# "At 1 million miles, it's just broken in"



## yuandrew (Feb 7, 2008)

Some "High" mileage vehicles

1991 Toyota Pickup

1991 Chevy Silverado Pickup

1998 Chevy Silverado Pickup

1997 Ford E250 Van


----------



## jtr1962 (Feb 7, 2008)

Really amazing. Some of those vehicles are only around 10 years old. I didn't think driving 100,000 miles a year was even possible, let alone that some have done it. My mom's Chrysler 300C is a little over 2 years and only has a bit over 4,000 miles.

My own stats:

Cumulative cycling mileage since September 1980: _*57,168.2 miles*_

I hope to hit at least 100,000 before I die.


----------



## NeonLights (Feb 7, 2008)

My father used to drive up to 100k miles a year, he is a real estate agent (he has his broker's license) and did a lot of travelling out of state. The only car he ever bought new, was a 1981 VW Rabbit diesel, he put 100k miles on it in the first year, and the car had 317k miles on it when someone ran into him and totalled the car a couple years later. He sold the engine to a family friend, and it was still running years later. He is getting older now and doesn't drive quite as much, I think he is down to only around 40k miles a year.

My wife had a VW Rabbit diesel that rolled over 200k miles before we got rid of it. It was bought new by her sister, and then passed onto my wife when she was in college. It was still running for at least a few years after we sold it.

My wife and I were the 2nd owners of a Volvo 240 Wagon that had over 220k miles on it, we'd probably still own it if a Dodge Ram truck hadn't plowed into my wife (my 10 week old son was also in the car) in front of our house at more than 60 mph. The car did its job though and protected my wife and son, no injuries at all.

I used to drive 25k miles a year before my wife and I settled down and started having kids, now it is closer to 15k miles a year. I can't imagine putting a million miles on the same car, I'd get tired of that. The longest I've owned a car is 9 1/2 years, and I put 116k miles on it (a Dodge Neon, my first new car) before I sold it a couple of years ago. I've driven nearly 400k miles since I started driving more than 20 years ago, but I like to drive, and would rather drive across the country than fly. My wife and I own four cars now, and split the driving among them, the most any one of them gets is around 10k miles a year.


----------



## DieselTech (Feb 8, 2008)

I had a '94 Ford F-250 with a PowerStroke diesel, it had 305,000 on it when I gave it to my parents back in September. They're still driving it now.

My current truck, an '02 F-350 with a PowerStroke diesel, has 167,000 miles and runs like new.

My work van, an '04 E-350 with a 5.4 Triton, has 84,000 miles. I average about 50,000 miles a year in it. 

The last trucking company I worked for retired trucks (semis) at a bit over 1 million miles. Modern trucks and cars run far, far longer with significantly less maintenance than they used to.


----------



## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Feb 8, 2008)

My '03 Ram 2500 Cummins isn't even starting to be broken in at 139,xxx

I plan to do at least 500K


----------



## rodfran (Feb 9, 2008)

We sold a 1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass with 145K on it. It was still going strong.
We still have a 1974 Volkswagon Beetle with 148K!


----------



## adirondackdestroyer (Feb 9, 2008)

Damn, 1,000,000 miles on a vehicle! I never knew that was even possible. The most I had ever heard was a buddy of mine had a old VW van which the speedometer stopped at right under 400,000. Is it possible to have a car reach the million mile mark? I notice all of the vehicles listed are trucks/vans. 

I drive a 1994 Eagle Vision with 158 thousand and some change. I've been driving it since I was 16, and it's the only car I've ever owned. It'll be a sad day when I have to retire the beast.


----------



## NeonLights (Feb 9, 2008)

adirondackdestroyer said:


> Damn, 1,000,000 miles on a vehicle!........Is it possible to have a car reach the million mile mark? I notice all of the vehicles listed are trucks/vans.


There are documentad cases of a Honda, a Volvo (or two), a Saab, and I believe a VW of passing the 1,000,000 mile mark, possibly some others as well.


----------



## powernoodle (Feb 9, 2008)

Any vehicle will last 10 billion miles if you keep replacing whatever breaks or falls off of it. 

My crappy Ford Explorer has 180,000 and needs a tranny rebuild, but I keep on driving it.

I'm in the market now for a '08 or '09 Honda Pilot or '08 Toyota Highlander for their apparent durability. Lots of anecdotal evidence of that, and JD Power seems to agree.

Its a coin toss, whatever you get.


----------



## sunspot (Feb 9, 2008)

My wife and I own a '04 Honda Element that now has 137,000 miles on it. I usually put 250,000 on a vehicle before junking it.


----------



## dudemar (Feb 10, 2008)

I own a '99 Audi, bought it used in '02, and since then have only put on 36,000 miles.

I intend to drive it a million miles, but as of right now gas and repairs are too expensive.

Dudemar


----------



## 3rd_shift (Feb 10, 2008)

I have an 07 Isuzu NQR 16 foot boxtruck and an 06 Dodge Sprinter each approaching the million mile club.
Just give me a few to several more years to do it.
Japanese and German designs just simply kick butt! :rock:
American made versions simply suck elephant humping effers imho. 
The Isuzu is at 58K and the Dodge is at 149K as of this post.

Stay tuned.


----------



## mighty82 (Feb 10, 2008)

I have an 2001 peugeot 406 hdi that i have put about 200K miles on. I might have to change the engine in a couple of years, it's hard to sell when the milage is so high. But i'll probably keep it for a long time anyway, it's such a nice car.


----------



## skillet (Feb 10, 2008)

1992 Chevy 1500 series with 4.3 Vortec --> *478K *and going.. I have worn out 2 transmissions, though..


----------



## stitch_paradox (Feb 11, 2008)

I owned 2 vehicles that made the 200,000 miles mark. First one was a 92 Toyota Corolla, 238,XXX miles, when I sold it the engine and transmission was still going strong, could have gone more that 300,000. Great car, I just have to sell it because it was hit from behind and rain water was seeping inside and flooding the carpet. 

The next car I had was a 96 Honda Civic with 268,XXX miles. I really love this car, fast and small. Both car never had engine and transmission replacement, only rebuilt.


----------



## Big_Ed (Feb 12, 2008)

I had a 1984 Chevy Celebrity many years ago that had 231,000 miles on it with original engine/trans. I sold it because I wanted a "faster" car. A neighbor had a Chevy Cavalier with 230,000 miles still going strong until someone vandalized it so bad it was totalled by his insurance company. The father of a high school friend also had a Chevy Cavalier with 215,000 miles on it. He sold it because it was getting pretty rusty. One thing in common with these cars was the 2.8 liter V6. Very durable and long lasting.
I currently have a 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with a 3.1 V6 (just a slightly bigger version of the 2.8 V6) It has 156,000 miles on it, still going strong. I also have a 1996 Cutlass Supreme with the same engine, but it only has about 88,000 miles on it.


----------



## mossyoak (Oct 31, 2008)

'91 jeep cherokee XJ 4x4 4.0 litre, 314,000 miles and drives like a champ


----------



## vtunderground (Oct 31, 2008)

mossyoak said:


> '91 jeep cherokee XJ 4x4 4.0 litre, 314,000 miles and drives like a champ



I'm a big fan of the 4.0... I had a work Jeep with 302,000 miles on it, it ran just like it came out of the factory. 

My mom and her boyfriend both have Toyota pickups with over 300,000 each. I hope the 2TR-FE in my Tacoma is as reliable as those old 22R-E's!


----------



## powernoodle (Oct 31, 2008)

Since my last post, I got the tranny rebuilt and am still driving the Explorer at 187,000 miles. Its not record-setter, but for a crappy Explorer its doing well.

Like I say, any vehicle will last forever if you just keep replacing parts.


----------



## mossyoak (Oct 31, 2008)

vtunderground said:


> I'm a big fan of the 4.0... I had a work Jeep with 302,000 miles on it, it ran just like it came out of the factory.
> 
> My mom and her boyfriend both have Toyota pickups with over 300,000 each. I hope the 2TR-FE in my Tacoma is as reliable as those old 22R-E's!



the 4.0 and 22RE are my to fav engines, my best friend has a toyota 22re Propane converted rock crawler, the durability of that engine is amazing even with the engine bay completely caked in Ga red clay that thing got us off the mountain from a day of crawling.

I call my 4.0 "4 liters of fury" it has the power/comfort setting, which in the xj is completely irresponsible... how many stock 4x4s made can do a four wheel drive burnout on dry pavement?


----------



## MarNav1 (Nov 1, 2008)

My 83 Olds Delta 88 has 200k and runs just fine, thanks. Big rigs regularly run a million with just a top end tune up.


----------



## Monocrom (Nov 1, 2008)

powernoodle said:


> Like I say, any vehicle will last forever if you just keep replacing parts.


 
Completely true.

I sunk in $1,000 to keep my '98 Ford Escort running in tip-top shape.... And about a month later, some [email protected]$$ totalled it while I was driving home. 

I figure the $1,000 would have kept her running well for another 2-3 years.


----------



## chmsam (Nov 1, 2008)

There is a 1965 Volvo P1800 that from the latest report I can find had at least 2,600,000 miles on it as of a year or two ago -- ought to be about 3,000,000 miles about now. The car did have a restoration but still has the original engine, frame, body, etc. The only even semi-serious engine work apparently was a valve replacement done years ago so that it would operate on unleaded gasoline. The original owner was a salesman and appeared on Leno among other TV shows. He might have passed away but at last report the car was still being driven by another family member. Of course there were one or two ads run by Volvo about it as well.


----------



## Art (Nov 1, 2008)

You guys over there have really long road/highways. Here in portugal , where its size is smaller then most of your roads to get to a million miles (1.6milion km) its very difficult only in big comercial trucks.

But sitll , my 2 cars together have more then 550k kms... 340k kms in my Audi A4 Avant 1.9TDI and 220km in a Seat Ibiza 1.9d.Both run great.

Regards,


----------



## JWP_EE (Nov 1, 2008)

My 90 Ford Festiva just turned 250,000 miles. It still gets 45 MPG so I plan to keep it running as long as I can.


----------



## Mike Painter (Nov 3, 2008)

About 1956 in Santa Rosa California my parents bought me nice wool sweater from a traveling salesman.
In 1975, about an hour after talking about this guy, he showed up at our door in Gridley, California.
He was still driving the same car. Everything, except *maybe* the paint was the same, just as it had been when he bought his new Chevrolet in 1946.
I made the mistake of touching the car and he told me not to as the oil from our hands is bad for the paint. I think he said the same thing in the 50's.

I suspect that car had a few miles on it.


----------



## Illum (Nov 3, 2008)

the "severe service" part comes in really at the "stop and start" part, if the engines running on say 24 hour operation I don't know what part mechanical could possibly lock up.. :thinking:

it might actually improve its cycles....or just improves the buildup:candle:


----------



## turbodog (Nov 3, 2008)

dudemar said:


> I own a '99 Audi, bought it used in '02, and since then have only put on 36,000 miles.
> 
> I intend to drive it a million miles, but as of right now gas and repairs are too expensive.
> 
> Dudemar



If you are under the impression that repairs are too expensive, you'll never make it to anywhere near 1M.

I love the people that say "I can't afford these repairs" and then go buy a new vehicle...... with high payments.


----------



## BIGIRON (Nov 3, 2008)

It's all because of better engineering, better materials, better lubricants, better roads and the owners realizing the economy of keeping and maintaining a vehicle instead of an every-three-year trade.

But I still love them 56 Chevys.


----------



## LuxLuthor (Nov 3, 2008)

I wonder what the record is among 18 wheel or various commercial diesel trucks (including UPS/FedEx/Post Office vans).


----------



## Mike Painter (Nov 3, 2008)

LuxLuthor said:


> I wonder what the record is among 18 wheel or various commercial diesel trucks (including UPS/FedEx/Post Office vans).


Probably arounf that million mark. A friend was offered quite a bit when his rig got close to that.


----------



## BIGIRON (Nov 3, 2008)

Lot's of million plus bigrigs on the road. Most consider a first overhaul at 500k to be the norm.


----------



## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Nov 3, 2008)

Trucking company we used to have for a customer (out of business for several years now) ran Petes with Detroit Series 60s to 500K usually with no major repairs and sold them for not a lot less than they bought them for.


----------



## Monocrom (Nov 4, 2008)

PlayboyJoeShmoe said:


> Trucking company we used to have for a customer (out of business for several years now) ran Petes with Detroit Series 60s to 500K usually with no major repairs and sold them for not a lot less than they bought them for.


 
You guys ever get the feeling that Auto-Makers could use heavier-duty parts, but choose not to?.... I'm starting to get that feeling. I'm in the market for a new ride. Instead of being happy at the prospect of a sweet ride, I'm worried if it'll last long enough. :sigh:


----------



## BIGIRON (Nov 4, 2008)

I think the message in most of this thread is that a quality vehicle will last a long time with care and maintnence.

If I were buying a "rest of my life" vehicle, considering longevity only, I'd opt for a full size pickup or suv.


----------



## IcantC (Nov 4, 2008)

Had a few CrownVics(02 and up) with over 300k miles.


----------



## PlayboyJoeShmoe (Nov 4, 2008)

I think bigiron hit it.

I'm much more comfortable thinking my RAM 2500 will get there than say a K car or a small 4 banger anything....


----------



## Bullzeyebill (Nov 4, 2008)

jtr1962 said:


> Really amazing. Some of those vehicles are only around 10 years old. I didn't think driving 100,000 miles a year was even possible, let alone that some have done it. My mom's Chrysler 300C is a little over 2 years and only has a bit over 4,000 miles.
> 
> My own stats:
> 
> ...



Can tell from your mileage that you don't live in CA. We can do that in one year out here.

Bill


----------



## aussiebob (Nov 4, 2008)

My Dad had a 86 Volvo 240 with 750,000kms (466,000miles for the yanks) on it. Was the B23E engine 2.4 4cyl petrol.

Still had original trans, engine, etc. With no majour breakdowns to speak of.

Those cars were built like tanks, all the parts were steel, not plastic like todays cars.

Forgot to mention, the car was never properly maintained, oil changes every 50,000k or so.....

Cheers


----------



## BIGIRON (Nov 4, 2008)

Those old Volvos are impressive. I just helped a friend get one back on the road -- been parked for a year. Put in a battery and it cranked and ran (on year old gas). It's an 84 they bought new. Has 190xxx on the broken odo and they figure it's got at least 70k more since the odo broke. Got it stickered and it's now a daily driver. Even the a/c worked. They also have a 240K 1995 Suburban that I just repaired the a/c in. Owners have few mechanic skills - just have everything maintained by the book.


----------



## DieselTech (Nov 4, 2008)

I know of at least one trucking company that clearly defines it's truck life policy as "We try to keep 80% of our fleet below 1 million miles". Personally, I've worked on more seven and eight hundred thousand mile semi trucks than I care to try and count, most of which were still on the original engine. They might have had some injectors put in, or some other components replaced, but they were still running the original bottom end, rings, etc...


----------



## NeonLights (Nov 5, 2008)

Monocrom said:


> You guys ever get the feeling that Auto-Makers could use heavier-duty parts, but choose not to?.... I'm starting to get that feeling. I'm in the market for a new ride. Instead of being happy at the prospect of a sweet ride, I'm worried if it'll last long enough. :sigh:


How much would you be willing to pay for such a car built with more "heavy-duty" parts? How long before you'd get tired of it? How many miles do you drive a year? The longest I've kept a single car (I've owned around 20 in 22 years) is 9 years and 116k miles. It was a very reliable car, first car I ever bought new ('96 Dodge Neon), but after more than nine years of ownership, I was really tired of the car and wanted to get rid of it. Most people aren't willing to pay considerably more for a car that lasts considerably longer, and most people tire of cars, or mistreat them, and want to keep up with the new convenience and safety options that continue to come out. 

I'm pretty happy with the cars I have now, and may keep all of them for quite a long time, but right now my wife and I have five cars, so I'm not driving one all the time, and won't tire of any of them in the forseeable future. When I do, I just drive another car for a few weeks.


----------



## JWP_EE (Nov 5, 2008)

I have owned 2 cars in the last 36 years with a total of 440,000 miles.


----------

