I was really entertaining the idea of trying to drive Joe Gearin's Triumph home from Florida... and I went 600 miles for my truck. So, if I can fly and drive pretty much anyplace with roads or ferry boats but if I have to tow, it has to be cheaper than shipping.
Flew out to Austin once, bought sight-unseen and drove a '67 Imperial Crown Coupe back to Baltimore 1608 miles. Replaced the voltage regulator on the trip- that was all.
Also bought a '64 Corvair on eBay, flew out to Escondido, California and tried to drive it home. Made it all the way to Effingham, Illinois before the fan bearing flew off and the fan crashed into the shroud. I had it towed the 700 miles back to Baltimore, and got home myself the same way I'd gotten to California to pick up the car.
But if I have to tow it....I figure about 25 cents per mile just for the cost of fuel...figure that into the price of the car, plug that into a super-secret equation balancing how much I want the car, how rare it is, the odds of finding a better one locally, and (now that I'm married), the likelihood of spousal approval (or, the inverse of spousal disapproval)...
About 3 hours away, usually.
Generally for crap cans that I am just playing with I like to keep it within the AAA towing range (about 100 miles) But for new or rare cars there is no limit. It all comes down to want of the car versus the final cost in $$$ and time.
Of the 5 cars we have, 3 were purchased out of state. The Jeep and the Mustang racecar were local purchases. The P5 came from Alabama. The daily Mustang came from North Carolina. The Silverado came from Virginia.
Ha, my wife can't stand this stuff, she just can't wrap her head around it. Three of my last four cars came from out-of-state, and my Neon required a flight down and 14-hour overnight drive back. My Buell was a 1600+ mile round-trip...
Depends if I can drive it back or not. I have always wanted to buy a cali car, fly out there and drive it back to Detroit though. Make a vacation/experience out of it.
I have gotten lucky with my purchases being from the south and having the previous seller get them up here for me.
My 2011 trailer is from Florida, bought it 4 miles from my house near Detroit.
My 86 Rx7 is from SC, guy in Chi bought it and shipped it up before I bought it off him 2 years later (I lived near there at the time).
My 85 suburban was brought up from texas by my gf's dad and then sat around in their garage or barn for a while, they also did a motor and trans swap around that time then about 4 years later I bought it.
all rust free!
So far, the longest has been a 1700 mile round-trip for a very clean urQuattro, followed by a 750 mile round trip for a 4000 quattro, and a mere 200 mile round trip for a 200 quattro 20V Avant.
Only the 4000 was in Canada. For the other 2, US export quarantine period, import paperwork etc into Canada were needed. What does that add to the "distance" one is willing to travel for the right car?
It's been totally worth it in all cases.
My limit is 1k miles after that I will have it shipped. I would do longer for adventure not really just for the car.
Chris
I'm not willing to travel outside the state. I live in Colorado, to go to another state is a long distance/cost/time. Not only that, every time I've bought a car from another state I've gotten burned.
Unless I can lay my hands on it, look at it myself and have a shop I know and trust look at it, I'm not gonna bother.
The exception would be a brand new car at a dealer that has what I want and the local dealer doesn't.
docwyte wrote: I'm not willing to travel outside the state. I live in Colorado, to go to another state is a long distance/cost/time. Not only that, every time I've bought a car from another state I've gotten burned. Unless I can lay my hands on it, look at it myself and have a shop I know and trust look at it, I'm not gonna bother.
Note - in all cases that I've done distance buying, I still laid my hands on it, test drove, etc. before money changed hands.
I have done, and had plenty of fun with, long distance trips. But my real distance cap is one hour. I don't have a tow vehicle. I have to shop within a radius that I am sure I can arrange transportation to the new car. I've had to pass up a lot of great cars that are an hour and a half away because I can't arrange a ride to pick it up.
For instance, there was a gorgeous '89 Mustang GT convertible, priced right, beautiful beautiful, in the south Chicago suburbs. Two hours away. Couldn't make it happen.
Same thing with a not quite as gorgeous but cheaper SL500. An hour and a half away, didn't have a way down there, no public transportation, wasn't willing to tack on an extra hundred dollars for a cab/limo.
Last car I bought out of state was a '04 Audi S4 avant. Had it PPI'd, specifically asked the shop to check into paint and body damage. They said it was fine.
I bought a ticket, flew in, seller picked me up in the airport with the car. I walked around the back of the car and instantly noticed that the entire drivers 3rd quarter panel had been painted.
Completely wasted my time and money for the flight there. Seller didn't tell me, PPI shop didn't tell me about the paint work and it was obviously repainted. There was overspray on the rear windshield and the orange peel on the panel was obvious.
F that, I'm through with buying from out of state.
I'm 3 hours drive from Atlanta! 
That's where I picked up my FX16.
I flew from PA to TX to buy my truck, and drove it home. I wanted rust free, and the price was good, so even with travel expenses I was still a couple grand less than a comparable truck here in PA.
Plus its fun to see people trying to comprehend that you went halfway across the country to buy a truck.
When I picked it up in Texas, getting food and such for the ride home at Walmart.
docwyte wrote: Last car I bought out of state was a '04 Audi S4 avant. Had it Is, specifically asked the shop to check into paint and body damage. They said it was fine. I bought a ticket, flew in, seller picked me up in the airport with the car. I walked around the back of the car and instantly noticed that the entire drivers 3rd quarter panel had been painted. Completely wasted my time and money for the flight there. Seller didn't tell me, PPI shop didn't tell me about the paint work and it was *obviously* repainted. There was overspray on the rear windshield and the orange peel on the panel was obvious. F that, I'm through with buying from out of state.
I would have sent a bill to the shop that did the PPI for my expenses. especially if you got anything in writing from them with respect to the car.
Longest was a 4,000 mile round trip from Atlanta to Billings Mt.....straight thru. Left after work Friday night and was back at my desk Monday morning on time. Alot of Nodoz. I would not do it again.
My latest phurchase was brought to my house. But normally I will try to stay within a days travel.
When I was in College I bought a 1990 Ford Bronco EB (full size) with 250,000 miles on it (ebay). Drove out 11 hours with a friend in a rental car, picked it up and drove back. Craziest thing I ever did. Throwout bearing made noise the whole time. Made it home fine but that was a bit crazy.
I matured a little in the last 10 years but this summer I flew to Long Island from Nashville to pick up a 2005 Tahoe govt vehicle with 30,000 miles so a slightly more sane drive (12 hours) with a hotel stay in between.
Gasoline wrote: Longest was a 4,000 mile round trip from Atlanta to Billings Mt.....straight thru. Left after work Friday night and was back at my desk Monday morning on time. Alot of Nodoz. I would not do it again.
If I can discourage anyone to make a stupid retrieval trip; I'll add:
When my CC fuel bill came in, it was so big I had to make financial payments on it.
Friend at work said; Why is the side of my face red/bruised?....slapping myself hard! for 12+ hours to stay awake will do that. I kept a bruised face the whole week.
I slept on the back seat of the truck in Walmart parking lots for my trip. The cold acted as an alarm clock and got me going in the wee hours of the morning.
DILYSI Dave wrote: The P5 came from Alabama.
/thread hack
You have a P5? thread jack/
How far I would travel would depend on the car, the seller and if I was shopping or not.
Having a friend or family member on the other end makes the whole thing much, much easier. I bought my Saturn in GA and my Dad drove it up to MI for me. My brother just bought a Dakota up here in MI that I will be taking to Atlanta for him. Figure that one out, delivering a Craigslist find TO Atlanta. They are looking for a car for me to drive back up here.
93EXCivic wrote:DILYSI Dave wrote: The P5 came from Alabama./thread hack
Sorry. Protege5.
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