New to me F430 Road trip from L.A. to Vancouver

Hi all,

I hope this is an acceptable place to post this tread. You can haze me with all the noobie comments you feel necessary. I recently purchased @f430_8451 's baby which has been sleeping in storage for the past couple of months until I could arrange transport. Long story short, I've decided to scrap the transport company and decided to take a weekend trip down to Cali at the end of March and do a 2-3 day cannon ball run on the way back to Victoria BC (west of Vancouver). My wife and I will head down for a few days with a buddy and his wife, the women will stay in L.A. for a few days longer while my buddy and I make the trip up north. I am wondering if any of you Veteren drivers have route recommendations for the drive. A few people I mentioned this to suggested that I plan my route carefully to limit the amount of rock chips, cracked windshields, potholes, etc. we will encounter. Also looking for a pleasurable scenic drive to get the most out of spending all that time on the road.

I intend on documenting the trip and starting a Youtube channel to share the experience along the way. Barring any unforeseen circumstance preventing me from making the trip down to L.A. I will be sure to post photos to document, and links to the youtube series when we get around to editing the video etc.

Sorry one last thing, I plan on getting the oil change, and F1 fluid service done before we head on the road. Any recommendations of places to get this done would be appreciated. I had the PPI done at Ferrari Service of Costa Mesa since Ferrari of Newport no longer offers PPI's on third party transactions.... go figure..

Thanks Gents, (and ladies if you are lurking about)

 

Cool! You'll have great fun. Great decision to just drive the thing.

Rock chips and cracks are different than potholes. You're good on any road to avoid the chips as long as you don't tailgate. As for potholes, well, they can be anywhere.

I've driven from Calgary, through the Columbia River Valley and then down the coast to San Francisco in my 1987 BMW 325i convertible so a lot of the same route you'll be on. I've also driven the same car from San Diego to San Francisco. And, I've driven to and from Vancouver to San Francisco several times (in Brand X SUVs). I would say you can't really plan in great detail.

If you have the time, just hug the coast as much as you can. In California that is Highway #1 (which is sometimes also highway #101) all the way to San Francisco. North of San Francisco, you'll have to commit to either highway 101 or Interstate 5.

If you're just "Cannonballing" it as you say, Interstate 5 north of San Francisco is pretty good, but a major highway. I've driven it several times to and from Vancouver. Highway 101 is slower but nicer. Between LA and San Franciso, Highway 101 is a good quick interesting road. Interstate 5 between LA and San Francisco is a drab soul-sucking stretch of highspeed but miserable freeway.

 

Driven that route many times. Quickest is I-5. But it's a major hiway with lots of truck traffic. The hiway is not like the asphalt ones in BC. They are concrete. The expansion joints alone will drive you crazy. Thump, thump, thump, thump, hour after hour. Plus the ruts in in the truck lane will have rolling back back and forth. But it's the quickest route. The PCH 101 is the nicest route. Good cruising along the coast. Weather can be cold in March. There was a big landslide near Big Sur a few years back. Half the mountain came down. Should check the road conditions before getting to that section. Monterey is a very nice drive up to San Francisco. Once past S.F. it a great cruise up through the forest until you get to Eureka. Great ocean views all the way to Astoria Washington were you can catch the ferry home. Beautiful drive. You should slow down and enjoy.
Mike

 

".....to Astoria Washington were you can catch the ferry home....."
Can you explain more about this please?

 

This is some good info, I’ll be researching routes this weekend. Thanks for taking the time to run through it.


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I’ll likely be traveling at the very end of March beginning of April so hopefully it’s a bit warmer by then. I have to hit the boarder to import the car back to Canada, so I’ll likely be headed through Blaine Washington on the way home. I think the coast is the way to go. Don’t mind if it takes longer if the drive is more enjoyable.

Thanks Mike


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If you have a problem along the way I’ve got a buddy that lives in Priest River, Idaho. It’s 60 miles sound of the Canadian border. He’s a gear head and has a trailer and a huge garage.

I don’t want to jinx you, but he would help you out if you break down.


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Are you suggesting that a 15 year old Ferrari may have some reliability concerns? That can’t be right? Lol

Appreciate the thought, feel free to pm his info, the more contacts I have along the way the better. I’ll be sure to touch base with him before we make the trip.

Thanks


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Sounds like an adventure and I look forward to hearing about the trip. I would definitely say take 101 up the coast. If you will be passing through the Olympic peninsula area of WA drop a PM and maybe we can meet up or I'll tag along for part of the drive.

All I'd say about the car is get it serviced and get some kind of roadside emergency service like AAA just in case. Then enjoy the drive. If you are a handy kind of guy maybe a small tire pump, jump box, and a few tools in the boot?

 

Yeah, would love to follow play-by-play details as the adventure unfolds. You never know about these things; it could become one of those wonderful lifetime memories.

The likelihood of you breaking down is very low but stuff can happen. Probably making sure you can repair or replace a flat tire is a good idea since you could be a long way from a tire shop. AAA has a 200 mile radius towing insurance plan (I have it, but then again I drive a 40 year old Ferrari) (have never used it) but waiting for a truck to arrive can take a long time when you are way down the road from them.

You’ll know within an hour or two of setting off whether or not the car is running well and can change plans while still within proximity of LA if necessary. (It’ll run just fine.)

 

Astoria ferry!!! yes that didn't quite come out right. What I meant was now that he was in Washington he could catch the ferry home. Which of course is the Coho ferry in Port Angeles. My career as a travel blog writer may be in jeopardy
To import the car at the Blaine point of entry you need to give them 72 hours notice. Don't just show up. Last thing you need is a pissed off border agent. lot's of good info on the web on what to. You can DIY the importation however a broker is usually best. They have established relationships with CBSA and usually can make the process easier. Like I said the border agent is the last guy you want to have to be explaining to you that your documentation is wrong. The easier you make it for him/her the easier it is for you.
Mike

 

My buddy came over last night and we started planning the trip. I plan on bringing a bag full of goodies to get us out of any minor mechanical issues that may arise. I’ll be in touch closer to, would be cool to meet up if it works out.


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Would love to hear about your trip and some pics, one of my most memorable experiences was picking up a car in tasmania (i live in australia) and driving it back in the snow dodging road closures, had not snowed that much since 1986 my birth year!

 

If you need a tow when you’re out in the sticks don’t waste your time with AAA. Call local tow companies directly and just pay their fee, much better than waiting the 5 hours I did only to be told to spend the night in my car.

 

First congrats.............. I've driven Vancouver to LA and back more times then I care to remember. 101 is a great scenic road, but I-5 is faster and has more food options. I like to stop at the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, CA if going the I-5 route back. Going towards Vancouver the casino is North of Sac and makes excellent prime rib! They also have several In Out burgers on the I-5 route if fast eats are needed.

 

Oh for clearing customs you need to stop on the American side and get export documents, they do a title search. Then you'll need to import it into Canada. For the export from the American side, believe only a few locations do it. So it may not be available at all locations. Best bet is going through the Pacific Highway commercial truck crossing in Blaine, WA. Even though its a commercial crossing, general public are able to cross there. They deal on both sides with vehicle export/import daily and are easier to deal with over other crossings.

 

I used to live in Seattle and Portland. Every March I would drive up to Whistler. I'm now in East Bay and have family in LA. There are plenty of paths to take and I think you should start with how many days.

Sorry misread as this is backwards but I've done these drives before:
Vancouver head out and get to Hwy 5 through WA. I've been on the coast of WA and its a ton of ferries and not worth the time given your options in OR/CA.
Into OR you can cut across and hit the 101 to see the coast (depending on how long you want to drive) 8-10 hours I think I stopped in Dunes City.
Next day I would head back to Hwy 5 to make as much progress to the south CA coast. NorCal 8-9 hour stop such as Napa. I would not alter to go over the SF bridge IMO.
Tons of options once you are south of NorCal. Napa to Santa Barbara would be my choice via 17 and PCH which is 9 hours.
Santa Barbara to LA can be fast or 6 hours depending on traffic.

I also almost moved to Santa Barbara so I would spend my first day there anyways =)
LA->SB->Napa->OR coast->Vancouver

 

Just a little update for those following along. I ordered the Escort Redline 360c radar detector this morning which should arrive the week before we head down to Cali. It's actually insane!!! The the cost of the detector is $749 USD but $1,299 CAD. Legit $350 more after adjusting for exchange... YAY ....... Anyways I figured it was worth biting the bullet on for obvious reasons. Worst case I find one in stock when down in Cali, Buy it, and return it un opened to Best Buy here in Canada.

Anyways, getting back on topic. We are staying for a few days in Hollywood and my buddy is wanting to rent a 458, 488, or even a Lambo while down in Cali for a day to bomb around with the wives on a spirited drive. I've checked out Turo, CarShair, and a few other sites but nothing is reasonably close to Hollywood. If anyone has any thoughts I would love to hear them. Since its mid week I am conscious that traffic might make this pointless but open to opinions. 15 days until we head down and I'm getting more excited by the day. My buddy is a hobby Photographer so I'm hoping we have what it takes to make some entertaining content for our YouTube Channel. We will take lots of photos, and once edited and uploaded I'll drop the link if anyone wants to follow along.

Fingers crossed that whatever drama unfolds along the way is manageable without the need for mechanical intervention or worse, the fire department. LOL

Stay tuned!

 

That sounds awesome man. Should be a drive of epic proportions. Shoot me your YT channel and I'll smash that subscribe button and drop a dm!


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Should be an option in Turo to have the car delivered to you, usually a fee though.

 

LFG!!!


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Update:

Well… that was an eventful travel day! Our flight was scheduled to leave my home town of Victoria BC at 7am and arrive in Vancouver at 7:20am, we would then have about an hour layover until our flight to LA. Shortly after boarding the flight in Victoria, we were notified that there was a backlog of flights landing in Vancouver and therefore we would not be able to leave until 7:50am getting into Vancouver at 8:10. Long story short, we land, rush to customs (my wife and I have Nexus/Global Entry) but my buddy and his wife do not, and were stuck in a long customs line up. Not sure how they did it but they somehow got people to let them cut in front and made the flight as the doors were closing.

Now we land in LA, and get our Turo dropped off, a 2021 Mercedes GLS 450, which is actually a pretty nice ride to have on a roady. We drop the girls off somewhere and we take off to Crevier Classic Cars to pick up the 430 which is an amazing place to store a car. They take really good care of it. We show up and they have the car centre stage in the showroom, the car is looking gorgeous, and in overall better shape than I thought. After inspecting the car, My buddy and I were eager to take it for a drive before dropping it off to get serviced prior to our 1,500 mile journey. First problem, I noticed that there were no screws in the licence plate holder. I looked in the car, and couldn’t find them anywhere, but luckily Ferrari of Newport was literally next door, so I went there and asked for some bolts and in the process decided to be “that guy” and buy a new Ferrari hat. The bolts they gave me worked well enough but were definitely not correct. I did my best to screw the bolts in and we set off for a joy ride. After about 40 min of ripping around, we drove back to grab the GLS, and then proceeded to drive the car to get serviced. My buddy trialing behind in the GLS was recoding some videos of me driving, then pulls up beside me and tells me that the license plate is missing. My heart sank, legit felt sick. We drove all the way back to Crevier Classic Cars to park the car safely and then retrace out drive. We searched for about and hour, and were about to give up, when my buddy spotted the plate in the middle of a bunch of debris between lanes. It still don’t know how he saw it but that god for his Polish Eagle eye. We were so f@&$ing happy which lasted a total of 10 min until we realized that both our phones were dead and we were about 2 hours late for lunch with the wives. We did end up getting the car to the shop, and did manage to meet up with the women who after hearing our story and having a few drinks slowly became less and less mad at us, we hung out until around 7:30 as we had to head to West Hollywood to check in and wanted to avoid traffic. On the way to the hotel we wanted In n Out Burger, we ordered sat down and about to dive in and my buddy’s wife knocks over her drink and I get an entire medium Diet Coke in my lap.

Yesterday was an Amazingly terrible and fantastic day with high highs and low lows. We leave for our drive on Friday assuming things go well. Lots of photos and video links to come.

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can't wait for pics

 

Looking forward to updates on the trip.

 

... the adventure begins.