Question Of The Day: Would You Ever Keep Your Daily Driver… For 300,000 Miles?
My 1994 Toyota Camry managed to get 291,000 before it fell off the face of the Earth.
Did it become crusher fodder? Was it exported to a new and exciting life in the developing world? Or will Murilee someday find it among a junkyard menagerie of all too rare two door Camrys?
I wish I knew. I miss it. Neil Young’s, “Long May You Run” sometimes makes me yearn for that kinder, simpler machine.
That car was a constant companion of mine for the majority of my driving years. The four-banger Camry du jour was nothing special as far as performance goes, and if you saw it today, you wouldn’t remember it. Old Camrys still blend in with the automotive scenery like long gray pavement and white Crown Vic taxis.
But as for longevity? It was the equivalent of a young Pamela Anderson with a big smile and a hot fudge sundae. The homely Camry was hotter on long-term companionship than anything short of a rear wheel drive Volvo or a Honda Accord. Precious few models from the early to mid 1990’s could ever lay near of a claim to such an outstanding reputation for durability and value.
Today’s world of cars may be a bit more capable of hitting the big 3 0 0; with engine technologies that go far and beyond dual over head cams, variable timing, and Nordic pushrods. Even so. 300,000 miles is a tall order. Even today.
So with that in mind, “Would you ever keep your daily driver for 300k?” If not, what would it take for a manufacturer to make you a long term keeper of their current wares?
More by Steven Lang
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I just met a fella who has a 969,244 on his 1992 Silverado. 3 motors over that time period, but it is in surprising shape. I took a picture of the odometer to document the feat. He is a hippie farmer who grows mushrooms (legal)!
My DD '95 Explorer hit 300,000 miles in Canon City Colorado two weeks ago. I've put 200,000 on it personally and my brother in law put the first 100k on it. It's had spells where its been needy, and spells where its been just zero repairs outside of an oil change. Factory Ford engine still, trans was replaced at 225,000 due to metal fatigue.
I will be surprised if my DD - a '95 Bonneville SE that I got with 159,900 miles already on it - makes it to 200,000 miles, let alone 300,000. It's close to 167k miles. I'm fairly certain that the engine will outlast the rest of the car, but I plan on driving it until it dies or completely falls apart due to rust.
I had a 1985 Peugeot 505 Break 2.3 Diesel. It was issued to me as a company car and I liked it so much I bought it in 1989 after four years of trustworthy service. I kept the car until 1994. By then I had over 400,000 km (about 250,000 miles) on it and the car never failed me. Simple basic maintenance and changing of worn parts was all it took. I gave the car to my son who used it as his daily driver until 1999 when he sold it to someone from Eastern Europe. It wouldn't surprise me if that Peugeot 505 was still running and faithfully serving its new owners. The 2.3 diesel was extremely reliable and the Peugeot 505 was a great car. I sold my 2010 Volkswagen Jetta 2.0 TDI a month ago (81,281 km) and am now enjoying my 2012 Citroen DS3! I plan to grow even older with that car (I'm in my late 60s).