Any and everyone with 200,000 miles on a vehicle.

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Johnny248
I drove my old '96 Camry 5SFE from Detroit to central Florida and back with 274k before I left without a problem. Just had to keep adding oil since it leaked like bit. I've had high mileage vehicles that ran great, and I had total confidence in, and I've also had some that were the opposite. You can usually get a feel for how trust worthy a car is after owning it for some time.



With all due respect....driving through 6 hours of desert is nothing like your trip. I wouldn't hesitate to drive that route either.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
1995 Lexus SC300 with 205K on it here. I'd take it anywhere (and do!). Still runs fine. I would not be afraid to take it through the desert. Cooling system looks completely spotless as of 10K miles ago. Engine has never had a problem, but it does burn about 2 quarts of oil between 7.5K oil changes. Still my daily driver. Only downsides are features of the car I guess. I would like to have bluetooth integration, radio AUX in, HD radio, the keyless entry is lacking in features, better safety features and better gas mileage. However, I still love my SC and look forward to keeping it for many more miles! 300K here I come!


When you do drive it through the desert in 110 degree heat for 4 hours let us know how it performs. Seriously, you guys back in the South and East really don't know about vast nothingness for hours and hours at a time until you have been in the Western deserts.

 

[Lyman]

I used to own a 1990 Ford Ranger. Had a 2.9 V6 and 5 spd. I sold it with 300k + miles on it and would have driven it anywhere. Besides fluid changes all I ever did to it was a clutch one time, Plugs three times and wires one time. A fuel pump, shocks and lots of tires. Ran great when I sold it for $1,000 less than I paid for it 15 years prior.

 

[Srt20]

194k on wife's truck. 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 Hemi
Wheel bearing every other year. Fronts only.
Idler pulley and serpentine belt replaced once.
Spark plugs changed once at 94k.
Clean throttle body every couple years or so.
1 or 2 u joints in rear driveshaft.
5 sets of tires.
Brakes probably once a year, she is hard on brakes.
Trans fluid changed once.
It's in for a recall right now for loose pinion nut which took out the pinion bearing. Dealer fixing it for free of course.
Edit: also replaced shocks once with worthless Monroe shocks.

Best MPG on a tank I ever got was at 160k.
I would trust the truck to drive on a long trip. Though I would go over it first. Paying close attention to the wheel bearings.
Though I would trust it, I wouldn't take it. No way I'm sitting in them worn out seats when we have 2 other better and newer vehicles.

 

[Robenstein]

My Buick Riviera went well over 200k. It was the transmission that ultimately went. Changing fluids and filters is vital, especially with automatic transmissions.

 

[3800Series]

Before I bought the '95 Regal I used a 95-96 Volvo 850 T. Car got 25 mpg only broke down once (starter) in the 160k miles we had it.

Got it up to 289k miles still ran well. Always started up first time. No real problems just it leaked any and all fluids, no heat, no AC, and the sun roof leaked after it rained.

It was just nickel and dime'ing us but us. It was reliable tho. Originally it was the wife's car we bought it back many years ago with 120k miles for less then 3k. At the time everything worked.

After awhile she wanted a new car so we passed it on to our son who was turning of age
He pretty much floored it everywhere for a year or two. Then we got him a truck, passed it down to my youngest son who drove it for a few years Also.

Car took all there abuse and refused to die. Even at 289k miles transmission shifted flawlessly. We ended up scrapping it tho, didn't want some young kid to kill it. For a few years it was just a A to B car and it worked fine for that just don't want someone's child depending on the car as it was starting to lose comprossion.

Also have a '01 Silverado with 340k runs excellent. Had the transmission replaced 20k miles ago. About to replace it tho. Keep it as a farm truck.

With proper care and maintance no reason a car shouldn't live to hit 200k miles. Just show pride of ownership and keep it up on maintance.

Half the time the cars don't hit 200k is because people don't maintain them then get mad when parts 50k miles part their life expectancy break. Its more a domino effect then anything.

 

[WishIhadatruck]

I have had two cars go over 200k. My last one was my 2001 Grand Prix GT. 230k when I gave it away. Looked, ran and drove better than much younger cars. I would take it anywhere, any distance. I feel the same about my Buick wagon with 194k miles. I will keep it a couple more years at least. My 94 Grand Prix was the most trouble free from 150-200k at which point the A/C quit working, the gas tank started leaking, and the intake manifold gaskets started to leak.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted By: thorromig
My question, anybody that has sustained this mileage in any vehicle make or model. With normal maintanance with plugs, wires, oil change, filters of all types, power steering & coolant flushes along with brakes, tires and exhaust. How well and reliable do the milestone cars run? Would you take them on a 5000 mile road trip with no worries? Would you consistently stay in the passing lane of a posted 80mph speed limit? Does the car have the same or near same feal as it did new with performance & handling? I would luv to set my sights high on my Acura in signature & also push my Explorer till its wheels are ready to fall off. What are some of the pros and cons of running, operating and maintaining a 200 thousand mile plus vehicle in general?


For both my cars: Plugs every 100k miles. Wires are all original. Change the oil and filter every 5k miles. Air about every 10k miles. I don't know. Maybe it's every 15k miles. Cabin filter gets the bugs cleaned out and put back in. Both have original power steering fluid, mostly original ATF, brakes were never flushed, Rav4 never had an alignment, Corolla had one once.

Both cars are driven 80-85mph every day on the way to work about 25 miles and then 25 miles through the country side for me and my wife drives 55 miles of highway each way. Took the Corolla on a 1000 mile trip to Boston a couple months ago. Probably would take it to a shop to redo the brakes before a 5000 mile jaunt. I did the front brakes myself and something rubs and squeaks after a couple hundred miles at 85mph. They still work fine but the wheel gets a little warm. The Corolla has had about $800 in lifetime repairs and the Rav4 has had $170 in repairs over 275k miles. pros: Cost of ownership. Pride of ownership. My wife thinks I'm a car maintenance and repair genius.

Other than some squeaks and some "old car" sounds, both cars drive like new. The interiors are very nice. The front of the hoods have a lot of paint chips from stones hitting them.

 

[Quest]

wifey's 2004 camry LE already >212k on the motor. Original trans and no oil burning at all (zero). Struts have been updated once @ 130k with Monroe sensatrac all around; upstream (wideband) O2 sensor replaced once around 79k; steering intermediate shaft replaced once (with the 2nd revised version, so no more clunking); countless brake pads, spark plugs (using AutoLite), rotors, tires, etc.

We still taking it on road trips days at a time (2wks ago: we were up and down Oregon coast for the entire week, avg. 300miles per day of driving x6 days).

Still on original factory coolant (Toy LLC pink is good for 10yrs)

am I worry about breakdowns and/or failures? Nope.

We're gonna drive it til past 300k before getting another replacement car.

Q.

p.s. BTW: I only run PYB or QState Green on it , never see syn or anything (I don't believe the price justifications on them nor the so-called "syn ---> significantly longer engine life, less wear, etc.)

 

[stockrex]

I forgot to mention dmax trucks with 500000 miles plus going coast to coast,

 

[tinmanSC]

Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: tinmanSC
1995 Lexus SC300 with 205K on it here. I'd take it anywhere (and do!). Still runs fine. I would not be afraid to take it through the desert. Cooling system looks completely spotless as of 10K miles ago. Engine has never had a problem, but it does burn about 2 quarts of oil between 7.5K oil changes. Still my daily driver. Only downsides are features of the car I guess. I would like to have bluetooth integration, radio AUX in, HD radio, the keyless entry is lacking in features, better safety features and better gas mileage. However, I still love my SC and look forward to keeping it for many more miles! 300K here I come!


When you do drive it through the desert in 110 degree heat for 4 hours let us know how it performs. Seriously, you guys back in the South and East really don't know about vast nothingness for hours and hours at a time until you have been in the Western deserts.

Actually, Interesting you should say that. I know exactly what that's like. I drove my 2000 GS300 to Las Vegas in July two years ago. We went Chicago -> Denver -> Moab -> Monument Valley -> Las Vegas. I did 115 mph in 115 degree heat for some hours. Ran fine. I got a great picture of it.

 

[KzMitch]

2000 Tundra.
Bought it new.
230,000 miles on it now.
I do everything with today that I did with it the first year of ownership.

 

[JHZR2]

We have had multiple. The biggest issue at those ages is keeping corrosion at bay. That includes the body and the cooling system especially.

All my cars I trusted, and did take cross country without thinking twice. If I had an inkling that something may be on the out, I fixed it.

I only got snagged once... With a bad cv boot that failed and got really noisy almost instantly on the interstate.

 

[garyb80]

I'll be crossing the 200,000 mile mark on my 06 Tacoma before the end of summer. It still drives like new. Just normal maintenance and wear items.

 

[crazyoildude]

200,000 on many cars .. 400,000 on the shop oldsmobile custom cruiser on original engine a few transmissions and power window motors lots of alternators..lol It ran good the day it went to the junk yard.

 

[Chris142]

406k on our shop truck.did a 400 mile round trip in it a few months ago.

 

[mehullica]

247,000 on my 2000 Toyota Echo. Besides fluids, I've done struts, mounts, belts, plugs, valve adjustment, & brakes. Original clutch & just got back from a trip from home to Mexico to San Diego to Sacramento. Pulled 415-470 miles per tank over 2 weeks on the trip.

 

[hansj3]

I've had a bunch of cars at the 200k mark. I'll list them for you

A 93 impreza fwd that had 261k when I sold
My gf had a 98 forester with 350ish k on it when we gave up on it ( it had enough issues to justify)
My 99 forester had 231k
My grand Cherokee has 221k
Two of my ford aspires had between 190 and 220k
My 93 tercel had 250k before rot got it
My 95 caviler had 188 on it when I sold it
My new silvarado will have 230k when I pick it up
My 300z had either 180 or 280k 5 place odo
My loyale was the same way, but 150k felt more likely
.......

Most of these cars I owned for a short time, and sold. I don't really make much off of them, but I have fun and then they pay for themselves.
However I put 70k on my tercel, 120k on my forester, and a whopping 170k on my gf's forester
Not to mention the grand Cherokee was bought by my mom when I was 9 and had 70k on it then (I probably put 30k of hard mixed towing and commuting)
I guess that's what happens when you have had as many cars as your age (27)

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: CKN
I wouldn't want to take any car with 200,000 miles on it through the desert of Arizona,Nevada, and California when I travel from Salt Lake to Corona, CA to visit my son.

I'm not that brave. I went through Las Vegas a month ago and it was like 110 degrees.....and that was the average temperature for like 4 hours.

What are you talking about? The heat here doesn't even phase cars unless there's major issues with the cooling system. I've never heard of anybody's car overheating here except my mom's but it has a blown head gasket.

My car has had 175,000 miles of Phoenix heat.

Phoenix averages 100 days per year of temperatures over 100 degrees. In 2013 we had 115 days of 100 or higher, in 2011 we had 33 days of 110 degrees or higher.

My car still hasn't run warm...

 

[Inspecktor]

252,000 on 95 Cirrus. Engine is good, minimal oil consumption. Trans rebuilt at 135,000 due to cooler line leak, son in law let it run dry more than once. Other than that, normal maintenance. Still has original exhaust system, although muffler is sounding a little louder. I would trust it to go any distance.