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?
Flew as a family from Paris to Dusseldorf to pick a car after moving to the Paris suburbs, an used Audi A2 S-line with working OpenSky.
Then when we needed a bigger car for family adventures we flew together to Zurich to pick up a used Opel Zafira OPC.
I asked my wife where should we look next time we are thinking about changing cars and she suggested maybe Italy!
Why be simple and buy a car right here in France? Besides, it gives us an excuse for a long weekend family visit to an undiscovered city followed by a road trip!
Denver to Detroit for my ’05 GTO. It was definitely the right decision.
Lets see… I’ve flown the following to get cars:
The drive back from Denver was the only one of those that was a chore, and honestly if I were a bit older/not broke I would have made a better trip out of it instead of a 20 hour marathon back to the house.