I know this is a topic that our own David Tracy is sort of obsessed with: he adores high-mileage vehicles. Any excuse to feature something about a high-mileage vehicle, David will take. If we let him, David would happily have a car show that’s just wildly high-mileage vehicles, and people would walk around, poking their heads into windows to ooh and ahh at the numbers on the odometer. Actually, he might demand that the milage be painted on the windshields, used-car-lot style. Unsurprisingly, he came up with this question.
And, it’s a good one – there definitely is an allure to a high-mileage survivor! Look at that famous Volvo P1800, for example. A guy named Irv Gordon put over three million miles on that thing! So it’s worth asking, what is your highest-mileage car?
For me, this is a tricky answer, because I don’t really know for sure. I have a suspicion, though. You see, my 1973 Volkswagen Beetle had a buttocks-load of miles when I got it at 18, over 200,000 I was told, and I drove it pretty much nonstop throughout college, post-college, a move to Los Angeles, all over LA and California, including multiple trips to the Bay Area, Yosemite, and the desert, so I think it has well over 300,000 miles or so, but I really have no idea, because the person I got it from said the odometer quit and was changed out in the late Carter Administration.
And then I ran it for years with no speedo/odometer because the cable was so noisy. So I really have no clue. I think my Scion xB had about 275,000 or more, as well. It’s probably one of those two.
But you, all of you, you probably keep better records than I do, so I bet there’s some real high-mileage heroes out there! Now’s your chance to brag! Show us odometer pictures, tell us big numbers, and hell, maybe lie a little! It’ll be fun!
Any million+ mile cars out there? That’d be exciting.
My Acura Legend has 194k miles. It can be hard to find parts these days, but it’s never run or looked better. All it took was fresh paint, a second cow, a fist-full of bushings, and an engine rebuild.
My ’64 F100 coach-built crewcab currently has about 350k miles on the original engine and drivetrain, and I drive it at least weekly. Well, unless it is raining as there are holes in the floorboard behind the right front wheel. Still going strong.
I had a 2008 Rav4 that I traded a year ago for a new Mazda CX50. It had 153,000 miles. Close behind is the Fiat X1/9 I bought new in 1974 and still have with 143,000 miles.
I bought my ’73 Bavaria up in Seattle and drove it home to the Bay Area; getting off the freeway near my house on that trip home, the odometer rolled over to 0. Brand new car! My mechanic at the time estimated that that was the second time it had rolled over. My current ’87 Saab 900 SPG has about 238K, and my ’03 525iAT has 244K.
On the flip side, the day in 2003 when I bought my ’65 Corvair, it had 11,575 miles on it and had never rolled over. Today it has about 45K.
My top three…
1991 Nissan Pathfinder, bought at 329,000, sold at 365,000
1995 Toyota Corolla, bought at 244,000 sold at 278,000
1991 Mazda Miata, bought at 205,000, sold at 238,000
All manuals, and – not to stir any pots or anything – all belt-driven camshafts.
Oh, and all were running fine when sold. I just moved on.
A 1998 Subaru Outback with 495k km (307k miles). Right after buying it, I blew up the automatic transmission. I swapped in another one. Then a few months later I blew up the head gaskets too. I wanted to keep it but couldn’t afford to fix it.
The ’92 Camry that had enough mismatched body panels to generate my username was ~345Kmiles when it became clear rust was moving faster than me.
Not a ton of miles for a 90s Camry, but it still ran great on the original engine and transmission. Drove it to the back of the rollback for its final voyage.
My Mitsu van sits at 265K, and I bought it at 151K so that’s a personal 110K miles from me! Very proud of it, and I owe it a restoration.
However, one of the Ford Centurion vantruck shows 94K on its odometer. I strongly suspect it is 294K, because it was a hotshot truck for its entire working life and it’s way too spent in every way on the inside and outside to be even 194K. Because of how well it runs and drives, I think the drivetrain itself may have less than 100K on it (6.9 IDI and C6 transmission). I did a lot of work on the suspension though, replacing basically every bushing which had turned to powder.
I recently sold a Mercedes 190D that had 290k miles on it, and lots left to go. It was still running great and the next owner was excited to keep driving it daily. That era of Mercedes diesels are incredibly long-lived.
Also own a VW Rabbit Truck with upwards of 320k miles, but actual mileage is unknown due to a) buying it with a broken odometer b) putting another dash in it…and then having that odometer malfunction as well. Those plastic gears just don’t seem to last. But based on cumulative estimates it is well over 300k and climbing.
2001 A4, kept it to 260k before selling to a friend. Apparently, I had managed to bring every balljoint, bushing and subframe mount within an inch of its life, and he took it through that last inch in a few months of ownership. Lovely little car, got me through college without complaining about the abuse of college life, that being lots of short drives with a quarterly 12-hour move between school and internship with all of my belongings loaded in, and of course all the hooning that accompanies being 19-23. Handled great, and that little 1.8 made so much torque that you couldn’t even tell how slow it was until you tried to overtake at speed.
2012 Cruze Eco: 246k miles. Close to double digits on water pumps, replaced the rubber bits in the cooling system, 4th set of shocks/struts and several transmission fluid changes. This is in western NY where a flake of snow gets a ton of salt dumped onto the roads. Fluid Film coated since new and the rockers are still solid.
Not going to win with this crowd, but I just junked my first newly purchased car at 229,027 miles and 28 years old since it blew a head gasket, failed smog, and had a spreadsheet full of other issues.
2004 Prius. 270k when I finally traded it in back in 2015. Only part repaired was the water pump, which ended up being part of a covered recall. And the serpentine belt broke once. That’s it. By far the most durable car I ever had. Low end was a 1984 Audi 5000s (see name) that had something like 23k when I got it in 1995. It didn’t even make it to 30k.
Some of you guys have some really rookie high scores.
280k on 1992 Accord but not original engine or trans
230k on 1995 Cherokee, 100% original and has been in the family since 2001 and 80k
The most impressive one is my buddy’s 1997 7.3 Powerstroke which recently bit the dust at 260k original miles. At least 150k of those miles were spent making 450hp(more than double stock power) on stock and original internals.
An impressively bad one is my 1991 Accord, which despite being a well engineered and built Honda has lived a hard life and is on its 3rd engine at 155k.
I had a 1990 240sx Coupe 5spd that lasted until 319k miles. By lasted… I mean it was wrecked. The car had a lot of life left in it, the paint still looked new, the interior was in great condition. I used to play a game with people in the car scene by asking “How many miles do you think this car has”. I don’t think a single person guessed more than 100k and everyone was shocked to hear how many miles it had.
You guys wrote a post on it in the early days of the site! The 2003 Evo currently has 334,000 miles on it and counting. Just got a new clutch and flywheel and is awaiting parts to further cost me money this year. But, at this point we are at the “well, that part had a good run” or “Yep time to change that again”.
Family member’s car: 2008 Honda CR-V: just traded at 545,000 miles with original engine and transmission (and timing chain).
Current car I own with highest mileage: 2007 Honda CR-V: 190,000 miles
Wow, original timing chain and guides? I’m impressed.
As far as I know, yes. The owner told me it needed a head gasket, some smog-related work, and a bunch of “need to get around to that soon” maintenance, so it finally just wasn’t worth the expense to repair it.
If it had a belt, it would likely have experienced untold havoc and destruction
285K on the 5speed 4wd Honda Element I sold last year. Other than the VTEC solenoid acting up on the regular, no reason to think it won’t easily break 300K with the new owner.
My current fleet champion is a 2012 Honda Accord V6 Coupe at 132K, followed closely by the 2005 Saab 9-2x that sits at 129K. Second set of head gaskets on that one. I’ve moved away from high mileage vehicles over the last few years, at times my current high of 132K would have easily been my low number.
Yeah 130k is nothing
And isn’t that kind of amazing? In the 70s, a car was considered worn out at 100K, and honestly , most were. The engines and drivetrains of even a relatively modern car is so much better than the “good old days” when engines needed a rebuild just to make it into triple digits. Odometers stopped at 99,999, and that was okay! Car was done anyway.
People say that all the time, but I really haven’t seen much evidence to support that.
My 1974 Jeep j10 has 130k and going strong.
My 1986 CJ which is mechanically identical(same engine from the 60s) is at 180k and also going strong.
My 1995 f150 with the 300(also an engine from the 60s) has 155k, but those are famous for going 300k or more.
I don’t know how representative these are of typical cars, but some engines from the 70s most certainly would not typically be worn out by 100k.
Many cars back then were worn out after two test drives at the dealership.
My 1993 Mercedes-Benz 400E had 269K when I sold it. A close second was my 1993 Mercedes-Benz 500E with 264K.
I get a feeling that many of you don’t live in the salt belt. My dad had 2 Accords that went over 300,000km but the underbody rot got bad enough that even he, a man who once patched up holes in a Fiat with cardboard from paper towel rolls, decided it was probably about time to shop for something new. Both were running fine, shifting well on the original clutches and the engines could have lived many more years.
My 2012 Kia just passed 140,000km. I think the highest any car I’ve owned was ~220,000km on my 95 Altima when I traded it in.
I feel like a baby compared to some here:
2000 Saturn SL1, 246k miles (from 2001 to 2016)
Current DD is a only at 165k: I still consider it “just getting broken in”.
Had the old family 2003 Expedition up to 307k when I sold it and upgraded. My dad bought it new, then my brother had it for a while, then I took it.
Replaced one of the rear window motors, one spark plug blew out in the 4.6L (~$700 to tap an insert a new one), and that’s basically it as far as non routine maintenance. Never any leaks or anything.
I will say I think that motor was a bit underpowered but towed the size trailers and boats I had mostly ok. I realized it was time to upgrade when I couldn’t go higher than 45 mph climbing in the Blue Ridge mountains towing a 5500lb trailer. Three speed transmission and the 4.6L just couldn’t hack the ascent at highway speeds
She was a great family hauler for 20 years and hope she still is somewhere else!
My dad ended up getting a 2010 Explorer with the upgraded 4.6L V8 that he then sold to a buddy of mine. I still change the oil for him (and recently the spark plugs) on it and it is currently up to 268,000 miles.
The radiator did leak so popped a new one in for about $300 in parts and the fuel gauge relay had to be replaced as well. Other than those two things it has also been very reliable. Makes me miss the old Windsor 4.6L V8, especially the 3 valve ones
Umm….. A 2003 Expedition does not have a three speed transmission.
Oh yeah 4 speed, good catch
’14 Camry Hybrid – 230k miles and counting. Nothing but routine maintenance, fluid flushes and brakes.
My little 2000 Chevrolet Cavalier with the pushrod 2.2 and 3-speed automatic has 298,7XX miles on it.
I did a compression test around 290,000 miles and it was still 175-180psi on all cylinders.
Transmission acts a little funky but it has had a few fluid changes throughout its life.
I thank the people from Lordstown, Ohio who built it.
Had a blue ’94 Oldsmobile Delta Ninety-Eight make it to 255,000 miles before selling it and a red ’91 Toyota Celica that I sold right after it hit 250,000 miles. That Celica was what really sold me on the quality of Toyotas. I had bought it for $200 with just over 200,000 miles from a good friend who was bad at auto maintenance. He would drive it until the oil light would come on and then bring it out to my place to change the oil and maybe a quart would dribble out. After I bought it, I was surprised how nice the interior cleaned up, so I went ahead and re-painted the exterior. Then came all of the deferred maintenance, but when I was done, I had a really great car I was able to put 50,000 miles on. Sold it to help fund the purchase of a ’69 Mercedes 230 with a 4-on-the-tree. Should’ve kept it.