Getting a checkup--what to check for?
 

I'm anticipating having a hefty commute coming up here (30-60 miles each way) and I think it'd be wise to take my Civic in for a checkup so it doesn't up and die on me on the way to work. The 60 mile each way option has half of the drive through Camp Pendleton, which has no services or exits for about 30 or so miles. If you break down there, you're going to be there for a while.

Instead of taking it in and just telling the mechanic to "check everything" and rip me off, is there anything specific that I should point him to to check out? In other words, what sort of issues would my car be more likely to have coming up here? It's a '95 DX auto, 182k.

Here's a quick laundry list of the things that have been fixed:
head gasket (5/05)
new radiator hoses, thermostat (4/05)
PCV valve (sometime last year)
new master cylnder (8/04)
timing belt, water pump, tensioner (5/04, 150k)
new radiator (sometime in '03)
new a/c clutch (10/02)
new a/c compressor (8/02, and 8/01ish)

It's had regular oil changes and new spark plugs as appropriate.

My a/c is also fuggled up (again!) but I probably won't fix that since it was $800 the last time the compressor died. My goal is to just keep it running smoothly for the next half a year or so, not "fix it up". I will probably be buying an '07 Civic by next summer (depends on finances). I seem to recall some sort of boot on the steering mechanism being cracked. My brakes are also having issues but my step dad will be fixing them.

So, what's going to be the next thing to blow?