Taking his first car, heading east, and not really stopping. That’s exactly what a 19-year-old Dutch student did with a modest Opel Corsa B 1.4i from 1997, bought for only €950. Without the latest driver-assistance features or modern safety gear, his little hatchback racked up border crossings. In total, the Corsa crossed 22 countries and logged more than 9,320 miles without a hitch.
At the wheel, we find Sam van der Velden, born in 2006, a law student at Utrecht and a delivery driver for Picnic in Hilversum. After a few months of working and saving, this Europe-enthusiast traveler bought the Corsa used, and set off with a travel budget of barely €1,500. A tent, sleeping bag, a small stove, and not much of a plan—just the urge to see how far his first car could take him. And his story with this Opel Corsa for €950, between wild camping, the Belarusian border, and zero breakdowns, reads like a full-blown road trip.
“Last year I took a gap year. I worked for a few months so I could then buy my own car. I wanted to travel and I’ve always been into Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. At the same time, I’m crazy about cars. I could really combine these two things. Online I found this Corsa for €950. The previous owner was also a young guy, but he’d really bought it from a little old man. A lot of maintenance had already been done on the car, which meant I didn’t have a whole lot to do on it for the moment. Following my uncle’s advice, I first drove around the neighborhood for a few weeks to see what I was dealing with. It continued to perform well, so in May I packed the tent, a sleeping bag, and a small stove and headed east. With a budget of €1,500, I wanted to stay for a month or two, but I didn’t have a clearly defined plan. My parents found it a little scary that I’d go off in such an old tiny car. No ABS, no ESP, no airbags or other modern gear. At the same time, they told me to go if I really wanted to. As long as I prepared well.”, says Sam van der Velden to AutoWeek.
A Gap Year, a 1997 Opel Corsa, and the Call to Hit the Road
Before heading to the far corners of Belarus, Sam paused his studies. He took a gap year, stacked hours delivering, and saved enough to buy his own car and fund a few months on the road. The plan: fuse his love for Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union with his passion for cars, and go solo behind the wheel of a 1997 Corsa. His parents saw the lure of the adventure but remained cautious about sending him off in a tiny city car that lacked ABS, ESP, or airbags, while encouraging him to go if he’d prepared properly.
“Last year I took a gap year. I worked for a few months, then bought my own car. I wanted to travel, and I’ve always been into Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. At the same time, I’m crazy about cars. I could combine these two things. Online I found this Corsa for €950. The previous owner was also a young guy, but he’d really bought it from a little old man. A lot of maintenance had already been done on the car, which meant I didn’t have a whole lot to do on it for the moment. Following my uncle’s advice, I first drove around the neighborhood for a few weeks to see what I was dealing with. It continued to perform well, so in May I packed the tent, a sleeping bag, and a small stove and headed east. With a budget of €1,500, I wanted to stay for a month or two, but I didn’t have a clearly defined plan. My parents found it a little scary that I’d go off in such an old tiny car. No ABS, no ESP, no airbags or other modern gear. At the same time, they told me to go if I really wanted to. As long as I prepared well,” he told AutoWeek.
22 Countries and 15,000 Miles Without a Breakdown for a €950 Opel Corsa
Once the Corsa was tamed for daily use, Sam truly hit the road in May, heading toward Central Europe and then the northern edge of the continent. He recounts those two months behind the wheel in detail: “In two months, I logged about 8,000 kilometers in the Corsa. From Central Europe, I rode up to the Baltic States and, from Latvia, crossed into Belarus. That was the most peculiar destination for me. Along the way I stopped in Prague, Vilnius, Tallinn, Helsinki, and Riga. Where it was legal, I did a lot of wild camping. In Estonia I found myself completely alone in the forests. I’d brought a sleeping bag that could keep me warm down to -15°C. I also had a small stove to cook with. I could soak in the forests and the solitude. There’s very little tourism there, especially outside the summer months. Sometimes I drove for hours without seeing anyone. It left a real impression. With €1,500, I managed to make it last two months. Vacations don’t have to be expensive. I didn’t deprive myself of everything. I visited museums and, from time to time, I simply booked an apartment or a hotel.”
Then he recalls the most striking moment of this long journey: crossing into Belarus. “When I arrived at the Belarus border checkpoint, I was pulled aside on the Latvian side. The border guards found it odd that I was there, alone, a 19-year-old Dutch kid. They contacted Dutch customs, who then called the police and managed to reach my mother. I spent hours waiting in my car. Then an army officer climbed in, tossed his Kalashnikov onto the back seat, and spoke in his best English: ‘Drive, auto goes in the scan.’ We were ushered into a hangar where they ran an X-ray scan on the car. They grilled me with questions about what I planned to do, and they even sifted through my phone. They looked through all the photos and put my social media under the microscope. It was pretty intimidating. Before crossing the border, I had already unfollowed on Instagram all the political figures like Zelensky, Trump, and even Navalny. I mainly wanted to come across as a totally normal kid who isn’t into global politics. I also avoided red-and-white clothing, per the Dutch government’s guidance. I never felt unsafe, and people were consistently kind.”
Despite the packed itinerary and sometimes harsh conditions, the little 1997 Corsa endured it all. By the end of this first trip, Sam had chalked up 8,000 kilometers without a single mechanical issue, before he peeled off again almost immediately toward Portugal, where his grandfather lives. He sums up the reliability this way: “That’s perhaps the best part of the story. The Opel didn’t break down once. It started and kept going, again and again. When I got home after two months, I promptly set off for another road trip to Portugal. My grandfather lives there. Yet again, another 7,000 kilometers with no trouble. A few days after returning to Hilversum, a small puddle appeared under the car. It turned out the radiator had failed. Fifteen thousand kilometers without a problem, and at home something breaks. Incredible, right? Of course I fixed it myself right away. I want to love my Corsa as long as I can.” Today, his first car has logged 22 countries and more than 15,000 kilometers, with only a radiator replacement in the driveway as the hiccup. Sam plans to keep pampering it, even though his dream ride remains a Volvo 850 T5-R in Cream Yellow.
