Good Road-Trip Vehicle

[97gs500e]

I'm planning a road trip later this fall with two friends of mine.  The plan is to spend like 5 weeks on the road.  We wanna go to New York, Los Angeles, and yes, Mexico.  

Anyone have any good reccomendations on a good used vehicle I can get for under $3k which three people can comfortably sleep in?

I was thinkin an older VW Vanagon, an older chevy/gmc full size van, etc.  Anyone have any suggestions?

[Chris_B]

Id go for the VW, you can repair them with bubble gum!

[manofthefield]

I'd get a big old cadillac.  Convertible would be a huge bonus

[The Buddha]

Mexico ... no go to New Mexico Its cleaner than regular Mexico as you may have heard ...  :lol:  Yea By the same logic New York should be cleaner than York PA (or SC) ... Hey I didn't say it was perfect ...  :lol:
Cool.
Srinath.

[davipu]

sleeping inside is over rated,  I think your biggest concern is going to be fuel economy over sleeping inside.  something like a toyota corrola or a accord  whare you have one guy sleeping in the back. and the driver and the cd jockey.  you can get a good 4 man tent off ebay for 50 bones, some sleeping bags and your all set.   the other thing is reliablity your looking at putting about 7000 miles on this viecial  with minimal maintance.

[davipu]

or you could take bikes.....

[raylarrabee]

get a Pontiac Aztec...it looks like sh#t, but it turns into a tent

[RVertigo]

Just get something with AC and some leg room...  That should cover the basics.

I've been on road-trips in a lot of different cars, big and small...  AC!!!  AC!!!  AC!!!  Even the leg room is optional.

Pit funk can ruin a perfectly good road trip.

[Phaedrus]

sleeping inside is over rated,  I think your biggest concern is going to be fuel economy over sleeping inside.  something like a toyota corrola or a accord  whare you have one guy sleeping in the back. and the driver and the cd jockey.  you can get a good 4 man tent off ebay for 50 bones, some sleeping bags and your all set.   the other thing is reliablity your looking at putting about 7000 miles on this viecial  with minimal maintance.

I agree with davipu 100%.

With fuel prices around $2.50 a gallon in some places, you're going to want to make the most of every drop of gas you got. And you want something cheap and easy to fix. You don't want to be in East PoDunk with some obscure problem that you have to order a special part from a dealer to fix. I've heard somewhere VW's are a pain to work on but I haven't verified that or anything.  :dunno:

I know it sounds funny..but you know what is one of the cheapest and easiest cars I've had? Mopar K-car bodies, like the Reliant, Aries, 600, etc. You can pic them up crazy cheap (few hundred bucks) and put a few hundred bucks into it, and you can beat the hell outta them. I had one that had a seal leak, sometimes I'd run it without any oil at all..sometimes I'd put in gear oil..whatever..car was $150 and ran like a champ except for the oil leak. Prolly not what you have in mind, but if it is JUST for this trip, why not?  :dunno:

[97gs500e]

or you could take bikes.....

the other two guys don't have bikes, plus I don't wanna put that many miles on my own.

sleeping inside is over rated, I think your biggest concern is going to be fuel economy over sleeping inside. something like a toyota corrola or a accord whare you have one guy sleeping in the back. and the driver and the cd jockey. you can get a good 4 man tent off ebay for 50 bones, some sleeping bags and your all set. the other thing is reliablity your looking at putting about 7000 miles on this viecial with minimal maintance.

I have a corolla.   But its way too small.  We want a vehicle with space to put are stuff and to sleep.  Under three grand.  Gas mileage isn't such a bid deal though..

Get a Pontiac Aztec...it looks like sh#t, but it turns into a tent
 

come one, under three grand

[raylarrabee]

+1 on fuel efficiency.  You will enjoy the trip a LOT more if you get a fuel efficient car and camp/stay in hostels/find cheap hotels.  Sounds like you're talking about 6000+ miles of driving.

The national average for regular gas is currently $2.30/gallon.  
At 30 mpg (1995 Accord 4 cylinder), that means $460 in gas.  
At 20 mpg (1990 VW Vanagon 2WD), $690,
at 15 mpg (1990 Chevrolet van 2WD), $920...just for gas.

Take the extra $460 and turn that into the ability to sleep comfortably, shower, etc.  Sleeping in a van seems like a good idea untill you have to actually sleep in a van for a while.  You will be more comfortable in a decent tent.

[raylarrabee]

maybe a Chevy Caprice?  They are super roomy, and actually pretty good on the highway.  You're looking at like 26 mpg.  There are TONS of old Caprices hanging around, and you can get them dirt cheap.  The downside is that people will slow way down when you roll up behind them, because you'll look like a cop.

In the words of Elwood Blues,

It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?

[Destro]

There is a place across the Heart of America bridge (HWY 9) that sells old cop cars:  Crown Vics, and I think Caprices.  Might be worth your time to head up north and take a look!  :dunno:

[oppy00]

Have you thought of renting a mini-van?  If you could get some unlimited milege (sp) deal, that may be your cheapest option.  Not to mention it would be a new car and you get roadside service and all that junk.  Hell if you get the extra insurance you could stick dynamite in the tailpipe and the rental place will give you another car.  

Seriously, my former roommate took a family roadtrip to Mexico for like two weeks.  They rented a 15 passenger van with boogobs of insurance and only spent like $1k.

[raylarrabee]

you could rent a small RV, too--Roadrules style.

[Jazzzzz]

renting anything is out of the question if he's under 25 (and I'm guessing he is)

[The Buddha]

Surprising choice here from me ...
Get a Ovlov ... yea Ovlov ...
I just got a 740 Wagon from 1990. Of course we all know ... ugly as shaZam! ... yea no news there ... but its surprisingly powerful will wipe the floor with most cars - ever since that 12 year old chineese chick waxed me on the GS I wanted to try one ... and fold down 2nd row seats and 3rd row already in the floor ... drop it all and it sleeps 2 easy ... one more in the passenger seat, and Fuel economy ... 26-28 mpg if you stay out of the turbo much ... 20-21 with agressive driving ...
Now 740's are better than 60's or 50's ... 8 valve better than 16, and hell without a turbo the thing is a slug ... Its got adjustable valves like a GS. Shim on buckets too. The 1989 year saw some good changes that weren't negated till 1992 I believe. Of course the body is solid if hideously ugly, and the motor etc are easy to get to and work on. No tight packaging ... yea its like a freaking cardboard box ... tons of room in motor bay.
Cool.
Srinath.

[davipu]

or you could get a short bus roadtrip style.

[thirdman]

Click http://tinyurl.com/dfvbc  for a list of vw vans on ebay... 6 of which are going for under $3k.

[nathanael]

Surprising choice here from me ...
Get a Ovlov ... yea Ovlov ...

I'm gonna second the Volvo choice. I've had three different Volvo 240's, and a good friend of mine had a 740 that I drove around quite a bit. These cars are absolute tanks and will really take a beating. For example: completely running out of coolant, driving the car around quite a bit, overheating it, and it runs fine after that. Yes, they're ugly as hell, and the 240's aren't going to win any speed records (that's an understatement), but it will be a car you actually want to keep after the roadtrip. Parts are surprizing cheap too and you can usually find good stuff at a junkyard. The wagons are awesome, the back seat folds down and creates enough room to compete with a small pickup bed. My girlfriend and I slept back there comfortably before in her old wagon. Gas mileage is pretty good, you'll get 25-30 mph on the freeway and probably about 20-25 around town. Plus, you can easily find a 90-93 model for 3000 bucks or under. We just picked up a great running '91 for 1100 bucks! Okay, I admit it, I'm a Volvo fan.    :kiss: