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Most miles you got out of a car

199,701 on my Dad's 1997 Taurus when the tranny failed and we junked it.
The 1993 Explorer is still running, but rusting and close behind at 195,000 +, but only sees occasional work now for the big loads as 16 mpg on a good day hits the wallet too hard.
 
My 1983 Alfa GTV6 has 240,000 miles on it, still going strong. Gets used about 50/50 for track and street driving. Heck, our 24 Hours of LeMons 1987 Alfa Milano has around 150,000 miles on it, with the last 4 years of it's life being purely race miles. 12 races account for maybe 6,000 - 8,000 miles at 5,000+ rpm!

My favorite car? 1972 Alfa Berlina, 130,000 miles. Never fails to make me smile.

Worst car ever? 1982 Mercury Lynx (Jynx) that I inherited when I got married. *Every* major system on that car failed between 25,000 and 35,000 miles. We're talking engine, transmission, brakes, exhaust, steering.

What about low miles? I've got a 1984 Alfa GTV6 back in Boston with 1400 miles on it.

bs
 
I'm driving a '90 Volvo 240 DL wagon with a 5 speed. Bought it in March. The odometer was broken when I got it and says 225,575 but God only knows how many miles are actually on it. It runs good, doesn't use any oil, and drives nice. I plan to run it 'till hell freezes over.:smoke:

About two years ago, I bought a rust bucket '97 Ford Aspire with 282k on it for $150. The kid I got it from screwed us over because we never got a title out of him.:mad: I drove it around locally until 286k, and it didn't use a DROP of oil. So, I found another Aspire with a bad trans, and used the other for parts. The car and engine only have 119k now, but now the trans has over 300k.

My first car was an '86 midsize Ford LTD that I nicknamed "the blue turd". It had 222k when dad bought it for me for $75. I beat the living **** out of it for a year until it had 232k, and I sold it to some lady for $100. I told here that she did NOT want to buy it from me because of how I abused it, but she did anyhow. I can't tell you how many times I saw that POS broken down on the side of the road.:D
 
My Mark VII was bought with 225k on it in September 2008, currently at 238k
Towncar bought at 125k in October 2004, currently 189k but absolutely nothing is original
S10 bought with 82k in March 2001, currently 158k. When the trans blew up in late 2004, it had about 140k on it. Trans replaced December 2005.


I don't put a lot of miles on things anymore. Since 2006 I've either worked from home, or currently I live 1/2 mile from work so I don't really go anyplace.
 
coonmanx said:
This. Any old Volvo with less than 200,000 miles is just in the "breaking in" period. My car has probably 370,000 miles on it (200,000 of which I put on it) and is still going strong. It is the K-jet turbo car from '84 and is becoming more rare each day. It does have a second (used) transmission in it along with a second (used) motor and a rebuilt water cooled turbo. The valves were also done when I swapped motors. I will be driving it today. I am just guessing on the mileage because the odometer stopped working some time ago (maybe four years). I do have a replacement speedo cluster with a working odometer but it hasn't gone in there yet. It is in need of a few repairs but nothing that prevents me from driving it. Keeping it on the road has not always been cheap or easy. Most others would have probably given up a long time ago but I do like and enjoy driving the car.
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Those volvos,

I had a non turbo 240 that I gifted to a friend after I left college. The odometer read 725k miles, everything original.

Now I have a Toyota sr5 Tacoma 4cyl with 266k on the odometer.
 
97 Jeep Cherokee

My '97 Jeep Cherokee has 220k on it and it runs like new. There's a reason you see so many old Cherokees on the road. That old inline 6 was originally a tractor engine, and they run forever. I change the oil every 3300 miles religiously, and it purrs like a kitten. Not making car payments is a wonderful thing.
 
My 1972 Buick Centurian with 455 had over 250,000 on it when I sold it, car
was bullet proof, even still had the original freon in the A/C.
My 1983 Chevrolet Caprice had over 340,000, still like new, it did have to have the
transmisson overhauled at around 250,000. Car was stolen and stripped.
Currently have 1996 impala SS, just now approaching 118,000.
 
MJWPicMan said:
My '97 Jeep Cherokee has 220k on it and it runs like new. There's a reason you see so many old Cherokees on the road. That old inline 6 was originally a tractor engine, and they run forever. I change the oil every 3300 miles religiously, and it purrs like a kitten. Not making car payments is a wonderful thing.
Click to expand...

A true statement to be sure! I've heard of cases of that Jeep straight 6 running for 400k plus without a rebuild. I loved my Grand Cherokee with that engine. Rest of the vehicle wasn't as reliable.

As far as vehicles, I had a '97 Plymouth Breeze that I clocked up to 146k miles, with some troubles along the way. Currently have a 2003 Pontiac Vibe with 129k trouble free miles. Lady at work has the same year/make of vehicle with 300k and it runs like new. I'm gonna keep mine until the wheels fall off. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
 
My wife's 96 Chevy Cavalier has 256,000 miles on it, and still going strong. She's had it from new, it's still on the original motor, trans (manual, not auto), clutch, springs, shocks, exhaust system, and a whole lot more. Blows air colder than our new Focus, thanks to a new compressor fitted by me last year, and a fresh recharge of R134a last weekend.

Who says American cars aren't built to last? I'll never buy a Japanese or Korean car EVER, unless I can get a good deal on a Datsun 240Z.

British and European cars however, that's another story. I used to have a collection of British and German Fords, and have owned several Minis.

Lee.
 
My '95 Suburban 1500 is closing in on 260,000 and still running like a champ. My wife calls it "the clunker" because she is embarrassed to be seen driving it. I say tough ****. It runs and has had few issues other than electrical problems. Its A/C is not designed for the kind of heat we have in Florida, and presently the rest of the nation. The moment the temperature goes over 85 degrees the A/C won't keep up. It has been a great truck and I would buy another one in a heartbeat.
 
hmm

67 Mustang had well over 500K
82 Chevy Celibrity had 240+K when some kids stole it and destroyed it
97 Saturn Sport Coupe SC-2 currently being driven 85 miles a day it has 245K

not sure what my 1940 Dodge coupe had on it when I bought it but the guy told me it was over 400K had been a traveling salesmans car.

The dump truck I drive at work has 362K the truck I drove last year had 450K

Most fun WOW near impossible to tell

1948 Willys Jeep in High School I still have it.

1940 Dodge Coupe did some serious heing and sheing in that 7ft trunk

1967 Chevelle Street Racer made a lot of money had a lot of fun chased a lot of girls
 
if the previous owner's mileage was accurate i had a toyota tercel with over 300k on it. I believe him he was the original owner and a ww2 vet. The only things i ever changed were the starter and the battery.
 
My 2003 STS has 119K miles now, that's the highest I've had a car. It has a pretty good appetite for parts, but I really enjoy the last and best Seville.
 
I have wondered whether my Volvo could actually make it to the half a million mark but I guess that isn't so important. What is important is that the car has made it this far and still runs quite well. I drove it today with no problems. A testament to a good motor at least. The rest needs some attention. I am just happy that the car is still there when I walk outside each day. 200,000 miles is a lot of miles to go in the same car. And frankly it drives better than my Kia Rio made in 2008. I take care of the basics and that means that the car keeps going and still drives nicely. I have owned the car for the past ten years. That is something because most people just don't keep a car for that long.
 
I don't know how people rack up the miles they do. I mean I have a 20 mile each way commute, not super long, but not right around the corner.

The vehicle I had with the most miles I knew of (I've had a lot of older cars where the odometer only went to 100k before it flipped back over to zero), was a 1989 Jeep Grand Wagoneer with 175k miles, that I sold a few years ago. Right now I have a 2000 Jeep Wrangler with 117k that runs like brand new, and my 2006 Dodge Magnum R/T with about 72k miles.

I guess I don't drive enough to rack up 300k+ unless I was still driving my first car from 1985.
 
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76 Toyota Celica, a tad over 500k when the ex totaled it. I was the second owner, bought it with over 250k on the ticker. That was the legendary 20R engine...

It used less than a quart of oil between 3k changes, but I had to put 2 input shaft bearings in the trans, and had to pull the seats out at separate times to braze the frames back together and the plastic interior didn't last any better than the seats. Since we were putting about 30k/yr on it, we didn't see any reason to upgrade.

Later model engines used a single row timing chain, those engines were only good for about 250-300k before the chain broke and bent the valves.

Coonmanx, what engine is in your Volvo? The 2.3l (B23, if memory serves me) were some long lasting motors.
 
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