Long service, can you beat this?

Old and tired · Veteran Member

Long service, can you beat this?

Eaglemax · Guru

As a contrast I've owned over 90 cars and motorcycles. Ive owned our Hyundai i30 diesel. Its done 345,000 in 8 years. Apart from a turbo replacement at 320,000 it hasnt missed a beat...and towed our tiny van around oz in 2016

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Margaret has a 1987 Mazda 121 that we bought at 2 years of age. It will turn over 300,000km very shortly.
It has never had a spanner on the engine, clutch or gearbox. It has had a couple of radiators.
I change the oil and oil filter every 10,000km whether it needs it or not :) with the cheapest oil I can get.

It blows no smoke and uses no oil between changes, gives 7L/100km around town and 5.5L/100km on a country run. I can't get parts from the wreckers any more because they have crushed then all long time ago :(

Our 1994 OKA is coming up 530,000km.

Cheers,

Peter

Joda · Senior Member

Interesting topic this one,l owned a 1967 ford fairmont v8 as a daily driver for 29 years, done 345000mls. On original engine, replaced engine & rebuilt gearbox (auto) & kept on driving the old girl, used to tow 18ft. York for chrissy & easter hols.Can,t remember final mileage, had other cars for Swmbo, torana (nightmare) Xd 351 ute, eb fairmont wagon (good car) xf ford spak wagon (rubbish) the family never forgave me for selling the old xr, by the way the 1st. Car l bought was a 1952 v8 ford customline which was our family car for 9yrs but let down by its 6volts electrical system, at our ages there must plenty of good car stories among GNS. Jodapn

Keith P · Senior Member

We have had our 1984 Peugeot 505 STI since 1990....had 100000 on it when we bought it.....now has a tad over 6500000 on it now ..Had 1 clutch...2 sets of gearbox bearings (wrong oil used as per book furious )....one radiator...a couple of sets of front end bushes...1 complete set of discs....many many oil changes and 3 sets of brake pads. The motor hasn't been touched...apart from regular timing belt changes every 150000 ...and a couple of water pumps. It is still used as a daily driver ...work hack ...taxi for friends and family...and still does the occasional trip to Sydney , Dubbo and Canberra.

Used to do in excess of 40000 a year fror a while ....but now only does about 10000 a year.

The Patrol has been owned for 10 years now....has 260000 on it ...and like the Pug....has proved really reliable.

I have also owned 38 bikes ( as in Motor ) since I started riding when I was 11...still have one ...a Kawasaki Tengai 650 1992 model...with 68000 on it (anyone see a trend here biggrin )

Cheers Keith

Cupie · Guru

All this makes my 1996 GQ Patrol with 270000 km look like a pup. It's one of those that has no bush or beach work ... was almost going to say 'only driven to Church on Sundays by a little old lady'.

The 3YO Mazda3 with 30000 is likely to be my last town car and a beautiful thing it is too.

Tony Bev · Guru

Had a Holden HQ 6 cylinder brought second hand, and got just over 500,000 kilometres out of it
Apart from the usual fibre timing gear stripping twice, brake replacement, and a rebuild at around 350,000 Kilometres, when the top of a piston broke, it went OK
The rebuild was a fixed price of about $250 if I stripped it down and sent the block and crankshaft away to be machined
It came back with machined block and crankshaft, new pistons, rings, and big ends shells, and then I rebuilt it

Had a Ford XB 6 cylinder, brought secondhand, and got just over 400,000 kilometres out of it
Apart from having to remove the head to replace the hydraulic tappets, (could not get the very last tappet at #6 piston out), and a brake replacement, it went OK

Had a Nissan 720, 2.2 diesel ute, brought secondhand and got over just under 350,000 kilometres out of it
Apart from an exhaust valve burning out, two different times, and brake replacement, it went OK

Had a Daihatsu Mira 3 cylinder 630cc (perhaps not quite a muscle car), brought second hand, and got about 280,000 kilometres from it
Apart from 2 x timing belts, and a brake reline, it went OK

I think that the secret was regular oil and filter change, plus hose and belt change, before they break

Also I have been putting oil additives into the engine oil
Started with Slick 50 and now use Nulon

Opps edit to say that my little Mira was good, but not good
I only got about two hundred and eighty thousand kilometres out of it, and not the two hundred and eighty million kilometres, I had originally entered

smile smile I think I may have made a typo, on that one smile smile

-- Edited by Tony Bev on Wednesday 22nd of November 2017 01:40:52 PM

Desert Dweller · Guru

Triggers broom had done a few miles over many years of street sweeping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUl6PooveJE

RustyD · Guru

Former son-in-law has a Toyota Cruiser flatbed ute that had about 300,000kms when purchased and just died with just over1,000,000kms.
In the 1970s rode in an old valiant taxi that had 360,000 miles on it. Obvious as I think the back seat was original as I was basically sitting on the floor.

HunnyBunny · Senior Member

I drive a '96 Ford wagon that has done 530,000 klms on country roads.It's on duel fuel so is very cheap to run, has original auto transmission, apart from servicing & general wear & tear it has been a very reliable, cost effective vehicle. I have always had amazing runs out of my Fords. I will drive it till the wheels fall off!

-- Edited by HunnyBunny on Wednesday 22nd of November 2017 12:53:45 PM

Cupie · Guru

I just wish Macca was here to tell you lot about his great vehicles ... and not a Toyo amongst them. (Me neither .. perhaps by chance & not choice. Nor have I owned a Ford).

Now did I tell you about my beaut Vanguards and Valiants too, not to leave out mentioning a succession of Holdens, .... and then there was the rag top Oakland with wooden spoke split rim wheels & wooden steering wheel. Wish I still had it. What a monster.

All my good cars were company ones. Mostly Holdens. I wrote off more than one of them in my youth.

-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 22nd of November 2017 01:16:49 PM

x_pac · Member

Old and tired wrote:
I have a friend aged 76 who has been driving for 58 years. In that time he has owned five cars. He claims to have seldom raised the bonnet on any one of these vehicles. His current drive is one of the first series of Rav 4 with 300,000 miles on the clock, and it is used every day. This year he bought four new tyres, and now expects to get another five years running following this relatively large investment.

300 000 miles? dont you mean 300,000 k's?

vince56 · Senior Member

How about a trusty old Toyota 80 series Land Cruiser diesel used at my previous workplace, a construction company where the cars are treated ...well....not the best, handed down from Gen Mgr to Supervisor to digger driver, still in service, now done 800,000 kms and NEVER had a spanner to the internals of the engine, gearbox or drivetrain. It has had a couple of alternators, a few batteries and power steering bits and general maintenance bits. Pretty good going I reckon!

Old and tired · Veteran Member

X pac asked miles or kilometres.

miles mate, my mate lives in the UK now, as do I, for the last four years. Not good on the math but it amounts to just shy of 500,000 kilometres.

when I get home I am thinking about a low mileage BA Falcon, there are some good ones on carsales. get one with 100,000 kms and it should be good for another 200,000, ten years motoring for a second car. I do not stint on the maintenance and try to do major repairs ahead of time.

the problem these days is finding a mechanic who can be bothered to repair things, especially old things....

toglhot · Senior Member

I bought a 64 XM Falcon in 1970, had it for two years, put a short motor in it, refurbished the head, replaced the carby, and exhaust manifold, a new generator, a new starter, ne reg, a new battery, a recon gearbox, a diff from the wreckers, new tailshaft, re wired it and eventually replaced the rear end from under the seat and halfway up the windscreen pillars. It had 70, 000 miles on the clock when I sold it.

They don't build em like that anymore. Thank goodness.

Sarco Harris · Senior Member

In 1985 we purchased a brand new long wheel base Pajero (NB Model, 2.6lt Petrol, manual transmission). This vehicle was replaced in 2005 by a NP Pajero. The only reason it was replaced was because it was getting very hard to find replacement parts, even second hand ones. It had done 491,000Km. In those days it was our only 'car' as we couldn't afford to run a second one, I rode a motorcycle as my main means of transport and the wife, the Pajero carting around the kids. The motor was replaced at approx 200,000km because it was cheaper to fit a new later model motor complete than the cracked head that had caused the problem. This vehicle was used as a 4WD throughout most of the deserts of Australia, but particularly the Vic high country. During this time other than the cracked head it performed faultlessly in that time, with only routine maintenance.