Bug or Bust
So my question is this: What's the best car to drive around Baja for a five weeks? It has cost under $3500 and it has to make it. Last time I did it in an '85 Subaru GL. Great for $1500, until the sucker started overheating, forcing me to get all my driving out of the way each day before 10am to avoid the heat. Pete suggested the Subie again. Mick suggests a Chevy Astro -- cheap as tortillas and you can sleep in 'em. But then we started talking about the Baja Bug. Hmmm, a Baja Bug.
posted by Travelburro at 3:27 PM
7 Comments:
that's easy... subie for $2K suped up like SUPER or a 1994 Ford Explorer (achin' on the gas... but) will get the job done in style. or... a toyota 4-runner. but regardless, 2WD is the ONLY way to fly.
and you can always just rent a BURRO, but at least you'll be travelin'
goyo (auto-ninja)
VW bus or old Land Cruiser.
Nope on the subies. Last subie I drove down in overheated and I just test drove a 1999 Forester. It drove great, but when I left it to idle with the AC on, whammo, it overheated. Just like the forester I saw smoking on the freeway the other day. My new feeling on Subies is that they're cold weather cars.
Ford Explorer, you're right -- too much gas. It has to be a 4-cylinder.
No way on the 2WD thing. I'd do it in a 2WD, but 4WD is so much more convenient. Even the old Subie's 4WD came in handy on several occasions last trip -- mostly in sand.
Burro. Yes, now that would be the way to go.
I've looked into the veggie oil thing, but I think there's too much lard in Baja.
As for the VW Bus option, I've had two of them and they always broke down. "But they're soooo easy to work on," they say. How about, no work required. I'm not mechanically inclined. Don't get me wrong, I think the Westy is just about the coolest car in the world, but I need something reliable. Besides, have you seen the PRICES on those suckers these days????
Land Cruiser -- very cool. Very very cool. But it's a gas guzzler. I need practical.
It's gotta be a Toyota. Preferably a 4 cylinder 4runner or a truck with a camper shell. Most reliable truck out there and there's soo many down Baja that parts are readily available. Problem is, every time one goes up for sale on Craig's list, it sells before I can even email the sucker!
is baja the honeymoon? by the way, formal, semi-formal, or casual?
Your choice. We're wearing vintage, my dad's coming in shorts.
Wow - El Burro is back! I'll say - good choice on the 4-runner. I've had 3 VW busses. Only once did one of them break down, and it happened to brake down in front of a VW shop in Watsonville.
Dude, who are you and how did you know bout the 4runner? It will be the ulitmate baja mobile. 4WD, AC, and of course, Clearance Clarence. You got lucky on th VW's. Of the three I've owned (one was a Squareback), all of them have broken down constantly.
Post a Comment
<< Home