Highest Mileage Cars Ever: Top 10 Records

How long can your car last during its everyday service life? You may be surprised that the highest mileage cars ever can go up to millions of miles, not only thousands of hundred as you are thinking.

Many factors contribute to the long-lasting service life of these models. They can be a brand durability blessing, an owner’s high-qualified caring, or simply its lucky serving environment, which is not prone to any incidents or extreme conditions.

With that said, here are the top 10 cars with all-time-record mileage around the globe and some incredible stories behind those milestones.

Top 10 Highest Mileage Cars Ever Recorded

Irvin Gordon’s 1966 Volvo 1800S

The 1966 Volvo 1800S currently holds the world record for the longest distance traveled in a personal car as the highest mileage cars ever, with an odor of more than 3,039,122 miles.

Irvin Gordon estimated he traveled an average of more than 100,000 miles a year (about 161,000 km), with the longest trip he ever made being from New York to Vancouver, Canada (about 4,809 km).

Popular Mechanics interviewed him after setting a world record and detailing how he maintains his car, stating that he changes the engine oil every 3,000-3,500 miles (4,800 to 5,600 km) and changes the transmission oil every 25,000 miles (40,000 km).

A rather surprising fact is that the original clutch on his car (this is a manual car) worked for 450,000 miles before being replaced!

For reference, it should be known that the average life of a clutch is around 50,000 miles, which for some hardcore car owners can reach 100,000 miles if it is well taken care of. The 450,000-mile figure for Irvin’s clutch is truly a shocking number!

Despite traveling a lot, Irvin is a very efficient car user. He said he consumed about 112,889 gallons of gas (427,331 liters), changed 492 spark plugs, and 33 sets of tires.

Did Volvo build a near-unbreakable car in 1966, or did Irvin take too good care of his car? The answer is probably both. Either way, this is a remarkable feat.

1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D by Gregorios Sachinidis

Gregorios is the owner of the second car with a figure of 2,850,000 miles (equivalent to 4,586,630 km). However, it is quite common that this man, besides driving for personal needs, also uses his car to earn a living – a taxi driver.

The really interesting part about this story is that Gregorios reached this milestone as far back as 2004, 16 years ago, and at that time he had Mercedes-Benz confirm the accuracy of the number and awarded him a 100% new C-Class. Of course, to get that C-Class, he had to hand over his precious Mercedes-Benz 240D to the German automaker.

Who wouldn’t be happy to trade in an old car with over 2,000,000 miles on the odometer for a 100% new Mercedes? The deal benefits both parties.

Gregorios has a new car to drive and Mercedes-Benz has a precious 240D to display in its museum as the fastest-running car in the history of the luxury car brand from Germany.

Volvo 245 GL 1979

Coming up next in our list of the highest mileage cars ever is the 1979 Volvo 245 GL with 1,630,000 miles odometer, the property of a Finnish company – S.E. Maken.

There are very few details about the use of this vehicle, but with the above number, the vehicle may have traveled the equivalent of traveling around the world many times. However, it probably spent its youth tossing across Finland as a logistics vehicle.

The Makinen company has said they haven’t done anything special with the car other than taking care of it “properly”, and if that’s true it says a lot about the quality of the old Volvo.

1963 Plymouth Fury by Joseph Vaillancourt

This story is a bit too crazy and hard to believe. After driving his car as a taxi in Montreal for most of his career, Joseph hit an odometer of 1,620,000 miles (more than 2.6 million km) in 1999. At that point, just go 264 km more and he can set a world record at that time.

Unfortunately, he will never reach that dream number. While driving his car, he was hit by a truck running a red light. He was not injured, but the car was badly damaged, and his opportunity to get the world record ended that day.

1963 Volkswagen Beetle by Albert Klein

This particular Volkswagen “bug” car is owned by a California man named Albert Klein, who bought the car brand new in 1963 for $1,900. Over 24 years, Albert has achieved an odometer of 1,610,000 miles (nearly 2.6 million km).

During the time of using his car, he changed a total of 7 engines, 3 gearboxes, and 150 tires. In addition to the record number of engine and transmission replacements, Albert also holds records for tire consumption, gasoline costs, and general maintenance.

He used more than 35,600 gallons of gasoline (nearly 135,000 liters), replaced 7 new engines, 3 gearboxes, and 150 tires, and spent more than $ 38,000 in maintenance fees.

Lincoln Town Car 1983 by Chet Belisle

This is a pretty famous car on Youtube. The Town Car with a 1.3 million mile odo is special as Chet has impressively stated that he doesn’t have to do any major repairs.

Chet doesn’t drive for a living, he drives because he likes it, the main road is Chet’s house. He has made numerous trips from his home in Kansas to all over the United States and back.

Frank Oresnik’s 1991 Chevrolet Silverado

Frank is a steak and seafood delivery driver who drives from his home in Green Bay, Wisconsin to Chicago, Illinois (about 700 km to and from) nearly every day.

Unlike most of the people on this highest mileage cars ever list, Frank didn’t buy this pickup. He bought it in 1996 with 41,000 miles on the Odo, he’s driven it ever since.

Frank has hit the 1.29 million-mile mark, but he’ll keep going for many more years with this car nicknamed the “Old Girl.”

1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE by Ben Clopot

In 2014, the owner of this 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE contacted the High Mile Club to report that its odo had just crossed the 1.2 million mile mark. But the really interesting story is about the family that owned it before him.

The original owner bought the car new in 1966 and drove to the 877,000-mile mark himself before he passed away. After that, the family continued to use more than 300,000 miles, before selling it back to Mr. Ben Clopot.

This 54-year-old car is still being driven and used every day even though it has undergone 6 engine repairs and 2 gearbox repairs.

2006 Chevrolet Silverado 3500 by Hugh and Tammy Pennington

This pickup truck has over 1 million miles, but what’s more important is that it was a 2006-manufactured. Even more amazing is that it reached 1 million miles in just 6 months. Calculated each year this car travels about 166,667 miles (equivalent to more than 268,000 km), an extremely terrible number for a pickup truck.

Although diesel engines are popular for their durability and low breakdowns, it’s hard to believe that this Chevrolet Silverado went 1 million miles in 6 years without major maintenance.

Hugh and Tammy say they only need to change the oil every 5,000 miles and wash it when it gets dirty.

Honda Accord EX 1991

The 1990s were maybe the finest age for Honda automobiles, which buyers should bear in mind. This indestructible Honda lasted two generations in the owner’s family, clocking up at 1.16 million kilometers.

The original owner kept the automobile until his death when he left it to his son, who drove it until it hit the vital seven-digit milestone. Unfortunately, very less people know what happened to the automobile subsequently, but we can only hope that it’s still out there, ticking down the miles on its odometer.

Phil Marsella’s 2006 Ford F-250

Continuing to be a 2006 pickup, this Ford F-250 is even more impressive than the above one among the highest mileage cars ever. It only took Phil 4 years to reach the 1 million mile milestone, counting out that he travels more than 250,000 miles a year.

However, the owner drives for a living, so this is a pickup truck used for work, not a personal transport vehicle.

With the above frequency of use, if the owner continues to maintain it, it has now surpassed 3 million miles and even broke the world record if it continues to maintain that frequency in the future.

Saab 900 SPG 1989

There’s no denying that Saab’s death was tragic. This particular high-mileage Saab is arguably more well-known for its exclusivity than for its mileage. Only 7,500 900 SPGs were sold in America. So it’s no surprise that Peter Gilbert, the owner, wanted to keep his model for as long as possible.

Despite its rarity, Peter continued to drive it on a regular basis. He drove his elegant Swedish automobile for an incredible 1,001,385 kilometers before donating it to the Wisconsin Auto Museum in 2006.

Moreover, some owners also say that if you properly treat them and get used to how they are engineered, they will be a very reliable road companion for such a good period.

Lexus LS 400 1996

Lexus LS 400 1996 maybe one of the most well-known mega-high-mileage vehicles in the world. Matt Farah, a California-based automotive writer, purchased his million-mile Lexus in Florida when it was approaching 900,000 miles, intending to drive it to a million.

What followed may be considered one of the coolest undertakings in contemporary online car journalism. Farah rented the automobile to other journalists so they could drive it around for him. Farah, you outdid yourself.

Furthermore, there are several durability confirmations for this Lexus LS. Many indicate that after test-driving both newer and newer automobiles, they couldn’t find anything better than the Lexus for the price of the recent repairs it required.

That’s excellent praise and one we can certainly endorse given the LS 400’s well-deserved reputation for long-distance longevity.

Vic Sheppard’s Toyota Tundra 2007

Among the greatest Japanese trucks and the highest mileage cars ever, Toyota Tundra may be one of the most durable vehicles that we’d pick over American ones.

Vic Sheppard, the owner of this Tundra, purchased it in 2007. He then drove it between his home state and North Dakota, clocking up more than 125,000 miles every year. Vic kept it in the dealer’s hands, and despite some damage to the front quarter panel, the vehicle was in fine shape when it hit the seven-digit mark.

When Toyota HQ learned about Vic’s feat through the dealership that serviced the vehicle, they were so impressed that they offered him a brand-new Tundra in return.

Cars With Most Durable Engines Recorded In 2023

In the context that the selling price of many new and used car models is constantly fluctuating, along with the increasingly difficult economic situation, many people are looking for car models with stable and durable operation over time.

When car models are increasingly diverse, besides the design criteria, and equipment, the durability is also one of the factors affecting the decision to buy a car.

Here is a list of the most durable cars until recently, still ‘running well’ after at least 370,000 km according to the survey results of a famous US dealer iSeeCars.

Final Words

Although being able to serve you at the mileage of 1 million miles is not common sense, you can always learn how to take good care of your automobile to keep it in the best condition for a very long time.

So as we are wrapping up on the list of highest mileage cars ever, we only want to remind you to be careful when taking care of your vehicle every day, as your actions will play a vital role in its health in the future.

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