home to the Fairbanks area after shipping the summer tires/wheels home. I think it was about 5300 miles. It’s pretty small, but I made it work. For me, the journey is part of the experience.
Now that is awesome!
I’m both extremely envious and not at all. At the beginning of the summer I did ~5 hours straight in an ND2 Club soft top, and the Recaros in the package did not agree with my legs after about 2 hours. I’m 6’0″, and I needed to stop every hour and a half to avoid cramps.
I have yet to significantly sample non-recaro ND seats, so I may end up with a long-ish road trip in my future should the right ND1 pop up for sale. They really are just incredible machines.
Every body is different. For me, the Recaros were simply fantastic. I did several 1000+ mile days and felt great.
We’ve driven our 2015 Fit on eight 4-6K mile trips. It’s fabulous for it: carry the kitchen sink, carve the corners, conserve the gas.
They say it’s a city car…
I bought a car 1500 miles away, but I shipped it home. I was considering driving, but I didn’t have the time.
Im in a small town so I have to search 200 miles or so to find stuff in the nearest cities. I regret not going out to Palm Springs for a car last year which is only about 450 miles away. Im not looking for super rare unicorns though just german cars in shades of blue instead of bland greyscale.
You wouldn’t think there would be so much regional variation in the price of new cars, but sometimes its multiple thousands.
Where I live, I can get home from pretty much anywhere in the 48 in a weekend, so if the savings is more than a plane ticket + gas I’m going to at least think about it.
If I can fly out and then drive home, in one weekend, it works for me!
Have done that many times over the years.
So that’s around 2000 miles maximum, for both ways, in classic cars..
750mi is my record so far. Searched for many months for the right one. Had it 3 months and someone smashed it.
My dad had a Corolla with custom suspension, a custom sound system, and newly installed tires, got hit, and rolled like 3 times.
10 hours is probably my limit if I have to drive there and back. If I can fly there and drive back I’d go about anywhere. Living right in the damn middle of the country has some benefits I guess.
Replying to myself because there is an auction for a certain purple truck up in Minnesota, that I am keeping tabs on. That would probably be a fly and drive for me.
10K miles round trip for a wanted car.
Around the globe for the Holy Grail.
With a shrubbery in case a bribe is required…YMMV