Highest Mileage Vehicle?

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A high mileage vehicle to me is over 200k. No one wants one used on Craigslist.

I got lucky and sold a rare 2005 Subaru (Legacy wagon manual turbo) for $2000 because guy was ex Subaru afoando and needed cheap.($2000) despite a pointed out oil drip.

Everyone else interested but stated 230k was too much mileage.
 
We formerly had a 1995 Villager; about 245k miles on it when we sold it to a local young single mom that needed cheap, reliable transportation. We still see it every once in a while around town. I have no idea how many miles it has on it now.

That van was replaced with a used 2005 Grand Marquis; it currently has 247k miles on it. Runs absolutely great; not a hiccup at all. We have every intention of continuing to run it. It has very little rust (odd for IN), and drives as well as my 2007 GM that has 1/2 the mileage. She loves the car. I see no reason it won't last another 200k miles or more. These cars (the Ford "panther" platform) are the unsung hero's of FoMoCo longevity. Many live on after their life in police service, and get beat up pretty badly. But if you care for them, they last nearly indefinitely. Even if this engine were to stop running (which there is zero indication it will), it would be far cheaper to reman it and put back in service, as "new" cars are prohibitively expensive! We bought the car used for $3600 with 157k miles on it, so we've put 90k on it in 4 years. In that time, the only real cost (past normal lubes, tires, belt, etc) has been to replace the a/c accumulator, and a seat-belt pretension-er. So we've spent about $800 in four years for non-routine costs, and none of that drive-train engine-related. Who would complain about a car that averages $17/mo in unforeseen expenses, runs great, and has no indication of stopping? Can I go get a "new" car for $17/month? We own three of these; I have a 2007 MGM (107k), my wife's 2005 MGM (347k), and my son has a 2006 CVLX (130k). They are are built well and run the same (excellent).
 
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Highest in the current fleet is the Sportage with 171k. Right rear power lock actuator quit recently and the rear wiper motor is dying, and it has consumed a little coolant since it was gifted to us with 135k on it several years ago. My parents bought it new and when they went to trade it in, got such awful offers that they asked if we wanted it as a teenager/dog hauling vehicle.

Highest mileage I have owned was a 1986 BMW 528e, it was at 299k when I got hit in the side and it was a total loss. Light blue, dark blue leather, cold a/c, one tear in the driver's seat but otherwise looked great. Lots of piston slap on cold start-up, but those eta inline sixes were prone to that. If I could find a clean, non-rusty E28 I'd love to have one.
 
My 1997 Corolla had over 360,000 when I took it to the junkyard due to rust on the suspension mounting areas. If it weren't for that, we'd still be driving it, it had lots of life left. Other than the struts, wheel bearings, water pump and radiator, just about everything on the car was original.

My 240sx has an odometer that now only works when it wants to, but according to my calculations its very close to 300,000 and shows no signs of stopping. Axles, hubs, all wheel bearings, and engine are original. Most other rotating parts are not, so the mileage is only telling a small part of the story. As someone else alluded to, tolerance for repairs on this one is pretty high, as the parts are still plentiful, cheap, and easy to get.

I was talking to the service guy at one of our local Toyota dealers, and he said they had a guy come in for a transmission replacement (replacing the original factory unit) on a Tacoma that has almost 800,000 on it.

I really don't consider anything under 400,000 impressive anymore, we've seen too many cars do it.
 
Over 500K is a LOT of miles
laugh.gif
 
One has to drive a lot more per year to get a truly high-mileage vehicle here, as rust typically gets a car before mechanical failure does.

Having said that, we've broken 200K miles with several vehicles:

1968 Chev Impala 307 PG/327 TH
I swapped in a used engine & tranny in 1982 @ 176K miles.
Gave it to a friend @ 200K miles, who drove it for several more years.

1990 Mazda MPV 2.6 l 4-cylinder 5-speed manual
Written off in 2001 due to an accident, 326K km.
I replaced the head gasket @ 256K miles.

1997 Mazda MPV 3.0 l V6 4-speed automatic
Still going strong mechanically @ 338K km, but the rusties are winning. I'd give it another year at best.

On vacation in '05:



********

We've all hear for years and years about the fellow in the States with the 1966 (IIRC) Volvo and the incredible mileage it's racked up.

When I was in Gr 12, I remember reading about a taxi or limo in NYC that had just broken 1,000,000 miles. The car was a '59 or '60 Cadillac, and the owner said he changed the oil every week! This was in 1974. I did a quick web search just now but didn't find any mention of this Caddy.
 
I bought a 2001 Buick LeSabre last year at an auction with 249k miles. It drove like it too, I sold it after a few weeks to flip it.

My Camry has 227k miles, even after being totaled 2 years ago, it drives like brand new. I'm not kidding, it drives wonderfully.


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Back in the mid/late 90's there was a standard cab LWB Nissan that ran parts for one of the local Birmingham Nissan dealerships. It had over 500,000 miles on it. Repairs/maintenance, I have no idea. The driver showed up in a different vehicle one day and said the dealership decided to give up on the high mileage truck when the rear end gave up. It was no longer worth the effort.
 
The most recent high-mileage car we had in the family was my old Lexus. It was at the 292K mark on the original powertrain. Before that, it was a Toyota Cressida with 260K on the chassis but a ratty "used" JDM engine and transmission before my parents knew better about cars. We also had a Nissan Quest with 245K on it. Lots of highway miles on those cars.

Now the highest mileage car is my Prius with 154K on it. Still on the original hybrid battery with a decent amount of health on it. Somehow, I get the parent's hand-me-downs but I plan on buying a new car of my own within the next two years. It's now seeing mixed highway and city driving. It's a fine city car, not as much as a long-distance runner but it did fine on a drive between Oakland and Truckee.
 
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Just turned 338K on the '04 Corolla...she still runs fine, but she's getting weak when it gets hot out...when temps are 85+ she accelerates like a turtle...
 
my early '99 F250 with the 7.3 Powerstroke sitting at around 236,850 miles as of today. Daily driven ,never fails to start, original tranny, injectors, bone stock except for a cat and muffler delete, 18 mpg hand calculated all day long......just a good ol 7.3 Stroker

highest mileage truck in the family would be my uncles '05 Dodge 2500 with the 5.9 Cummins bought new, with around 395k miles. runs like new, in immaculate shape, he drives it anywhere and everywhere and puts the miles on quick.
 
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Originally Posted By: grampi
Just turned 338K on the '04 Corolla...she still runs fine, but she's getting weak when it gets hot out...when temps are 85+ she accelerates like a turtle...


That almost sounds like a easy fix? IAT sensor.. not sure what Toyota calls it.

About to roll over 257k on the Festiva. Dad bought it with 80k back in 98.
 
280k + on the 99 f350 7.3. Just sold it last week in great running shape
 
Originally Posted By: khittner
Oh, if i viewed repairs and parts replacements from the "it'll cost more than the whole car/truck is worth" standpoint, I wouldn't fill the gas tank on either my Camry or my Dakota. Instead, I value repairs on the basis of how many new car payments would I have to make to pay for the repair. Since I don't see 4-figure repairs on any of them, the answer is usually 3 or less. If I can drive it for another 3 months after any given repair, it's worth doing. Normal wear stuff would have to be paid for on a newer/lower-mile vehicle anyway.


thumbsup2.gif


Same here.

The “repair costs more than the market value of the car” is just an excuse for when you got bored of the car and would like to replace it with a newer model. The honest question should had been “what kind of car can I buy for the price of the repair”.

Just replaced tires and bushings on a ‘07 Accord with 50k miles on the odo. Time rot not wear in both cases. The tires were the original factory ones and still had 8/32 thread (I use winter tires for half of the year - in case you’re wondering how Michelin MXV4 would last that long). Replaced because of safety concerns with > 12 years old tires as per manufacture date stamped on the sidewalls. The bushings were mushy but not causing serious problems yet.

The bill for the whole thing reached 4 figures as a disassembly mishap with a rusted bolt conduced to replacing a front suspension arm too. My question was - how would my repaired car compare with what I could buy from the market for the price of the repair?

There was absolutely no comparison. The Accord looks and drives like new, and has a proven maintenance record as I was the first owner. I can expect it to work like that for 10 more years at the current usage rate. For the repair price, I can’t match that with a car from the used lot.
 
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Originally Posted By: Eric Smith
Originally Posted By: grampi
Just turned 338K on the '04 Corolla...she still runs fine, but she's getting weak when it gets hot out...when temps are 85+ she accelerates like a turtle...


That almost sounds like a easy fix? IAT sensor.. not sure what Toyota calls it.

About to roll over 257k on the Festiva. Dad bought it with 80k back in 98.


IAT sensor? Never heard of it...I just thought it was getting weak because of the high mileage...
 
Best I've done so far was 160k on my old S-15 Jimmy.

The Dakota has 119k. Hoping for 200k so I can get my 200,000 Mile Club license plate frame from FCA. Already made the 100,000 Mile Club.

 
It seems around 300k km is when our vehicles are done, either through rust, lots of minor mechanical issues or just "time for a new(er) car" and the Focus will rust out about then, in 3-4 years. I sold our 06 CRV with just over 300k km although it ran well, it was getting into all the suspension wearing out. 95 Neon went to about 280 before rust took it.
 
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