When I visit the mainland (like right now) I drive my last purchased-new car - a 91 Mazda 626 with 135K. I leave it parked behind the family business when I leave for home in Hawaii. It was parked 8 months without being started this time. Started right up - though it sounded like a Diesel for a minute. Heck, the clock was still right on time. Unfortunately, the thing is sort of like the Blues-Mobile. Everything is self destructing at the same time. The finish is completely shot, the plastic interior pieces are splitting, the LCD on the radio is blank, the muffler is shot, the air/fuel intake system has a problem which makes every start like a flash-back to driver's Ed, it needs a new timing belt, the turn signals have some sort of short in them, it leaks oil, etc., etc. BUT... it runs and saves me a rental at $30 to $50/day. So until I put a bullet between its headlights, I'm going to continue driving it. I wouldn't be concerned to take it cross country, though I would not do so with DW or without my cell phone. Oh, yeah. It still gets 30+ mpg!
I love the car because it looks so utterly clapped out. No one gets in my way 'cause they sense that I have nothing to lose, heh, heh. Given my choice, I wouldn't own a car worth more than $1K, but DW demands a decent car when we're back home, so we have 2 cars in the 2000 vintage - no more than 100K miles right now. We'll see.
Oh, yeah. YMMV, heh, heh.
, less than 10K miles
