Going on a road trip...how to pre-pare my car?

[BMW Christina]

Hi...

Im a newbie here and need help. I have an '02 325i with 70k miles.

Going to drive to North Carolina for Xmas..and need to know what preventitive maintenance I can do to keep it going well.

No big repairs on the car, recently had the oil changed.Have never done any kind of tune up since free maintenance period ended (just oil changes).

Any info or advice greatly appreciated.

[WardJ]

welcome christina.

well first how far are you traveling? if you're about haflway to your 3k mark for oil you should probably consider changing it, i took a roadtrip from worcester,ma to toronto, ca and didn't do it and i paid dearly. my car didn't forgive me for weeks.

check all the hoses and the other fluids (transmission, clutch (if you're manual), brake fluid...blinker fluid jk. also check your battery) It's not so much maintenence as making sure "hey, is my car going to fall apart if i drive it long distances?"

so in review:
1) oil if need be
2) battery
3) fluids
4) hoses in the engine
5) brakes

its not a bad idea to bring a gas container and a few quarts of each fluid in a case in the trunk. never know what's going to happen.

welcome to the forum!

edit: i just read what you said about oil, i'm a retard and didn't read the full post. sorry!

[BMW Christina]

Retard??? Haaa haaa...surely you are not. You just gave me a heap 'o info, so thanks!

Im going from Miami to Blowing Rock, NC...so a change of climate also.

Thanks for the great tips....I love this forum!

You guys are great!