This can be an expensive hobby with both time and $$$$. I would be prepared to walk away even with the sunk cost of a one way airline ticket.
Flyin to indi for a cruiser
- Thread starter southerndisco
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A used Corolla with a couple hundred thousand miles is a serious life hack. Buy it for $3000, drive it for 100k, sell it for what you paid plus inflation.
This is what we did and it allowed us to pay off school loans. Only remaining debt is some mortgage and I attribute that to never having made a vehicle payment in my (or my wife's) life.
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Focus on school. When you get out, find a good job. Then you'll have discretionary income to spend 3-5k per month for at least 6 months on a 20 year old vehicle that cost $115,000 in today's money. That's about what it takes to get one of these where it needs to be.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
It's the time required to maintain and repair that is often overlooked.
Just time spent sourcing parts adds up, let alone doing the work. And down time on the vehicle when you need transport.
Honestly, an 80 isn't a good fit for a tight budget.
There's no such thing as a cheap one.
Either pay a lot for a nice one, or pay a little for a nasty one, and pay for all the deferred maintenance later.
Drive it home. You'll be fine. I just made a similar trip from CA to TN. All lithium batteries need to be carry-on. I did a carry-on with 4 battery banks, and a NOCO 10 battery jumper. The limits that they put on the Li-ion battery size is way over what a jump box and battery banks were for me.
I bought a 19 year old Highlander, (2005), and was worried like you, being far away from home, "what if 'X' happens in the middle of the Mojave???" I took my son (11), and my dad (71) and we got in the questionable Highlander, bought pretty much sight unseen, and drove it 2600 miles back home without issue. Everyone's risk-aversion limit is different. I tend to lean into adventure at the risk of failure, just because. An 80 series, even if improperly taken care of, is, most of the time, just fine. Look for the telltale signs of coolant leak(s), but other than that, these are pretty robust to take anywhere in any condition. Especially if unmodified. I also just recently went with a friend who bought an 80 series 4 hours away from us. It had a lot of things that had been neglected, coolant hoses and leaking radiator included. I just monitored temps and kept on truckin'. No issues. YMMV, but you aren't in the middle of nowhere on the way home. Embrace the adventure and just have fun!
I bought a 19 year old Highlander, (2005), and was worried like you, being far away from home, "what if 'X' happens in the middle of the Mojave???" I took my son (11), and my dad (71) and we got in the questionable Highlander, bought pretty much sight unseen, and drove it 2600 miles back home without issue. Everyone's risk-aversion limit is different. I tend to lean into adventure at the risk of failure, just because. An 80 series, even if improperly taken care of, is, most of the time, just fine. Look for the telltale signs of coolant leak(s), but other than that, these are pretty robust to take anywhere in any condition. Especially if unmodified. I also just recently went with a friend who bought an 80 series 4 hours away from us. It had a lot of things that had been neglected, coolant hoses and leaking radiator included. I just monitored temps and kept on truckin'. No issues. YMMV, but you aren't in the middle of nowhere on the way home. Embrace the adventure and just have fun!
I've exclusively driven, and done all of the maintenance work on, "hobby" vehicles my whole life and it can be done on a relatively small budget if you are resourceful. The experience brings intangible, or less obvious, positives but motivation / enthusiasm for the vehicle can really help weather the rough periods of ownership. A big cost with going this direction, beyond the financial, is time. If you go the 80 route there are going to be times when you are either working on, or working to pay for, the vehicle at the expense of spending times doing other things you'd probably rather be doing. Conversely there may be trips you don't take, etc. while the vehicle is down for repairs. A key for how I made this work through college was that I always lived where I could use a bicycle or walking for daily transportation needs which took the pressure off of the older vehicle I owned at the time. When exam season hits for instance, you don't want to be worrying about your car.
College is a brief period that is uniquely full of opportunities for interesting ways to spend your time so be realistic about what impact an 80 may have on your life.
I personally wouldn't fly to purchase any vehicle as it really limits your ability to negotiate or walk away from the purchase. I live a short distance North of you and this is a great area to purchase 80s in. I shopped for my 80 for a few years while living further North and it wasn't until moving to this area that I could find one that didn't have any rust (a requirement for me). It may take 6 months, or more depending on how picky you are, but you can find what you are looking for in our area.
Good luck and keep us posted.
College is a brief period that is uniquely full of opportunities for interesting ways to spend your time so be realistic about what impact an 80 may have on your life.
I personally wouldn't fly to purchase any vehicle as it really limits your ability to negotiate or walk away from the purchase. I live a short distance North of you and this is a great area to purchase 80s in. I shopped for my 80 for a few years while living further North and it wasn't until moving to this area that I could find one that didn't have any rust (a requirement for me). It may take 6 months, or more depending on how picky you are, but you can find what you are looking for in our area.
Good luck and keep us posted.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
There's definitely two ways to view things.
I took my current cruiser on a 1000 mile road trip a week and a half after buying it.
I had time to change fluids, check the basics etc. So, no hesitation.
The same cruiser cost me $5k to buy it, since I've owned it I've put probably 4-5 times that into it.
It's had numerous break downs and mechanical failures ( starter motor, alternator, head gasket, broken crank etc etc)
Is been off the road, or is action for my time than its been in service.
My son bought his first car interstate with his step dad. They got caught up in the pressure of flying, and not wasting the trip etc.
CEL came on 1 hour in to a 10hour trip home. The car proved to be a total lemon.
mudgudgeon
Resident galah
@southerndisco I know you didn't post to have 37 dads shut you down.
post pics of the truck, let's see what you're looking at
post pics of the truck, let's see what you're looking at
My advice to new cruiser shoppers is the same spiel I give to young dudes thinking about marriage- try really hard to talk 'em out of it knowing if nobody can they'll likely be set for life 
I think most of you guys are overlooking the fact that there is a whole genre of online content of the variety: dude travels to buy questionable vehicle and attempts to drive it home - hijinks ensue. If you're going to do it, be sure to film everything!
Realistically, it's a bit of a gamble, and only you know how prepared you are to take said gamble both from a financial perspective and a mechanical skill perspective. If the idea of getting halfway home and discovering you have a blown headgasket sends you into a panic attack, you probably should go buy that Corolla others have mentioned - seriously, most reliable vehicle I ever owned. Then again, if you can afford the money, time, effort, stress, etc...
Realistically, it's a bit of a gamble, and only you know how prepared you are to take said gamble both from a financial perspective and a mechanical skill perspective. If the idea of getting halfway home and discovering you have a blown headgasket sends you into a panic attack, you probably should go buy that Corolla others have mentioned - seriously, most reliable vehicle I ever owned. Then again, if you can afford the money, time, effort, stress, etc...
Its called ACIS (Automatic Corrosion Inhibiting System) Get it right!Although, your biggest problem could be looking at a truck with oil leaks, and going "Huh. Toyota copied LandRover's self sustaining anti-rust system! Who knew!"
And it works very well.
LOL!
Mdej3
SILVER Star
Go for it. Being broke will fuel you to get more money. More money more Cruiser parts to break.
I cant for the life of me wrap my brain around what a Disco is?
A type of bar in the 80s
Hornd
SILVER Star
100%
I DD a Corolla and Love it for what it is - Efficient and Reliable
The Cruiser is for Family Trips and Off Road - Love it for what it is.
Being able to work on the Cruiser and not be Tied for Time saves Undless Headaches.
**The Corolla Exhaust Recently Fell off and my Wife had to Daily the Cruiser.
It worked fine but the gas bill was
wagonteeth
Hippoverde
I flew to MN and drove my jdm 80 900 miles home. One of my favorite drives, and most treacherous. Finding out your headlights don't work with 300 miles to go makes for a fun time. Rain is just the cherry on top.
CrabCake
SILVER Star
Land Rover Discovery
The fuseable link is a staple for all 80s owners. If that goes out you are pretty much stranded. I have had a spare in every cruiser I have owned.
