1,000,000 miles...neat story

[deerefan]

read this on msn this a.m., pretty neat....looks like synthetic oil and good maintenance pays off!

MILWAUKEE — As a traveling salesman, Peter Gilbert has put a few miles on his car — 1,001,385 miles, to be precise.

It took the Glendale, Wisc, man 17 years to cross the million mile mark with his 1989 Saab 900 SPG. He recently donated the durable vehicle to the Wisconsin Automotive Museum after Saab verified the mileage.

The transmission was rebuilt at 200,000 miles and the hood and a few other parts replaced after eight deer collisions, but otherwise it has original equipment.

Gilbert bought the Saab for $29,000. It was his treat after a divorce, and he took meticulous care of it. He used premium, synthetic oil in oil changes, changed the tires every 45,000 miles and strictly followed the maintenance schedule.

He drove the car seven days a week, racking up the miles as his work took him through rural Wisconsin.

Not burning oil
"When I hit 600,000 miles, the car still wasn't burning oil," Gilbert said. "That's when I thought it could go a million miles."


But Wisconsin's harsh winters took a toll on the car. Its sporty exterior still looks good, but road salt has rusted its frame. Gilbert realized it might no longer be safe if he hit another deer or had a serious accident.

"There was no point in driving the car any longer," he said. "Even though it might have gone another million miles."

He had it detailed and parked it at the Hartford museum, which houses a number of rare vehicles.

Then Gilbert bought another Saab with fewer miles.

© 2006 The Associated Press

 

[Gatorboy]

I knew it couldn't have been an American car.

 

[SkyPup]

We've got two Volkswagen TDI turbodiesels that we only have used Amsoil Full Synthetic Group IV 10W-40 in since new and change both oil and filter at 12,000 miles.

Ten years and 160,000 miles plus later, neither engine consumes ANY MEASURABLE oil from the orignial fill after 12,000 miles!!! And neither has had any problems or been to any repair shop for any reason....

This has been simply amazing!

 

[dirtworksequip]

Off subject but,
skypup, I'm a vw tdi lover myself. What do you think of the vw tiguan due out in late 07? Would love one with a tdi and 6 speed manual tranny.

 

[Dusty]

I wonder how many Mercedes million mile cars are out there?

 

[SkyPup]

Thanks to ULSD, there will be many new passenger car turbodiesels to choose from in the near future!

140HP and 240 pounds of torque in a four cylinder two-liter high mileage turbobanger is great!

Volkswagen Tiguan

 

[scott_vt]

Gee, to think I only have to get another 900,000 miles on my 2000 Dodge Ram to get it in the museum

 

[shvl73]

I knew it couldn't have been an American car.

I believe his next Saab has a GM engine.

 

[frank_f15]

i don't know how people get that many miles on cars? i maintain my vehicles very well and have never gone over 130,000 mi. eithe body rusts out or in the case of may just departed 1992 Buick 60k and leaking oil from so many places not worth dealing with

 

[czechsonofagun]

i don't know how people get that many miles on cars? i maintain my vehicles very well and have never gone over 130,000 mi. eithe body rusts out or in the case of may just departed 1992 Buick 60k and leaking oil from so many places not worth dealing with

Local weather maybe? My dd is 86 CJ7 with 216 000 miles on it. Last April I replaced the engine, since the old one had a pretty good knock to it - and I didnt want it to die in winter.

But the family station wagon died from auto transmission - AXOD in Taurus - @ 192 000 miles.

 

[ToadHill]

frank. I live in the same area and had over 250,000 on my 87 Ranger when I sold it in 98. And I drove it for over a year and a half without the speedo working. It used about a quart of oil overy 1500 miles from the time it was new until I sold it. Never had the head off, replaced the timing belt twice and the body was in decent shape except for the front fender that had a fight with a deer.

 

[AMP762]

I've got two Pontiacs with the 3.8 a 92& a 96 both with over 150000 never had to add oil. this is on plain ol' dino. Is it to late to start using syn.?

 

[RobertN]

i don't know how people get that many miles on cars? i maintain my vehicles very well and have never gone over 130,000 mi. eithe body rusts out or in the case of may just departed 1992 Buick 60k and leaking oil from so many places not worth dealing with

Frank,
That is why if you look on Ebay, or Craigs List etc, people will glady point out if they are selling a California car. I think they salt I80 and H50 over the Sierra's when it snows, but it is not near as much as you guys get back there. Usually I have seen them sanding the roads. We just do not have the harsh weather and road treatments(at least not nearly as much).

For reliability, well that probably is the same.

I have a friend that moved out here from Long Island. He got here before his car was shipped. It was an Olds 442 convertable with a mildy built 455. It had a new top and interior. I thought this really sounds cool! Then it got here... It was cool, except for all the rust! He wound up searching for a California donor car to get body panels and stuff from...

 

[czechsonofagun]

I've got two Pontiacs with the 3.8 a 92& a 96 both with over 150000 never had to add oil. this is on plain ol' dino. Is it to late to start using syn.?

good question I switched my jeep to synthetic @ about 100 000 miles. What they say is the syn oil will dissolve sediments from dino in gaskets and it could start leaking oil. Never had any problems like that. I would go at least dino-syn mix, but watch for sludge. If the car had only dino in it and it was driven certain way, it could have a lot of sludge built up - and the syn oil will dissolve quickly and it could block some passages etc.

 

[California]

.....
He had it detailed and parked it at the Hartford museum, which houses a number of rare vehicles.

Then Gilbert bought another Saab with fewer miles.

There's more! Saab wouldn't even give him a free t-shirt.

Then...
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Saab Story II:

 

[cp1969]

Frank, a lot of time people just get sick of their cars and give minimal maintenance, or in some case, stop maintaining them altogether. Could that be the case with you? I know I'm somewhat guilty of it.

There seems to be a crossover point after which you no longer care whether it lives or dies. That point in a car's life, beyond which, is what defines it as a beater.

That point varies widely among drivers. A friend has an '89 CRX with 300K on the clock, and it's wrecked on two corners. It is the most creaking, rattling, collection of rust I've ridden in lately yet he considers it not only a keeper, but enough so that he puts Amsoil in it. If it got down a quart, the car would be considered totaled--one quart is worth more than the whole car.

OTOH, our old Taurus, Archie, has just crossed over at 93,000 miles. Too many things need repair. We discussed last night painting him as if he is constructed of bricks. The red color is right; all he needs is some tuckpointing.

In my Rabbit, I distinctly remember the Moment Beater Status was Aquired. I was driving down the road and glanced in the rear view mirror. I could see nothing--it was as if there was zero visibility fog behind me, yet the view out the windshield was such that I could see several miles, so further investigation was warranted. The grey headliner had drooped and completely blocked vision to the rear. Only a few weeks before I had noticed a slight sag and had oh-so-carefully tried to reattach it using a syringe full of adhesive. With this catastrophic failure mocking me, I grabbed the headliner and tore it out in sheets. The air in the cabin was filled with something resembling fine sawdust and shards of fabric dangling down in places that resisted my efforts to rip them out. I resumed the trip that had started in my beloved high-mileage Rabbit that had just become a beater. It probably would have lasted a whole lot longer than the 238K I got out of it had not the headliner detached.

 

[DieselPower]

When my father retired in 1991 he also retired his 1966 Chevrolet BelAir 4dr with 250 straight six and 3 on the tree. Oil changed every 3,000 miles since new, dino oil that is. When he retired it had over 724,000 miles on it. The only thing major that had ever been done to the engine was a timing chain somewhere around 400,000. He drove it to the junk yard and on that day it was still getting 21 MPG. My brothers 2002 Chevrolet Impala get's 23 MPG, a wopping 2 MPG more than the 66 did. They just don't build boat anchors like they use to.