Do you recommend renting a car or driving your own? I drive a 2010 Toyota Corolla, also would it be beneficial for the car to help clean the engine and catalytic converter to drive it that long on the freeway. THANK YOU SCOTTY.
What’s the current mileage on the vehicle?
145,000 drives perfectly fine just had a tune-up and cv joints rebuild.
Clarification: would you be comfortable driving 3000 miles in a 10 year old Corolla, is it large enough? Is the question purely about wear and tear done to the car?
Wear and tear and if high way driving for that long would cause any damage or would it help clean some of the engine if I get an oil change before and after.
Get the car in for a general inspection. You need an accurate assessment of its viability and that requires valid information.
Just had it looked at from my mechanic and firestone for an alignment they said everything looks fine just my control arms look like they are starting to crack but don't need to be replaced
145,000 miles (as long as the vehicle has been well taken care of) is nothing on those vehicles. The question comes down to if you are comfortable being in that vehicle over 3,000 miles (in terms of ride comfort): only you can determine that. If you are, then perform the following inspection below before your trip:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/prepping-a-car-for-a-road-trip/#post-68399
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/qa/road-trip-essentials/#post-77961
Also, highway driving is the best thing for a vehicle and doesn’t really put much strain on a vehicle: it is only equivalent to 10% of city driving in terms of wear and tear.
Last summer I went on a 5,000+ road trip in my 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD (diesel engine) with 160,000 miles on it. Check the oil, brakes, air filter and replace if needed.
I changed my oil right before I left, and it looked whistle clean when I returned. It normally gets coal black in a few days of city driving. Highway miles are easy on cars.
