Road trip questions!
Discussion
Hi all
Long time reader, newbie poster.
need a bit of help! (reassurance)
I own a '99 1.8 sport Astra with 130k on clock. It's had fsh up to 110k then serviced by myself. No known faults
Question is, has anyone been as far as south of france etc in an 'old' car? Do i have anything to worry about?!?!
Used daily, I've been to cornwall and back in it no problems, as well as 300 mile + journeys here and there. I just need reassurance for a longer trip!
What checks should i do before i leave?
Apologies for all the questions!
Cheers
Long time reader, newbie poster.
need a bit of help! (reassurance)
I own a '99 1.8 sport Astra with 130k on clock. It's had fsh up to 110k then serviced by myself. No known faults
Question is, has anyone been as far as south of france etc in an 'old' car? Do i have anything to worry about?!?!
Used daily, I've been to cornwall and back in it no problems, as well as 300 mile + journeys here and there. I just need reassurance for a longer trip!
What checks should i do before i leave?
Apologies for all the questions!
Cheers
Engine wise the 1.8's go on for miles (x18xe for you I think)
My coupe track car has 144k on the clock and gets regular abuse with no problems (has the later Z18xe engine but they are the same engine just the Z has little more power)
Aslong as the Cambelt and tensioners are up to date they are fine.
I'm planning a trip to the 'ring in a few months and have had similar concerns, but hey ! just get Euro breakdown cover and you're sorted.
Aside from checking fluid levels there's not much more you can do to the car.....
HTH
My coupe track car has 144k on the clock and gets regular abuse with no problems (has the later Z18xe engine but they are the same engine just the Z has little more power)
Aslong as the Cambelt and tensioners are up to date they are fine.
I'm planning a trip to the 'ring in a few months and have had similar concerns, but hey ! just get Euro breakdown cover and you're sorted.
Aside from checking fluid levels there's not much more you can do to the car.....
HTH
You'll be fine!*
luckyg said:
Question is, has anyone been as far as south of france etc in an 'old' car?
I took my 1992 BMW E30 to Le Mans a few years back, 800mile round trip. Used to do Yeovil and back in a day 350miles. I used to do many 200-300 mile trips in a day when I was karting. A few hundred more shouldn't be a problem. I was thnking a while back to drive to southern Spain have a week down there and get the boat back. I wouldn't doubt that the car could have done it.
luckyg said:
Seems like I need to get some balls then.
Put it this way, how long have you owned it and how many miles has it done in that time and how many breakdowns have you had? It does not know its getting driven on the wrong side of the road. A sniff of garlic is not going to make it break down. Whats the worst that can happen? It does break down, you can't get a local garage to fix it so you get it trailered home. Big deal.
Just get the old European breakdown cover, and enjoy the trip. Make sure to insure the car an extra week in advance, so that if your does let you down prior to the trip, you can get the replacement vehicle in plenty of time to sort the changes to any paperwork.
As regards the mileage, well yes, sevice or un-serviced there is a chance of unreliability over a newer car, but look at it this way, are you expecting your car to run for say the next 6 months, ? Yes, well that'll be about 3K mileage minimum, so what's the problem with half that mileage to the S of F, just give the cooling system the once over, hoses etc. If you are really wanna be totally covered, and are a bit mechanical, do the old Caterham trick, and fit a manual overide switch to the cooling fan, so you can turn it on remotely, rather than wait for the thermostat to kick in, always helpful in hot town driving.
As regards the mileage, well yes, sevice or un-serviced there is a chance of unreliability over a newer car, but look at it this way, are you expecting your car to run for say the next 6 months, ? Yes, well that'll be about 3K mileage minimum, so what's the problem with half that mileage to the S of F, just give the cooling system the once over, hoses etc. If you are really wanna be totally covered, and are a bit mechanical, do the old Caterham trick, and fit a manual overide switch to the cooling fan, so you can turn it on remotely, rather than wait for the thermostat to kick in, always helpful in hot town driving.
I've gone from Devon to Morocco in a '64 Ford Consul Capri, a '92 Daimler XJ40, an '89 Discovery 200tdi, and an Eriba campervan based on a Renualt Traffic from '95ish with no trouble. They all came back too (except the Disco, which was sold in Mauritania) so you should have no problems. The south of France is easy-& fun :-)
Go for it, you should enjoy it.
I would say for you enjoy it more, if said old Astra has cruise control.
or retro fit one?
I would set the cruise for about 65mph.
The Astra should be more than relaible at that speed, and your fuel bill should be under control also.
I am planning for this over 6 weeks in summer.
Around 6,500 miles, towing a 25 foot twin axle caravan.
Almost a good circle of mainland Europe.
Dover
Dunkerque, France
Paris
Strasbourg
Basel
Bern
Montreux
Martigne
Charmonix (Mt Blanc tunnel) come out at Courmeyer (sp)
Brindisi, Italy
Napoli, Italy
Rome, Italy
Marseille, France
Barcelona, Spain
Malaga, Spain
Faro, Portugal
Porto, Portugal
Coruña del Conde, Spain
San Sebastian, Spain
Bordeaux, France
Le Mans, France
Dunkerque, France
Dover.
The big cost for me aswell as the inevitable diesel, is the tolls.
I will try avoid many tolls, but some really just need paying, as the alternative is just crazy.
'vette
I would say for you enjoy it more, if said old Astra has cruise control.
or retro fit one?
I would set the cruise for about 65mph.
The Astra should be more than relaible at that speed, and your fuel bill should be under control also.
I am planning for this over 6 weeks in summer.
Around 6,500 miles, towing a 25 foot twin axle caravan.
Almost a good circle of mainland Europe.
Dover
Dunkerque, France
Paris
Strasbourg
Basel
Bern
Montreux
Martigne
Charmonix (Mt Blanc tunnel) come out at Courmeyer (sp)
Brindisi, Italy
Napoli, Italy
Rome, Italy
Marseille, France
Barcelona, Spain
Malaga, Spain
Faro, Portugal
Porto, Portugal
Coruña del Conde, Spain
San Sebastian, Spain
Bordeaux, France
Le Mans, France
Dunkerque, France
Dover.
The big cost for me aswell as the inevitable diesel, is the tolls.
I will try avoid many tolls, but some really just need paying, as the alternative is just crazy.
'vette
When I was 18, my car was off the road with a blown engine. Despite being brand new I couldn't get a courtesy car so I bought a knackered feeling cavalier turbo for £200. It was ropey, it stunk of burnt oil, every gasket it had leaked but otherwise it was fine 
I got a call at 1AM or thereabouts from a mate asking what I was doing and would I pick him up. Gladly obliged, picked him up and we decided to do something. I was thinking McDonalds drive through, he suggested France. We got to Buckingham Palace by sunrise, then onto Dover, as you do
Long story short france turned into Germany, Germany turned into Italy. 36 hours without sleep and we'd got to rome, stayed at my sisters (we turned up out of the blue, to say she was shocked is somewhat of an understatement) then drove home.
It was probably the most memorable road trip of my life, great fun. I drive to the south of france at least once a year, and while it's always fun, it's never matched that trip!
I got a call at 1AM or thereabouts from a mate asking what I was doing and would I pick him up. Gladly obliged, picked him up and we decided to do something. I was thinking McDonalds drive through, he suggested France. We got to Buckingham Palace by sunrise, then onto Dover, as you do Long story short france turned into Germany, Germany turned into Italy. 36 hours without sleep and we'd got to rome, stayed at my sisters (we turned up out of the blue, to say she was shocked is somewhat of an understatement) then drove home.
It was probably the most memorable road trip of my life, great fun. I drive to the south of france at least once a year, and while it's always fun, it's never matched that trip!
Every second year the Le Mans Classic is held, lots of very old bits of kit make it down and back *. You will be fine. Check that the cooling is all topped up as there are some big jams at times as every one heads south, but you can get stuck in traffic in the UK too.
* but quite a few guys seam to turn up in new French registered Corsa’s
* but quite a few guys seam to turn up in new French registered Corsa’s
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