bought mine in June , 3 weeks later drove it from Toronto across the USA to Victoria BC, and back, and then to Florida in December... heading back from Florida to Toronto with it in a few weeks... it was ment to drive...

 

I try to pack a couple of tools for the longer journeys
Just in case

 

I would not be afraid to drive my 03 VDP anywhere. It's in great condition and when there is something not right with her I fix it. You never know when something unexpected will happen. It can happen with a new car or older one. To me preventive maint. is the best repair.
Dave

 

Would you drive your car for three hours?

Consider that with bathroom breaks, no matter how
great the distance covered, it is covered as three hour
segments strung together.

 

 

Interesting: resurrected a two year old story, then describes how a car that is five years newer than the models under consideration will hold up.

Sorry, snotty, if you can't say something nice . . . .

 

 

 

I don't think I would be any more afraid to drive across country with my XJ8 than any other 17 year old, cared for automobile. The difference being, IF there was a breakdown it would be a lot more difficult finding a shop to work on it compared to a similar Chevy, Ford, Chrysler, etc.

 

 

My only current trouble spots' are the rear wheel bearings' which are being replaced as I type. The major "hot spots" tensioners,transmission,coolant system plastics etc. have all been addressed/replaced or repaired. I'd have no qualms about driving it CC. My AC does seem to be a little inconsistent, but this year has been unbearably humid w/ all the storms & record heat so it is likely relative.

 

I wouldn't give it a second thought. I keep on top of my car.
I've driven my 1985 BMW M635CSi across from Illinois to California, no problems, except when I got there the clutch spring failed- which we changed (guy I went to see is a BMW master tech with lots of vintage BMWS). I've also driven my 1964 MCI MC5 'Greyhound bus' across the USA- just last year, and the clutch is out of adjustment!

The XJR would be no sweat. I would change hoses before I went, check the poly belt tension, take the cover off the rear end and check the wear pattern on the crown wheel and pinion teeth and check for play and probably change both rear wheel bearings. I'd probably tackle the steering tie rod ends too.

My Caddy escalade on the other hand- I just drove that to Tennessee- the AC compressor seized up, and the brakes made a terrible graunching noise despite plenty of pad life left. GM, fans boys worship , GM tech centre cuts more and more costs but the over rated rubbish still keeps coming out the factory!

 

Absolutely. Just took my 308 with 190K on a 2400K round trip. Loved every second of it minus a wheel bearing that burnt up 200M away from home on the way back.

 

To echo 'Andrew Lowe' it's even less miles for me, I'm in the North East UK, right where the thinnest bit is, maybe 250/300 miles? Mind you, my car couldn't even attempt it at the moment, the engine is on the bench!!!
Paul

 

I would, and I plan to.... I just got the old girl back on the road after a nearly 7-year slumber, and as soon as I sort the vapor purge valve issue we're heading to Michigan for a day trip, around 200 miles in total. Then it's off to Nashville for a weekend, around 1,000 miles total.
I know where I am with this car, and I figure if it can do 10 20-mile round-trip commutes then why not a 200-mile day? Or a 1,000-mile weekend?
Steve

 

For giggles I pulled up a "perfect road trip" map that hits a bunch of major sites in the lower 48 states.

13,699 miles. 224 hours of driving to complete. If you averaged $3.50 a gallon and pulled off 18mpg for the trip (a tall order) you'd be at $2,664 in gas.

Spendy .

Even a straight jaunt cross-country would be fairly expensive. Figure 2500-3000 miles or thereabouts one-way depending on where on the coast you want to go. 6k round trip. Couple oil changes, 250-350 gallons of premium unleaded at $3.50+ a gallon... That's more than $1,000 in gas alone not counting any other expenses.

It'd be significantly cheaper to rent a cheap gas-saver and drive it instead, and you'd save the wear/mileage on your vehicle in the process...

Of course, even that's hard to justify these days. Cross-country flights are cheap enough that it's hard not to just jump on a plane and get there in a few hours. More time at the destination, no 80+ hour driving times, no extra motel costs, less time off work, safer, cheaper...

Mechanically speaking, I wouldn't be scared to drive my Jag cross-country. It's well maintained and I'm not worried about anything going wrong if I decided to put a few thousand miles on it. She loves stretching her legs and I enjoy the hell out of shorter in-region road trips behind the wheel of the big cat. I'm sure I'd enjoy the experience, but I doubt it'll ever happen. It's just not practical to do a US coast-to-coast drive in a car like this.

 

I made a trip from Nebraska to PA this past June trip was 1200 mile/1932km and drive time one way was about 21 hours one way.I think it was a total round trip gas cost of $350 but would have to check records on it Was the best and comfortable drive I've made since living out here. Of course I had the car for a year before making the trip so have done work on it before hand. But some of the work was things already anticipated when I bought the car, and others are things I normally do when I buy a used car.