College Vehicle

[89 MJ]

I am looking at going to college several hours from my home. (I’m actually looking at schools in TN). I would be about 11 hours from home and that brought up the vehicle topic. I don’t want to bring the Comanche that far because I probably won’t have a place indoors to park it. I am skeptical of bringing the Eagle because I don’t know how reliable it will or won’t be by that time (less than 1 year) and 11 hours is a long way to drive without overdrive, but it would be fine. If I bought a vehicle when I got down there though, there is no telling how reliable that would be either though. 
What are your thoughts? Would you bring the Eagle or buy something down there?

This is only a plan for the first year when I will be staying in the dorms. Years 2-4 I would hope to buy a house to live in with a garage and I could bring the MJ down and have the Eagle down. 
 

Edit: I would also bring a bicycle that would likely be a primary source of around town transportation. 
 

Another edit: If I got something else, it would probably be a 2003-2007 GM pickup/Suburban/Tahoe because that is the only late model vehicle that I know enough about that I would buy in addition to the Eagle and MJ. Another vehicle I would consider would be a 2015+ Colorado because they seem like a fairly reliable vehicle so far, but the MJ would probably have to go away to get one of those. 

[Pete M]

minivan with snow tires  

[watchamakalit]

Buy another mj

[89 MJ]

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

minivan with snow tires  

I have a feeling that I wouldn’t need snow tires for the 6” of snow the area gets on average per year. 
That’s just your normal vehicle recommendation, isn’t it?

 

1 hour ago, watchamakalit said:

Buy another mj

I would love an MJ for college, but that puts me further back than bringing the Eagle, IMHO. I would have to start from scratch then on replacing 30+ year old parts. The only advantage that I would have would be fuel injection. 

[Eagle]

1 hour ago, 89 MJ said:

 I am skeptical of bringing the Eagle because I don’t know how reliable it will or won’t be by that time (less than 1 year) and 11 hours is a long way to drive without overdrive, but it would be fine.

 

You haven't been around cars very long, have you?

 

I grew up with AMC vehicles (starting with Hudsons, before it became AMC). "Back in the day," we didn't have overdrive. We had 3-speed manual transmissions. The usual gearing worked out to 24 miles-per-hour per 1,000 RPM. Do the math -- that's 2500 RPM at 60 MPH. An ever 3,000 RPM was a 72 MP cruise.

 

My brother and sister-in-law had a Gremlin with the 258 c.i.d. in-line 6 and a three speed -- the forerunner of the Jeep 4.0L engine. They drove it for a couple of hundred thousand miles, then he sold it -- to an auto parts store that used it for parts delivery. When he finally lost track of it, it had over 300,000 miles on it, with no major engine work.

 

Don't worry about overdrive.

[Eagle]

7 minutes ago, 89 MJ said:

I would love an MJ for college, but that puts me further back than bringing the Eagle, IMHO. I would have to start from scratch then on replacing 30+ year old parts. The only advantage that I would have would be fuel injection. 

 

Why is fuel injection an advantage? Right now, my 2000 XJ is eating throttle position sensors. I can't figure it out. The ONLY reason I haven't changed it over to a carburetor and a conventional ignition is that I have to wait three more years before it's exempt from emissions testing. I've drive probably about a million miles on carburetors. Yeah, when it runs right electronic fuel injection might be slightly more fuel efficient. On the other hand, my 1966 Rambler American got 28 MPG on the highway, and the only car I've owned since then that would beat it was a 1982 Honda 1300 FE. Which had a carburetor.

[jdog]

buy a cheap honda

[Parei_doll_ia]

In the words of Mr. Regular(Regular Car Reviews): TOYOTA COROLLA 

 

My TDI is a good daily too, but there's a lot of PM on German diesels you have to do on time, every time

[89 MJ]

14 minutes ago, Eagle said:

 

You haven't been around cars very long, have you?

 

I grew up with AMC vehicles (starting with Hudsons, before it became AMC). "Back in the day," we didn't have overdrive. We had 3-speed manual transmissions. The usual gearing worked out to 24 miles-per-hour per 1,000 RPM. Do the math -- that's 2500 RPM at 60 MPH. An ever 3,000 RPM was a 72 MP cruise.

 

My brother and sister-in-law had a Gremlin with the 258 c.i.d. in-line 6 and a three speed -- the forerunner of the Jeep 4.0L engine. They drove it for a couple of hundred thousand miles, then he sold it -- to an auto parts store that used it for parts delivery. When he finally lost track of it, it had over 300,000 miles on it, with no major engine work.

 

Don't worry about overdrive.

I’ve been around cars since I was born. Not half as long as some on here, but still many years. I grew up around SBCs for the most part. I’m not worried about not having overdrive for the wear on the engine, but rather for a fuel economy factor. I said it would be fine because I would drive that route very few times, and really, fuel mileage isn’t a huge concern, but for an 11 hour trip, it is  in the back of my mind. The way I look at it, if overdrive didn’t help increase fuel economy, they wouldn’t have kept it around. But that is not my real concern. 
 

8 minutes ago, Eagle said:

 

Why is fuel injection an advantage? Right now, my 2000 XJ is eating throttle position sensors. I can't figure it out. The ONLY reason I haven't changed it over to a carburetor and a conventional ignition is that I have to wait three more years before it's exempt from emissions testing. I've drive probably about a million miles on carburetors. Yeah, when it runs right electronic fuel injection might be slightly more fuel efficient. On the other hand, my 1966 Rambler American got 28 MPG on the highway, and the only car I've owned since then that would beat it was a 1982 Honda 1300 FE. Which had a carburetor.

I agree that EFI isn’t very advantageous, but it would be handy in the sense that I wouldn’t have to fight with getting it started. The Eagle already starts quicker than my MJ and we still have some fine tuning to do with the carb. We also got rid of  the computer controlled carb that this has when we swapped to a Motorcraft 2BBL. 

[89 MJ]

3 minutes ago, jdog said:

buy a cheap honda

My first thought after the Eagle was getting a cheap beater, but I don’t know if that makes the most sense either. Not only is it an untested car, but is also one that I know nothing about. 

 

4 minutes ago, keeponjeepinon said:

In the words of Mr. Regular(Regular Car Reviews): TOYOTA COROLLA 

 

My TDI is a good daily too, but there's a lot of PM on German diesels you have to do on time, every time

Same as above on the Corolla and TDI. I do think a TDI would probably be pretty good though. 

[Smokeyyank]

What's your budget? Speaking soley from a mpg point something that gets 30+ is huge plus especially with current gas prices. 

[watchamakalit]

At this point I would drive the eagle and just enjoy the adventure as it goes.

[89 MJ]

11 minutes ago, watchamakalit said:

At this point I would drive the eagle and just enjoy the adventure as it goes.

That’s also where I am at on it. I would think that it should be fine. I still have time to decide, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything big. 

[eaglescout526]

Find an old outback to beat up. 

[87MJTIM]

I am trying to remember my college daze.  You would want something "economical" for commuting back and forth, especially 11 hours.  You may also consider transporting your "stuff" back and forth.  Even if you purchase a house, you have to furnish it in the beginning and take is back (or Goodwill) when you leave.  While there, you may want to drive your friends around, also.  With some of these in mind, you may want to look at the Honda CRV or Toyota Rav4.  These offer fuel economy, storage space, and seating capacity.  I have an '05 CRV with 376k on the clock.

 

I personally would not recommend the MJ at college.  Reliability and drunk college friend are issues to consider.  The MJ as a 2nd vehicle, but...how many college students have two vehicles.

 

My 2¢

[Pete M]

Minivan with snow tires will always be my answer. The advantages over a car are numerous. 

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

A few thoughts:

 

Reliability over cool factor. You don't want to stress about an out of tune carb'ed engine when you are late for an exam. Same token for cold starting, etc. And an MJ will break at inconvenient times, again usually exam days.

 

Cheap over unique. You will be driving in a college town. Parking in a dorm parking lot. Sharing the road with a bunch of other freshman. Your car will get bumped, scratched, dented, and dinged. Bring something you don't care about getting some harm.

 

Manual transmission over automatic. I say this for one simple reason-> No one will ever ask to borrow your vehicle since they won't know how to drive it. Keeps your car safe without making you look like an a@@.

 

MPG at the bottom of the list. As long as it gets 10+mpg, then just run it. If you start tallying the math then everything else I listed above is worth way more than a larger mpg number. I know it sounds cool and all, but don't sweat it for the few years you will be driving in college. One tow truck call is equal to AT LEAST a few months of fuel driving something reliable and cheap.

 

Best of luck!

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

Oh, and whatever you bring, make sure it is NOT a truck. Of any type. I don't know how many times I got asked to move friends to other apartments simply because they knew I had a truck. It gets exhausting, the pizza is not good enough payment, and their other idiot frat friends broke more plastic and trim stuff than I care to remember. Just . . . help your friends move, but make sure its not using your vehicle.

[70barracuda]

I had my lifted xj at school with me. Was about a 4 hour drive from NJ to upstate NY. I had a lot of fun with my friends but I definitely got me into some trouble. My friends with "normal cars" never got asked to go take them off roading. Lost an alternator from mudding and well as a broke college kid that really sucked. Had to put it in the back lot while I waited to fix it. But I did have a lot of fun.

 

I was the only one who could make it in the snow storms though. And was always the one who got asked for help with their car or to pull them out. So good stuff as well. 

 

A good shape stock XJ or an older Toyota would definitely be my pick. I have an old Camry I gave to my sister. Has about 200k on it and she drives that everywhere and just took it to school.  I made her promise to give it back when she's done. I love that car, it just plain works. They are dead simple to work on, parts are cheap, and just really reliable. Late 90s/early 2000 Camry' are tanks. 

 

 

But for real, I'd rock the hell outta the eagle. 

[gogmorgo]

I dunno. I did alright with an MJ at college. I only once was asked to help someone move something, but the flip side is with only having one passenger seat I never got asked to DD. I will say though that once I moved off campus it would’ve been nice to have something a little more economical. There was also that one time I blew a heater hose on the way to class, and by the time I had it patched up I was so late I nearly skipped the class, until I remembered I had a midterm and then I showed up with about twenty minutes left to go, the prof accepted my excuse and let me sit down and write it… it took me 15 minutes to rush through exam, and I managed a 90%. But not all profs would’ve been that generous to let me write at all, and not all of the classes I took would’ve been feasible to write the whole exam in 15 minutes. That was just a French class, and I was already fluent.

[watchamakalit]

Doesnt matter what you buy. The reliability of anything can be questioned. Even old hondas break. Just not as often. Drive the eagle and if your "friends" get mad they can't borrow it, are they really friends?

[500 MJ]

What are you looking to do at college with your vehicle? The answer here really will help you make the decision going forward. 
 

Cheap Honda is a solid choice for getting to/from daily. Good gas mileage, cheap parts for repairs, etc. Cruise control is also a big advantage for the long drive. 
 

MJ or Eagle are vehicles to do things with/enjoy while you are at college. If that’s what you are after then it’s an easy choice. 
 

Also remember that college brings a whole new group of unknowns that you’ve likely not seen yet. This includes where and how you store your vehicle. Make sure you have a vehicle that you can park any place for days on end and not worry about how secure it is.

 

That said - I enjoyed my college experience with my MJ. I walked to campus each day and I had a garage to secure it in through the week. I drove it every weekend and had all of the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as my playground. As a college kid with little budget, I paid at the pump to drive it 8 hours one way each time I went home. It was also not the most comfortable choice for a long drive. I was very confident with it as I had done plenty of work on it prior to college and while I lived with my folks during the summers. I did have some things that I needed to do at college and I made friends that I still have today from wrenching. Lots of good memories. 

[89 MJ]

2 hours ago, 500 MJ said:

What are you looking to do at college with your vehicle? The answer here really will help you make the decision going forward. 
 

Cheap Honda is a solid choice for getting to/from daily. Good gas mileage, cheap parts for repairs, etc. Cruise control is also a big advantage for the long drive. 
 

MJ or Eagle are vehicles to do things with/enjoy while you are at college. If that’s what you are after then it’s an easy choice. 
 

Also remember that college brings a whole new group of unknowns that you’ve likely not seen yet. This includes where and how you store your vehicle. Make sure you have a vehicle that you can park any place for days on end and not worry about how secure it is.

 

That said - I enjoyed my college experience with my MJ. I walked to campus each day and I had a garage to secure it in through the week. I drove it every weekend and had all of the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan as my playground. As a college kid with little budget, I paid at the pump to drive it 8 hours one way each time I went home. It was also not the most comfortable choice for a long drive. I was very confident with it as I had done plenty of work on it prior to college and while I lived with my folks during the summers. I did have some things that I needed to do at college and I made friends that I still have today from wrenching. Lots of good memories. 

My vehicle would probably just be a weekend driver and then be used to go back and forth to home. It sounds like I would be living very similarly to how you did. The Eagle does have cruise control, which will be nice. 
 

 

2 hours ago, watchamakalit said:

Doesnt matter what you buy. The reliability of anything can be questioned. Even old hondas break. Just not as often. Drive the eagle and if your "friends" get mad they can't borrow it, are they really friends?

That is where I am at. I truthfully haven’t had the best luck with buying reliable vehicles. And the Eagle has enough quirks that I can get by with not loaning it. 
 

 

7 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

I dunno. I did alright with an MJ at college. I only once was asked to help someone move something, but the flip side is with only having one passenger seat I never got asked to DD. I will say though that once I moved off campus it would’ve been nice to have something a little more economical. There was also that one time I blew a heater hose on the way to class, and by the time I had it patched up I was so late I nearly skipped the class, until I remembered I had a midterm and then I showed up with about twenty minutes left to go, the prof accepted my excuse and let me sit down and write it… it took me 15 minutes to rush through exam, and I managed a 90%. But not all profs would’ve been that generous to let me write at all, and not all of the classes I took would’ve been feasible to write the whole exam in 15 minutes. That was just a French class, and I was already fluent.

That is impressive. I’m sure a lot of that is how you treated the professor as well. But living in the dorm, I would be able to ride my bike where I need to go most of the time. 
 

[89 MJ]

10 hours ago, 70barracuda said:

I had my lifted xj at school with me. Was about a 4 hour drive from NJ to upstate NY. I had a lot of fun with my friends but I definitely got me into some trouble. My friends with "normal cars" never got asked to go take them off roading. Lost an alternator from mudding and well as a broke college kid that really sucked. Had to put it in the back lot while I waited to fix it. But I did have a lot of fun.

 

I was the only one who could make it in the snow storms though. And was always the one who got asked for help with their car or to pull them out. So good stuff as well. 

 

A good shape stock XJ or an older Toyota would definitely be my pick. I have an old Camry I gave to my sister. Has about 200k on it and she drives that everywhere and just took it to school.  I made her promise to give it back when she's done. I love that car, it just plain works. They are dead simple to work on, parts are cheap, and just really reliable. Late 90s/early 2000 Camry' are tanks. 

 

 

But for real, I'd rock the hell outta the eagle. 

Ok. I’ll add a clean older Camry to the list of cars to consider. I do like what you said though about being the person that people would call to tow them out. 

[89 MJ]

10 hours ago, JustEmptyEveryPocket said:

A few thoughts:

 

Reliability over cool factor. You don't want to stress about an out of tune carb'ed engine when you are late for an exam. Same token for cold starting, etc. And an MJ will break at inconvenient times, again usually exam days.

 

Cheap over unique. You will be driving in a college town. Parking in a dorm parking lot. Sharing the road with a bunch of other freshman. Your car will get bumped, scratched, dented, and dinged. Bring something you don't care about getting some harm.

 

Manual transmission over automatic. I say this for one simple reason-> No one will ever ask to borrow your vehicle since they won't know how to drive it. Keeps your car safe without making you look like an a@@.

 

MPG at the bottom of the list. As long as it gets 10+mpg, then just run it. If you start tallying the math then everything else I listed above is worth way more than a larger mpg number. I know it sounds cool and all, but don't sweat it for the few years you will be driving in college. One tow truck call is equal to AT LEAST a few months of fuel driving something reliable and cheap.

 

Best of luck!

 

10 hours ago, JustEmptyEveryPocket said:

Oh, and whatever you bring, make sure it is NOT a truck. Of any type. I don't know how many times I got asked to move friends to other apartments simply because they knew I had a truck. It gets exhausting, the pizza is not good enough payment, and their other idiot frat friends broke more plastic and trim stuff than I care to remember. Just . . . help your friends move, but make sure its not using your vehicle.

Thank you! I never really thought about the truck part. Good call. I will be driving the Eagle this winter, which will pretty much make the decision for me at that point as to whether or not I could bring any sort of carbed car. The Eagle was added to the fleet to be my cheap transportation, rather than just for the unique factor. I also like your advice on a manual. It’s like cheap insurance. 
 

 

10 hours ago, 87MJTIM said:

I am trying to remember my college daze.  You would want something "economical" for commuting back and forth, especially 11 hours.  You may also consider transporting your "stuff" back and forth.  Even if you purchase a house, you have to furnish it in the beginning and take is back (or Goodwill) when you leave.  While there, you may want to drive your friends around, also.  With some of these in mind, you may want to look at the Honda CRV or Toyota Rav4.  These offer fuel economy, storage space, and seating capacity.  I have an '05 CRV with 376k on the clock.

 

I personally would not recommend the MJ at college.  Reliability and drunk college friend are issues to consider.  The MJ as a 2nd vehicle, but...how many college students have two vehicles.

 

My 2¢

Ok. Those two have a good reputation to be reliable. My grandma has a 14 CRV and she loves it. Out of curiosity, did you buy your CRV new? My concern with a 10+ year old vehicle is that it’s issues will start showing. 
 

 

10 hours ago, Pete M said:

Minivan with snow tires will always be my answer. The advantages over a car are numerous. 

Not going to lie, we use a minivan for truck stuff at work, they do have an impressive amount of room. 
 

 

11 hours ago, Smokeyyank said:

What's your budget? Speaking soley from a mpg point something that gets 30+ is huge plus especially with current gas prices. 

My budget will depend on how much money I can get worth of scholarships and grants. 
 

 

11 hours ago, eaglescout526 said:

Find an old outback to beat up. 

After what I posted in my Eagle build thread today? I could never!

Seriously though, that is a pretty solid option.