Mine has some 214,000 miles on it. I recently had my transmission rebuilt.
I was thinking about moving from the West Coast to the East Coast, but do not know if mine can make it.
What do you say?
My engine was alos rebuilt in 2001, and to the bets of my knoweldge everythign else works. However there is no guarantee that something else would not brake down.
If you were me what would you do? Would you ship the car, fly or take a risk and drive it?
John
Automatic or stick?
Depends on the tranny I'd bet. If it was a good rebuild, you're fine. If the car doesn't eat much oil, you're fine.
I've done 6000 miles in 6 days in a 1989 Sentra - As long as it is taken care of properly, it'll go to a million miles unless it rusts out.
The cost of an emergency repair is aproximately equal to the cost of shipping the cfar and transporting yourself. Take the chance and drive. Just drive smart and check the fluids, etc.
Remember that the 1987-1989 (I'm not sure when the engine changed actually, might be more years in there) models all had a faulty coolant sensor set-up. They would read a nice cool engine if your anti-freeze was low and then you'd kill the engine due to lack of water-based coolant. Check that radiiator!
Drive it. If it dies, junk it or fix it and hop on a plane from wherever or even Greyhound / Trailways / Amtrak.
"Bible John" - have some faith in that ole car!
Automatic
It eats oil, brake fluid and Power steering fluid. Before the trip (if I can get a refund on my airline that is) I'll go to Walmart and buy extra supplies
The goal is to save money. I only have $1100 in my savings and will have about $600 in my checkings. However I've got a large CC limit, but I hate using it.
The plane ride was $540 and shipping will be about $900.
Considering the price of gas, the depreciation caused by the mileage, the time, the tolls, the lodgings, etc, etc....... sell it for what ever you can get for it and buy a cheap flight online.
I may just ship it for $900. I've put allot of money into this car.
From your description of its condition, you can probably replace it with another one of comparable or better quality for $900 or less. Depreciation is certainly not an issue, it being 20 years old with 214,000 miles. I think you should just drive it. If it breaks down on the way, just walk away from it & buy another old junker when you get there.
I should have said wear and tear that leads to depreciation like tires, brakes, engine wear, etc. Spending $900 to ship a 87 Sentra with over
200k on the clock cross country is just freaking nuts regardless of how much money has been put into it. If the value is really there you will get it back when you sell it. If you can't get it back by selling it then it certainly is not worth the trouble of shipping or driving.
I have a 1987 carburated, 5 speed Sentra with 330,000 miles on it. Engine and trans are both all original - no rebuilds, in fact the head has never been off. It's driven daily, burns no oil and runs very well. Would I drive it across the country? Probably not. Not because I think the engine or trans is ready to blow up because I think they've got lots of life left in them. But I'd worry about other things going bad.
As it approached 300,000 miles things started breaking down. Over the next year it needed a distributor, front exhaust pipe, fuel pump, alternator and inner tie rod end. None was a particularly difficult repair but having any one of these crap out in the middle of West Armpit, Arkansas would quickly wipe out whatever you'd save by driving vice shipping. So if the peripherals are relatively new and the engine/trans are pretty fresh, then maybe you're OK. But I'd worry about some non-drivetrain breakdown. It might not be a big deal when you're home and can shop the auto parts houses for the best quality/ price and can fix it in your garage. It could be a nightmare if you're stranded in a hellhole someplace and at the mercy of some overall-wearing Neanderthal that likes a character out of the movie Deliverance. Good luck anyway you do it. Al
I agree with Al. I have a 92 Sentra SE-R I recently purchased to drive back and forth to work. It has 207K on it. Runs fine, engine strong, trans shifts well, but at a stop light last week I noticed steam from under the hood. The top of the radiator had cracked. Not sure if you have replaced your radiator but I was able to get one for $80 through a friend who could purchase it at wholesale. Prices I found on my own went from $140 to near $400. That $80 repair I was able to do myself. Think of what you would pay out on the road if the radiator started leaking . Probably the $400 for the radiator and a high labor rate to replace it. Plus towing.
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