When it comes to making a vehicle last — I mean truly last — Irv Gordon has set the standard. The retired science teacher paid $4,150 for his 1966 Volvo P1800 when it was new (at that time it was almost as much as his annual salary as a science teacher), and over the years he’s put 2.7 million miles on the car.
Gordon said that he spends less than $1,000 on vehicle maintenance and repair each year–and that’s averaged out to include the two engine rebuilds he’s had done over the 40-plus years of ownership.
Today a million miles, or even 500,000 miles, is still extremely unusual for a vehicle. But nowadays, passing the 200,000-mile mark is no longer the rare occasion it once was.
Consumer Reports, through its annual questionnaire, has found that thousands of people have gone over 200,000 miles in their original vehicles without catastrophic failures or major repairs. If a vehicle is very cheap to maintain and repair, it might be a good choice to keep to high miles even if it’s not a standout for reliability.
Read the Owner’s Manual! – When people ask Irv Gordon–the guy with the 2.7-million-mile car–what they should do to follow his example, he has some surprisingly simple advice. “I always tell people the first thing to do is read the owner’s manual,” he said. Gordon, other experts, and reports from high-mileage drivers all emphasize that you shouldn’t cut any corners on routine maintenance.
Diligent maintenance can make “profound differences,” according to Dillon, in how long your vehicle lasts. In addition to the maintenance required by the manufacturer, he recommends regular flushing of critical fluids such as for the transmission, brakes, and power steering.
“Generally you don’t need to maintain it more often than the owner’s manual specifies,” assessed Kahn from his own experience. But he did emphasize the importance of being pre-emptive with some repair or maintenance items, ie the timing belt.
Be Proactive And Pre-Emptive – Repairing preemptively — replacing belts and hoses long before they’re in danger of failing–and never ignoring new noises or vibrations, might be the best tip of all. It’s abundantly clear that the most successful high-mileage owners are those who understand the cost-effectiveness and importance of addressing the small problem before it becomes a larger one.
Passionate Penny-Pinching – And that leads to a final, and especially important, point: After all these years, Gordon still really likes his little Volvo coupe. Typically, owners of high-mileage vehicles still like them — or at the very least the competitive aspect of seeing how far they can get without problems.
In 2007, Consumer Reports projected — figuring in depreciation, maintenance, repairs, finance costs, fees, and insurance — that drivers could save more than $20,000, typically, by keeping a new vehicle for 15 years and 225,000 miles versus getting a new one every five years.
L.A Car Connection, Inc. Blog 