Opinions Needed: Sell it or drive x-country
 

I've moved out to California from NYC area and left my 1987 300TDT in the Catskills, where it has been sitting for the better part of 5 months with a dead battery and most likely covered in three feet of snow.

I was planning on moving back to NYC but my consulting job is going to become permanent so I need something other than a motorcycle to drive because of the constant fog and rain around San Fran.

Money is an issue unfortunately, so buying a used car means I would have to sell my beloved 300TDT. However, I can hardly sell it unless I get it running again and take photo's of it. Doubt it's really worth much anyway, maybe $3000 if I'm lucky.

The car is in decent condition, probably has about 280,000 - 290,000 miles on it, odo broke a bit ago. The exterior is not great, lots of dings from parking in and around the city but in general it's in good shape and the engine is strong.

I'm currently living at my brothers place and he has 400 gallons of veggie oil I can have. Therefore if I get it out here, I can do a veggie conversion and hopefully not have to pay $4.50/gallon.

So my questions is what should I do? I have a return flight that I need to use. I figure it will cost me about $500-$600 to get across the country in roughly a weeks time with gas,oil, food and any hiccups along the way. Plan on sleeping in the car and driving about 10-12 hours/day.

To have it sent via auto trucking company will cost about $1,200 and I don't see the point in that.

Nobody is around where the car is to take pictures for me, it's in the woods by friends house who will not be there until the summer.

So what do you all think? Try and get the old girl back under my wings on the west coast or just wait and try to sell it somehow?

Thanks in advance for your opinions, really not sure what to do.

you made all the arguments for us! :D

you have a return flight.
you know the car runs.
It would be a much bigger hassle to try and sell it 3500 miles away
it would be more expensive to try and ship it.
It could probably really benefit from the CA climate.

I say get ready for a nice road trip!

X2

+1

If the car runs and you are reasonably handy with car then I would go for it. My daughter just did a round trip from SF to San Diego during spring break in a 83 300D with 340K. She did about 1.2K miles with the run around in SD. It is her daily driver and she loves it. I did a PM on the car with oil, fuel filters change, diesel purge, check tranny fluid etc before she left. I also put the car on a ramp and found one of the CV boot has splitted. I did not have time to fix it so I just duck-taped it and wait until summer when she is home.

I believe most cars in reasonable shape can do 2-3K miles without issues. Just fire her up and do a PM and you would be on your way.

Good luck.

Be ready for a fuel filter change or two, just in case. I'm along the way, make it this far and I have tools, 10 minutes off of I-80/90.

It would be a shame to leave behind. If it's rust-free, it'll be worth more and easier to sell on the left coast than where it is.

bring it back with you. You know the car. you know what work you have and hell, it's a sweet car. I vote for keeping it

It also will be a great vehicle for moving any items you have remaining in NY.

Id probably keep it and enjoy the trip. However, you may have a good opportunity to move up in niceness for not a lot of money. A little patience will find you a nice diesel out in CA.

Road trip!

depending on the "dings" it could be worth it to road trip her.
before you do, you might wanna scour the want ads for a replacement vehicle. left coast beasts are plentifull, and prime. likely, yours has rust in the usual spots, and will not survive much longer, so selling it to someone willing to clean it up and treat and repair the rust that's there should be worth it.
I figure it's likely worth in the 18-3500 range where it is, and if the rust is not bad, or not present at all, she should sell easily.
at 300K there are a lot of things to go wrong on a long mountain trip, and PM could cost 1-2K... cooling system, vacuum pump, brakes, flex discs, timing chain etc...
I think I'd get my friend to photograph it, and put it up for sale, here, and on craigslist etc. pocket the money, and buy a better example locally to you.

sell it to me, sell it to me :cool:

I would sell it as is, where is.

I might be inclined to drive it, if I thought it was mechanically capable of making it. If I were going to sell it, I'd definitely sell it for what it is, as is, rather than messing with it. If "getting it running again" is as simple as fluid changes and battery charge, then go for it. If it's in need of repairing, you'll never recoup your costs.

I have to respond to one specific "other aspect" of your plan though. 400 gallons of veggie oil @ 25mpg = 10,000 miles of driving. Optimistically. Depending on the cost of your "conversion", 10,000 miles is likely just a "drop in the ocean" of the sum total of miles you'll be running the car. If you're proposing to get into the dumpster-diving business and running on veggie for the rest of the car's life, then this makes sense. Spending $1000 on a proper two-tank heated conversion (if you can do it for that) to drive 10,000 miles (about 6 months for me, your usage will vary) is hardly cost-effective or time-effective.

For the last comment I'd make, if you're serious about sleeping in the car, try to at least find a semi-safe place to do it, and yet one where the police won't object to your presence. If it was me I think I'd probably spend the nights in the cheapest drive-up motels I could find, on the grounds that no matter how unpleasant they were, it would still be a better night's sleep than I could get in the car, leading to safer driving conditions. You'd also have a bathroom, a shower, a little insulation from people walking up and trying to rob you as you sleep, etc. Remember how long a day that many hours on the road is. Good luck to you however you do it.

If the car is decent and trustworthy, you know the car, and you want an '87 300TD it will be hard to replace.

Seems that the cars are (fairly) plentiful, but as the craigslist and ebay threads tend to show, they mostly need considerable work to make them right (which is why they are for sale).

I looked for 2 years to find mine, and settled for a solid car that needed lots of details and repairs. I was not interested in a white one which narrowed the field (355 dealers and they each had a white one for service), as did my aversion to anything that has been driven in winter/salt.

Even a handful of the normal repairs; suspension spheres, fluid changes, tires, suspension links and bushings et al, can quickly add up to $1000-$2000 or more for hidden problems. At 25years old, you're better off IMO sticking with a car that you know unless it is one of the troubled ones.

Also, if you need to hit the ground running with your replacement car, and sell the one in NY as-is, plan on losing most of its value in a non-running car, and for $2k or so you'll be buying someone else's troubles.

Better be sure of the condition before you road trip. You have little bargaining power when stuck on the side of the road and hotel/repair bills can eat up any savings. Not having it running is a problem & will reduce the price. Many times, your first loss is your best & cheapest loss.

It comes down to choice. Do you want to road trip? Go for it but don't think it is an economic decision. I always use the excuse "because my wife is cooking chicken soup" when I want to do something. One excuse is as good as another.

Logic and facts will dictate one thing. If you want a trip, cook some soup.