California road trip/adventure: Car suggestions and advice needed

My daughter and I have a summer road trip tradition. We live in SoFla. A 2 week tour of California is our summer destination. My original thought was to fly out, and rent a really cool car. My daughter really loves cars... However, she's 18 and couldn't legally drive any rental I might get...

Second option would be to drive my FRS out there. That adds almost 6000 miles to my odo, and takes at least 4 days out of the Cali tour...

Third option, ala Top Gear Challenge, would be to fly out and buy a car in LA. $4500 budget. Drive it around California and at the end, either sell it, ship it or drive it home. Car has to be cool, fun to drive and reliable, I don't want to spend the trip working on the car. My initial thoughts were E21, E30, NA Miata. An early Toyota 4x4 pickup or 4Runner works for me, but I'm not sure about her. An MR2 would also work.

Thought or suggestions? Is this completely mad?

So mad it's AWESOME!

Option 3 obviously. Buy an old MB! Can you find a decent air-cooled VW for that money?

Maybe a later Chrysler convertible? Boring but fun at the same time. After all its about you and your daughter, not the car (kinda)!

Take your time and not be rushed for the purchase when you arrive in LA but rather, buy a sub $5k car in FL. Have the time to sort out the car. Drive that car to CA and back, adding 6k miles and then resell at your leisure and for best price in FL.
What does the daughter daily drive currently?
Could this vacation car become her daily?

Or, drive FL car to and around CA. Sell the car in CA and fly back.
Edit: may be easier to sell in Vegas and avoid the whole CA emissions thing.

I would fly into San Fran - Do all the sights and drive PCH to LA and do all the sights and fly out of LAX.

We did this 10 years ago and rented an Impala since it was 4 of us. We enjoyed a fun, worry free vacation. We drove the PCH from the SF wharf all the way past Seal Beach. There was so much to do and I wanted to just enjoy the trip with the family.

She drives a Scion TC, so she has a nice daily driver. She has tracked my FRS.

The buy here and prep has an obvious advantage, but I still lose 4+ days out of the tour and some of that Top Gear Challenge adventure.

I would want a car with AC so that leaves out air cooled VW's. Although a first gen GTI would be awesome! A convertible would be cool, but adds a bunch of things to go wrong, unless it's a Miata...

although I do have a dream to get my kid in Irvine to drop off a deposit and I fly in and drive back - stupid job cuts into my personal life.

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/4250261144.html

Datsun310Guy wrote: I would fly into San Fran - Do all the sights and drive PCH to LA and do all the sights and fly out of LAX. We did this 10 years ago and rented an Impala since it was 4 of us. We enjoyed a fun, worry free vacation. We drove the PCH from the SF wharf all the way past Seal Beach. There was so much to do and I wanted to just enjoy the trip with the family.

Well, she wants to drive and a rental won't allow that. We have two weeks and we plan to fly into LAX, drive up the coast to San Fransisco, head east to Yosemite and down the eastern side of California to Palm Springs. Then to San Diego and back to LA.

Buy an old Country Squire wagon or similar car in Vegas and do it like they did in the 60's and 70's. Bring your PIC-IN-IC BASKET Yogi!

In reply to Datsun310Guy:

I love the 240z cars. I'm not sure that I would risk a road trip around California in one though. My only experience with them was my brother's car which had so much rust in it you felt like Fred Flintstone, and that was 20 years ago... But maybe I should through them into the pot for consideration.

South Florida isn't as great for older cars as people think. We don't have snow, but we have salt in the air, heat and humidity. Not a great combination.

WWJD?

(What would JThw8 do?)

Problem with LA is due to the huge population, prices are relatively high on most anything that is not an eyesore and is reliable enough to cross the Sierra Nevadas and Mojave Desert in the summertime...

... unless you look for a Camaro or Mustang from the late 78-85 era. A smog-chocked 79 Z28 can be found anywhere on the cheap, and I think every one of them that was sold in SoCal came with T-tops, which would only be useful on such a road trip.

Rent a convertible Mustang and enjoy the scenery. You don't want to spend your vacation dealing with someone else's deferred maintenance. Especially with your kid around.

I recently drove a NA Miata across the country I purchased in SF and it was fantastic. There are usually many Miatas for sale in the Bay Area and most are below your budget (mine was 2800$). I thought about a E30 3 series but worried about maintenance costs if it broke down. The Miata will be reliable, fun (especially on the PCH) and get good gas mileage. I saw 33mpg most of our trip.

I think the problem might be selling it when you're done, that could take a week or so. And then you're stuck hanging out in your final destination with nowhere to put a car that you're trying to sell. Unless you have friends or relatives in that location...

Trying to quickly buy and sell a car on a tight schedule doesn't sound like a great plan here. Adding in hassle of plates, insurance, etc. You could end up selling at a huge loss. Do you know anyone in Cali / Vegas who can shop-prep-sell something for you? Ship one of your cars out then drive it back?

In reply to Gearheadotaku:

Not anyone close enough to put that responsibility on.

maj75 wrote: In reply to Datsun310Guy: I love the 240z cars. I'm not sure that I would risk a road trip around California in one though. My only experience with them was my brother's car which had so much rust in it you felt like Fred Flintstone, and that was 20 years ago... But maybe I should through them into the pot for consideration.

You can find Z cars for that sort of money out here that aren't Flintstone mobiles and are running and driving. Prices on those have increased considerably though and your budget is very much at the lower end - nice ones go for 2-3 times your budget.

If you can live with one with a sun-destroyed interior, you have a chance but it'll take a few weeks to find one.

I kinda like CyberEric's idea of a Miata. Your budget should buy you a reasonably decent car out here, plus they're fairly plentiful at least within my "shopping area" (between Northern NV and San Francisco).

Compared to, say, Atlanta, this area isn't that cheap to buy a car in. LA is cheaper, but it depends if you're willing to drive around for a few days looking at junk.

JohnRW1621 wrote: ack. Edit: may be easier to sell in Vegas and avoid the whole CA emissions thing.

Vegas has emissions, to. Not sure how they compare to CA though as I live in the "emissions free" part of NV - only the Reno and Vegas areas require emissions testing.

Miata is the easiest and most obvious choice. I've owned a few Miata and I don't really want to keep another. As for selling, I was thinking about finding a consignment lot. I hadn't thought about getting a plate.

I wouldn't register it in California, I don't live there. Anybody have experience with buying a car in Cali and getting a temp registration/plate? I can call my agent and get coverage.

I'm leaning towards an E30 or e36 convertible. I'm familiar with the E36 as I'm building an E36 M3 track car. If I found a clean one, I'd probably keep the convertible and either ship it or drive it back to Fl.

In CA, you have thirty days to re-register the car. Unless the seller has a personalized plate on the car s/he wants to keep, the plate stays on the car so you don't need a temp tag. Just make sure to buy something that has a reasonable amount of registration left. It's the seller's responsibility to smog a car in CA, so IME anything that's advertised as "buyer smogs" is usually advertised like that for a reason. You don't want that sort of hassle.

We often buy vehicles in CA (selection is much better than here) and just drive them home on the CA plates. I usually re-register them fairly quickly as they try to crack down on out of state registered cars owned by NV residents, but that shouldn't be a problem for you at all. I've certainly driven around for a few weeks on CA plates.

Your budget should buy you a non-M3 E36 convertible, but it'll require some shopping. Prices for those are all over the map. I've seen them right now for under $4.5k with a hardtop, but I have no idea how much deferred maintenance was included for free.

BTW, Toyota 4x4 trucks and 4Runners are stupidly expensive/valuable out here. If you're in a hurry I'd skip those.

You might also find some decent condition old J-Tin down in LA (70s Toyotas/Datsuns/Mazdas, rust free AE86s and the like). If that would be something you'd like, definitely shop in LA, not in Norcal.

maj75 wrote: We have two weeks and we plan to fly into LAX, drive up the coast to San Fransisco, head east to Yosemite and down the eastern side of California to Palm Springs. Then to San Diego and back to LA.

One suggestion... do this trip in the opposite direction: North up the East Side, and down along the Coast.

Reason being is that while you are trying to see the coastline, heading north would give you great views of guardrails and opposing traffic to your left. Heading south puts the scenery to your right with less obstructions.

In reply to Flyin Mikey J:

Great idea! Hadn't thought of that.

I know Miatas pretty well so if you go for a Miata, I'm in the SF Bay area and can probably help either look at a car and buy for the start of your trip or sell it at the end of it.

I remember being able to rent a car when I was under 21. I am not sure if it was Budget or not, but there is a rental car co. that will rent for an extra fee.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/4282622714.html

Boom.