Can my car make it?

Question

I have a 2002 Dodge Intrepid. As of right now my car have 135,603 miles on it with a oil change coming up. My question is, will my car make it driving from California all the way to Washington DC?

Answer 1

That is a rather tough question to answer considering the lack of details regarding the mechanical condition of the vehicle. Does it make any odd noises when driving at 65-75 mph (because thats about how fast you will be driving the whole way)? Does it overheat frequently? Does the car pull one way or the other? Are your tires wearing out? There are plenty more questions to answer but typically cars will last much longer than 135,000 miles, however, they must be well maintained. I drove a 1991 Ford Escort GT with 200,000+ miles on it all the way from Kansas City to Key West, Florida. That car ended up having a lot of problems about 6 months after that and I traded it in, but that was not due to that road trip. Also, I have owned a 1991 Firebird, with a 5 liter V8, that had 191,000 miles on it and it ran like a champ and went on quite a few road trips.

As an answer to your question, yes it should be fine. I would suggest changing the oil, making sure the tires are not worn out, and making sure the spare tire is inflated and in working order. After that, if you want peace of mind, have a mechanic do an inspection on the vehicle. You can usually go to a Dodge dealer and they will do a basic inspection for less than $50.

p.s. Oh yeah, almost forgot, AAA roadside assistance is a life saver in case of an emergency.

Answer 2

A few other service ideas to help you decide:

1. How old is the water pump?
2. How old is the alternator and battery?
3. When was the transmission serviced?
4. When was the cooling system serviced last?
5. How old are the hoses and belt(s)?

Anything that is borderline will likely become and issue on a very long drive.

If everything is "like new" then you might consider it but otherwise I'd use a newer rental car or fly.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

it probably will but id have the oil changed before i left in it just to be safe about it,that's a long trip,if the car is in good shape now it should make it with no problems,just be careful,that's not that many miles for that car to have on it,so it should be alright.good luck with it.

Answer 4

Tires, belts, fluids, brakes, shocks, all the lights and signals working etc... plan your trip on Map Quest and hit the road with your tank full and perhaps an additive in the fuel to clean the injectors... be safe and don't drive sleepy...

Answer 5

It really all depends on how well you and the previous owner kept up with the maintenance. Well maintained vehicles will give you lots of years and good miles. Just in case take a credit card with you.

Answer 6

As a long way as I recognise, whoever "hits" has the legal responsibility or is "at fault". In different phrases, coverage businesses and regulation enforcements perspective is, "If you're following all of the laws of the street and defense, there's not ever any purpose to hit something." Now, if there was once ice at the street, that could atleast make matters lean extra on your desire, however I consider you ought to have a image taken that day of the stretch of street you slid on. That's why they are saying you will have to constantly have atleast a disposable digicam on your auto to take a image of an twist of fate and twist of fate scene at the day of the twist of fate, at the side of a mobile mobilephone, your coverage expertise, motive force's license and registration. Hopefully you've gotten auto coverage with a purpose to pay even supposing it's your fault, or if no longer, plenty of peers and household with a purpose to aid you on this time of concern. There's plenty of different elements to bear in mind: was once both of the drivers riding at the same time impaired, or in a hurry, did both depart the scene of the twist of fate earlier than regulation enforecement arrived, what type of cars have been concerned, did each have auto coverage-dl license-registration-and so on... So confidently, might be there may be different elements which might be on your desire right here. In both case, it is a serious warning call to constantly force effectively and defensively and maintain as so much house among you and different relocating cars or gadgets as feasible, have a seat belt on, and should not have any distractions like being attentive to the radio, consuming, ingesting, speaking on a mobile mobilephone, and so on... I recognise all this seeing that I've been riding for years now, and feature simplest been in a couple of injuries. In each and every twist of fate besides one, anyone hit me and for a few purpose none of them even had a motive force's license!!!! In the twist of fate in which I hit anyone, I rear ended anyone, identical to you probably did. So considering the fact that I "hit", it was once my fault, despite the fact that the auto in entrance of me stopped quick and particularly rapid, no longer giving me any time to quit. The simplest factor that stored me was once that the auto I hit left the scene of the twist of fate, and, from what I comprehend, it was once a few type of coverage rip-off at the aspect of the opposite motive force.

Answer 7

make sure you get your oil changed and get the fluids checked also make sure its not leaking anything.Pretty much get it ready for a long trip.