The Longest-Lasting Cars to Reach 200,000 Miles and Beyond

[sneakypete]

No car should last 200K.  It aint natural.

@The Ghost

You obviously grew up with a little more money than me. I once had some relatives give me a 59 Olds that was sitting in their yard. I hitchhiked 50 miles to where they lived to get the car,only to find out I could start it,put it in gear,and smoke a whole cigarette before the transmission would even start to pull. Besides being a rust bucket,that is why they couldn't sell it. Nobody wanted to dump 5 or 6 times what the car was worth into transmission repairs.

So I went to the closest gas station and bought a bottle of brake fluid,went back,and poured the whole bottle into the transmission fill tube. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I put it in drive,spun dirt in their yard,and got some second gear rubber when it shifted into second as I drove down the paved highway. Drove that car for over a year before I just parked it because I had bought a better one,and never had a minute of trouble with the transmission after pouring the brake fluid in it.

I THINK what the brake fluid did was clean the clutches and maybe dissolve crud floating around in the transmission pan so it would stop plugging the openings,but I am not sure. I just know I had that problem with a 56 Olds I bought from a junkyard when I was on Okinawa,and somebody told me to pour brake fluid in it,and it worked.

BTW,my father put 220,000 miles on a 55 Ford V-8 he bought new. Still ran good when he traded it in,but was starting to burn oil.

[Smokin Joe]

No car should last 200K.  It aint natural.

Oh come on. I got over 120K out of a rebuilt engine (built my yours truly under the guidance of an A&P certified mechanic (aircraft airframe and powerplant)). It still has some miles left in it. You just gotta break 'em in right...

[Smokin Joe]

@The Ghost

You obviously grew up with a little more money than me. I once had some relatives give me a 59 Olds that was sitting in their yard. I hitchhiked 50 miles to where they lived to get the car,only to find out I could start it,put it in gear,and smoke a whole cigarette before the transmission would even start to pull. Besides being a rust bucket,that is why they couldn't sell it. Nobody wanted to dump 5 or 6 times what the car was worth into transmission repairs.

So I went to the closest gas station and bought a bottle of brake fluid,went back,and poured the whole bottle into the transmission fill tube. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I put it in drive,spun dirt in their yard,and got some second gear rubber when it shifted into second as I drove down the paved highway. Drove that car for over a year before I just parked it because I had bought a better one,and never had a minute of trouble with the transmission after pouring the brake fluid in it.

I THINK what the brake fluid did was clean the clutches and maybe dissolve crud floating around in the transmission pan so it would stop plugging the openings,but I am not sure. I just know I had that problem with a 56 Olds I bought from a junkyard when I was on Okinawa,and somebody told me to pour brake fluid in it,and it worked.

BTW,my father put 220,000 miles on a 55 Ford V-8 he bought new. Still ran good when he traded it in,but was starting to burn oil.

Filed away as a desperation Hail Mary....Transmissions have changed a mite since then...

[DCPatriot]

Okay...

Purchased a new VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI (Diesel) back in 2012 as a 'company' car.

Did absolutely nothing to the vehicle except wash it and change the oil every 7500 miles.

Put 217K on it...but it doesn't stop there.

In 2018, Volkswagen was being sued by the U.S. Government regarding their falsifying data regarding pollution emissions...and initiated a program where they would buy the vehicle back.

They gave us $14,310.   Purchased a new Passat TSI demo off the floor for $16,350.

What a country!!!   

[sneakypete]

Filed away as a desperation Hail Mary....Transmissions have changed a mite since then...

@Smokin Joe

It is definitely one of those,"If  ya got nothing to lose,ya got nothing to lose" "fixes".

Worked like a charm for me twice,though.

[sneakypete]

Okay...

Purchased a new VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI (Diesel) back in 2012 as a 'company' car.

Did absolutely nothing to the vehicle except wash it and change the oil every 7500 miles.

Put 217K on it...but it doesn't stop there.

In 2018, Volkswagen was being sued by the U.S. Government regarding their falsifying data regarding pollution emissions...and initiated a program where they would buy the vehicle back.

They gave us $14,310.   Purchased a new Passat TSI demo off the floor for $16,350.

What a country!!!   

@DCPatriot

That was a VERY sweet deal. I had a new Passat several years ago,and loved it. SOB would FLY,too.

Got rid of it because I needed a truck,and still regret losing it.

[Bigun]

Okay...

Purchased a new VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI (Diesel) back in 2012 as a 'company' car.

Did absolutely nothing to the vehicle except wash it and change the oil every 7500 miles.

Put 217K on it...but it doesn't stop there.

In 2018, Volkswagen was being sued by the U.S. Government regarding their falsifying data regarding pollution emissions...and initiated a program where they would buy the vehicle back.

They gave us $14,310.   Purchased a new Passat TSI demo off the floor for $16,350.

What a country!!!   

Along about 1980 or so a fellow showed up in front of my place with a 78 VW Rabbit on a trailer he was looking to sell.   The thing was perfect cosmetically and had 4 band new Michelin radials on it but the head off the engine was laying under the hatchback.  to make a long story short, I asked him what he would take for it and he mentioned a figure at which I laughed and offered him $300 for it hoping he would be offended and leave but instead he asked "where do we unload it?" so we did.

I spent around $125 rebuilding the head and re-installed that (someone who had no idea what they were doing had caught the thing on fire and partially melted the injector barrels), cleaned the varnish off the screen in the gas tank, and drove the thing for the next 6 years (around 150K) and sold it for $800.  Bought the above mentioned Saab shortly thereafter and wish I had never sold it.

[Elderberry]

No car should last 200K.  It aint natural.

Did you forget a Sarcasm Tag on that?

Every car and truck I've owned have gone over 200K. All of my current vehicles are over 200K and  are still going strong. We just bought a 2001 CRV and it has over 200K. My 98Z71 has 280K and if it ever gets tired, I"ll rebuild it an keep on keepin' on.