Any long trip in a European car (especially old ones) makes me uneasy. Always had old Audis, VWs, MB, etc that were trade-ins that were going to be wholesaled…I could buy them for whatever the wholesaler offered. Put a couple hundred in it and put another 80K miles on it. Problem for me would be a break down far from home…sometimes hard to find someone who knows those cars. Even a coolant hose, belt or other simple part may be hard to find. On the other hand, Honda or Toyota is so common almost every gas station has seen and repaired them. Parts are much more readily available.
Upper radiator hose for a BMW for example:
