Hard Driving, ELITE Club (200K + Miles) Surprised By The Cars That Made It THIS Long?

Proper maintenance makes all of the difference in the world.

My daily beater (98 Audi A4) just turned 200K about a month ago. doesn't even burn quarter of a quart of oil between changes. Not bad for a 5 valve per cylinder turbocharged motor from a company that many of you would cast off as unreliable.

Balderdash! Sure each brand has their issues, but these tend to sort themselves out over time. How about 200K on the ORIGINAL clutch and 113K on the original set of brake pads?

So much for the reliability aspect.

200k on original clutch?

Props!

Wow!! my 1998 Audi A4 1.8t was a disaster once it hit 50,000 miles. Even before then, tie-rods had to be replaced on the regular. My A4 was leased, and the thought of keeping out of warranty wasn't an option. I paid $3400 in milage an other fees just to get out of that thing after lease end. Thats how bad it was.

Your A4 tie rods were covered to 100K by the warranty due to a recall. If you paid for them to be replaced then you were ripped off.

I didn't pay for them. And a mechanic shop will never rip me off. LOL!! I just hated having to go to the dealer every 3 months to get them fixed. Loaner car/waiting around, it sucked.

And after 100,000 miles guess what? You have to pay for them every 3 months.

My mitsubishi montero made it to 400k+ mile with no problems. I miss my baby :-)

There sure are alot of Chrysler products in that article - oh but wait, Chryslers are junk.....Hmm

Just because you're willing to repair something over and over doesn't make it reliable. A new engine and "a few transmissions" doesn't make a reliable car.

my 02 A4 1.8T had 211k when I bought it, 1 previous owner. Plan on hitting 300k at least

my 93 sentra is about to have 210K on it but the body will rust and fall off it before the motor dies :|

I'm surprised people make a big deal out of this. With the proper maintenance, care and servicing (as well as driving style) almost any car can go above 200,000 miles.

I've worked and lived in Guatemala for the best part of a decade and I've seen cars that had even more than 200,000 miles on the odometer. Oh yes, I've seen VW Beetle's, Renault's, Toyota's and Mercedes' cars in that country (taxis) that had such high mileages and still ran like new. My private car in that country, a '92 Volkswagen Golf, a second-hand car, bought with 83,000 miles on the odometer, served me well for the entire time I was down there. When I eventually moved back to the United States she had close to 200,000 miles (well, 189,000+ miles) and still ran like new. I've never had any major issues with the car and I have to say that proper care and driving manors can work wonders on any car.

well my max has about 200k on it and i have barely done anything on it.

My Dads 04 Honda Pilot just reached 200k. No signs of wear and tear. He only replaced the transmission under warranty once, other then that, a light bulb. Amazing. When you take care of car like he takes care of his, it will last. Amazing.

a few summers back, i drove TWO subarus that had more than 220,000 miles on the clock.

one was bought by a trio of swiss tourists on the east coast. driven across the country and up to alaska. i drove it after dropping them off for a canoe trip down the Yukon River. they drove it back down to the Lower 48, cross country again, and sold it. those miles must've been the CHEAPEST EVER per person, for euro tourists in the u.s.!

the other subie was given up for dead. a mechanic friend found the crankcase had been overfilled. with just a few quarts removed, the car sprung back to life! i actually owned this car for awhile, before it got sold out under me by another, shady, mechanic EX-friend.

despite the high mileages, both Subies seemed no more worn out than a D3 car with say 90 - 120k miles.

200k is no big deal, I am on my third GM made car to make it this far. 1994 Buick Le Sabre, 1990 Pontiac Bonnevile and a 1985 Buick Le Sabre. Also I have seen about 5 or 6 or various other makes foreign and American that did the same.

Does anybody remember the Saab that got a million miles?

nowadays, 250,000 miles is the NEW "100,000."

it USED to be considered remarkable if a guy was able to have a car turn 100,000. nowadays, it's remarkable if a car DOES NOT.

it's also the reason odometers go up to 999,999 vs. the mere 99,999 in the old days.

Yeah I remember that saab, didnt saab display it at a few autoshows like if they're showing it off.

flip side. a few years ago, i teamed with a mechanic friend to buy cheap used cars that he'd fix up, and we'd resell at a profit.

he found what seemed like a "cherry" '85 buick century with only about 85,000 miles. it was literally owned by a granny, who mostly just drove to church, aside from usual errands.

he found the engine had already either had major work, or BEEN REPLACED. and before we were done, we faced the same option AGAIN. if not for the fact his labor was "free" (he owed me big bucks), that unit would've been A LOSS for me.