Cars That Can Run for Over 200,000 Miles
For most cost-conscious consumers, keeping a car running for as long as possible is a financial issue - it’s typically cheaper to repair a car that’s otherwise in serviceable condition than it is to make payments on a new one. For others, however, it’s a mission. Case in point is Irv Gordon of East Patchogue, New York, who holds the Guinness world record for racking up the highest mileage in the same vehicle. At last count he’s clocked over 2,900,000 miles on the Volvo 1800 S coupe he purchased back in 1966 and is aiming for a cool three million. If you’ve ever seen it, it looks like a museum piece, which is a testament to Gordon’s meticulous care.
Trivia buffs know the Volvo 1800 S as Roger Moore’s ride of choice as adventurer Simon Templar in the TV series “The Saint” back when the car was new, but you don’t need divine intervention to wring the most miles possible out of your automotive investment. With proper maintenance and timely replacement of worn parts just about any of today’s cars and trucks can stay on the road for 200,000 miles or more. This is enabling American motorists to hold onto their rides for longer than ever - the average passenger vehicle on the road today is 10.6 years old, according to the Car Care Council.
For those with an eye on owning a car or truck for the long run, we’ve identified a list of 14 model-year 2012 vehicles that are statistically among the least likely to encounter major mechanical problems in at least the first several years of ownership. Our list consists of cars and trucks that received top scores in both the most-recent Consumer Reports Reliability survey, based on problems reported by 1.3 million owners of model-year 2005-2010 vehicles, and the J.D. Power and Associates U.S. Vehicles Dependability Study based on responses from more than 43,700 original owners of 2008 model-year vehicles.
We also consulted repair-cost predictions from Intellichoice.com to ensure that any of the cars and trucks in our “200,000 mile club” would not become prohibitively costly to keep running once parts needed replacing. And at that, we chose models that, for the most part, “keep it simple,” and (at least in their base models) eschew complex gadgetry that could require expensive repair or replacement down the road.
Our picks include budget-minded small cars like the Honda Fit and Scion xB, stalwart sedans including the Acura RL and Lincoln MKZ, sporty cars like the Ford Mustang and Mazda MX-5 Miata, purposeful people-movers such as the Subaru Forester and Toyota Highlander and tough trucks including the Toyota 4Runner and Tundra models. While most of the models on our list are from Asian automakers, based on past model-year performance, we expect additional domestic models to make CR and J.D. Power’s most-reliable lists in the years to come.