The 200,000 Mile Club
200,000 Miles!!
On Wednesday night, our family hit a milestone. My car, a 2000 Nissan Maxima, eclipsed the 200,000 mile mark!
A Paradigm Shift in Materialism
I’ve been looking forward to my car’s mileage anniversary for months now. Obviously I’m pretty pumped about this, but many of you are probably thinking, “Why are you driving an old piece of junk?”
Well, since our family’s epiphany about the way we handle money, we’ve changed our attitudes about stuff. We’ve tried to live within our means and eliminate the vicious cycle of consumer debt. Instead of a brand new car with astronomical payments, I value no car payment, affordable car insurance and extra money each month to pay off student loans. Each ding, dent, and extra mile on my Maxima is another badge of honor! I don’t want to keep up with the Joneses, just for the sake of keeping up with them. Besides, it’s still running in great condition, and has had no major issues since I replaced the clutch about 150,000 miles ago (it’s a 5-speed manual transmission).
It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday…
I don’t know when my Nissan will give up the ghost, but I have a feeling the actual car will fall apart before the engine ever will. I’m not sure when we will get a new(er) car, or at what point we cross that threshold, but for now, I’ll enjoy cruising in my ride, knowing I got more miles out of it than I ever thought I would.
What About Your Ride?
Tell me about your car — how many miles are on it? Are you in the 100k or 200k club? When is the right time to get a newer one? Do you “drive it ’till it dies”??
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OK I couldn’t leave this one alone. We’ve got a 98 Accord. The paint is starting to fade a peel and the wife is really beginning to want a new car. 3 years ago I convinced her to wait till it was 10. By then she was buying into our financial growth and volunteered to put of a new car further (yeah wife!!!). But get this, its only got 62,000 miles!
How long can I hold her off?
My 1997 S-10 have 225,000 miles and still going strong. As I will be retiring this year (helped by the fact I am still driving my S-10), it will not be replaced because I will no longer need a WORK vehicle.
WOW, 200,000! That is admirable! You must take great care of your possessions and make them last as long as possible.
Our cars (we bought 2 new in 2003), was one of my only financial hardships. I only payed a little over $10,000 from my new chevy malibu (through money hacks at the time), but the new toyato sienna cost me over 20,000…
I went with the sienna, because it was a safer car then our honda crv in accidents. We were thinking about the kids on that one, then shortly after, my previous car’s transmission died, so I bought the malibu (it was cheap)…
As for my current plans with my car, I’m going to ride it until it dies. My wife is pushing me for a newer used minivan for her though. So I might buy a quality used one of some sort, but not for another 3 to 5 years.
Congrats on the number!
Awesome, J. I plan on bringing both of our current vehicles to that point. Love it.
Sweeeeeet! Moose (my car) is also a 2000, but I’ve only got 108,000 miles on it. Been taking the bus to work for the past 2 years, and I live in a big city.
Inspirational! I’ve had Moose for 3 years now, and maybe I’ll go until a big bill costs more than the car. Then, out of necessity, I should just scrap it, b/c it’s only worth about $5,000 max right now.
BTW, Greg on Eliminate The Muda is looking for your e-mail address to invite you to the Yakezie Google Groups. Hit him up!
@Coach – at that rate, you’ll NEVER make it to 200k! That’s great to keep a great car with low mileage for so long.
@Squire – congrats on the S-10. 225k is a bunch! Hopefully my Maxima will keep on truckin’ (so to speak).
@Reasons – I wish I could say I kept my car maintained by the book, but it has just been good to me. I continue to count my blessings mile by mile. I understand about making financial car mistakes. I bought this one about 8 years ago for around $18k. I was in grad school making $13/hr. Ridiculous!
@PT – Thanx bro, I’m sure you’ll get there. Keep ‘em in the garage as much as possible!
@Samurai – You’re in the Bay Area, right? The BART sure helps out on the car mileage. BTW – I’m already on the Google Group list (jfunk…).
I’m up to 75,000 miles on my 2003 Grand Am (actually bought it in Jan. ‘04 as a model-year leftover, so I’ve had it for 6 years). Paid it off after 3 years at 0% financing. I’d love to keep it for as long as it wants to run!
That’s so bad ass! 200K! My first car a Nissan 240sx’s odometer stopped at 180K miles but I had to have hit 200k before the engine literally cracked.
Is that the actual car? It looks to be in great shape.
@RainyDaySaver – Sounds like you don’t have to put many miles on it. Should last you a while!
@Evan – Yes, that’s the actual car. I think it deserves a bath after 200k. Looks like these Nissans roll for quite a while. It shows no signs of slowing down, so hopefully it lasts for a long time.
There actually IS a real 200,000 mile club … http://www.allpar.com/old/club/
Car number 4,000 was registered on March 9, 2010 by Robert O’Neill, an IT trainer in Florida. The 1986 Dodge Daytona is his daily driver, getting 32 mpg with 296,349 miles on the original engine.
The average car on Allpar’s list has 260,000 miles; the most popular years are the 1990s.
Dr. Zatz randomly verifies entries, and checks every car with over 350,000 miles. When owners cannot provide evidence, the entry is deleted. Extraordinary entries are profiled by social historian Jessica Eustice.
The club is at http://www.allpar.com/old/club/
Thanks, Dave. Your list appears to be Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep driven. I imagine if they allowed Japanese cars into the club your numbers would skyrocket! There’s no telling how many Hondas, Nissans, and Toyotas have hit 200k. These things seem to run forever, and people get rid of them only because the interior’s shot, or they’re just bored!
Thanks for sharing.
Our older car is a ‘92 Buick Regal, that my mother gave us when she stopped driving in ‘96 (she has AMD, stopped driving in her 80’s). It has almost 150,000 miles on it, and needs a new transmission. Our ‘new’ car is is a ‘99 Ford Contour we bought in ‘06 (paid cash, of course!), and is just short of the 100,000 mile mark.
If the Buick can make it another 1.5 years, our Spawn will be done with college (no loans!) and we can start saving for a replacement.
Wow, that’s some serious time and mileage on those cars! Good luck getting the “spawn” through college so you can save for your next car
)
My 95 camry has 250,000 miles and runs well. Lots of maintenance has been done and parts replaced, but the key thing is that it runs fine and hasn’t cost me a payment except the first one. I can’t say I don’t think about a newer one, but just taking one in for service the other day I realized that I will being buying very used cars for a long time.$30,000 to $40,000 was the average for most everything I saw on the lot. Disgusting. Car makers should make more vehicles in the $10,000 to $15,000 range. Soon we will need govt. subsidies to afford cars as well. Wait, we just did that.
I have 1996 Lincoln Town Car with 206000 miles. It has the original engine and transmission and runs fine. I have read that some of these go to 350000 without a rebuild.
I have a 1997 Ford Contour that is used as a field car. This car had 212,000 miles on it when I got it. Since then it has had parts broken off with bats, golf clubs, and shovels. It has been jumped over mounds and ran into trees. The radiator has a hole and I fill it with tap water when it overheats. The oil has not been changed in over two years, and I simply add trans fluid and oil when needed. This car gets abused more than anyone could ever imagine, but it still lives.
Congrats! My 1995 Nissan Maxima just hit the 200,000 mile mark. Whoo hoo. It was my Dad’s car when I got it from him in 2003. The family has received great value for it.
My 2000 Volvo S70 hit about 213k a month ago. The transmission died, and I had it fixed for $3,000 (Dave would be proud – fixing it instead of getting a new car). The day I got it back, the timing belt broke, and the valves were bent. Bad luck, eh? Car = dead. Me = $3,000 poorer. However, I got about 120k miles out of the car, so it wasn’t a total bad deal.
However I’m giving in and getting a newer car now. I’ll have to leave debt freedom for a year or so – which I do not look forward to – but I also don’t want to worry about car repairs like I did with my Volvo.
That’s awesome that you’ve taken your car this far!! My one piece of advice – have the timing belt checked often and changed at LEAST every 70k miles.
Casey, thanks for sharing! I’ll take you up on your advice and have the timing belts checked. Your comment had great timing — my car just hit 210k miles today!
Drop me an email and I can give you a tip on buying a newer car.
I have nissan sentra 98 and now have 368,800 and still going, only major repair done is changing mufflers, muffler pipe and catalytis converter. Paint now fading but engine still running, all i regularly change the oil every 4000 miles.
I have a 1992 Civic VX that I bought brand new. It now has 353,100 miles on it. Original shocks, exhaust, engine, but transmission went out at 240K. Just had it repainted, looks new. Interior is almost perfect. 55 mph hwy and 48 city, top speed of 123 mph. Very rare, you will probably never see one or hear of them. Only a few thousand made. Burns almost no oil. Still a daily driver, I put about 20k a year on it. Hondas are amazing!
I was looking at Harrisburg Cars and found your site. What a great milestone! I plan to keep the car I just got for just as many miles!
Subaru now gives out badges to owners – very nice.
http://www.subaru.com/badgeofownership/index.html
i also have a 2000 maxima se. I am almost at the 200,000 milestone (10k to go!). I enjoy the same freedoms that come with actually owning a car and not just a long (5 or 6 year!) buying process. Sure it may have some dings and a cracked rear taillight, and my kids are embarrassed of it, but it is by far the best car I’ve ever had. It is still fun to drive, and I love knowing that if I continue to take good care of it I may even get another 100 or 200K out of it!!
I LOOOVE this! My 1996 Nissan Maxima is approaching 216K. I’ve had to replace the clutch because it rusted out and some bar on the unibody or something. It’s been holding strong. I plan on keeping it as long as it runs and when it stops, I’m going for a 2006 Nissan Maxima and running it until 2021!
@Melissa Love hearing all these stories! I do a lot of work from home these days, so I don’t have the daily commute that racks up the mileage. My Maxima is holding strong at 217k miles.
im looking at buying a volvo s70 with 177k on it. i am having mixed reviews bc of the miles on the engine. this particular car has been well maintained and is in great running order. if purchased it must last another 3 yr and possibly 25k miles. NOT sure what to do. any advise.
My son bought a 2000 Nissan Sentra GXE with 149,000 miles on it four years ago. It has over 213,000 miles on it today and is still running!
@Norms
nice to know , i just bought a 92 sentra with 254000 miles on it. runs pretty good and the bodywork is ok. I’m only getting 21 mpg though, should this be more !! its a 1.6 ( no carb )
These types of became great just as before exercises wherein means that we can chill out that spinal cord together with sleep the right way without the working experience on the subject of pressure as part of your once.
@LeanLifeCoach
you need to shoot that bitch. it won’t get you far if it has cancer
I have a fantastic Volvo V90 Lux that we bought new in 1998, its clocked up 207,000 miles and runs fantastic although its a bit of a gas guzzler and has always been since it was new.It’s a really comfortable car, over the years we keep thinking of replacing it, but its so good we are going to keep it, i think the secret is regular servicing and drive it with respect.
Awesome to say of this article…!! BTW, Greg on eradicate The Muda is look for your e-mail address to request you to the Yakezie Google Groups. Thanks for let up know of this fantastic article.
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