We can’t all be Irv Gordon and we can’t all drive a 1966 Volvo P1800S for over 3 million miles.
The retired New York school teacher and his two-door Volvo hold the Guinness World Record for Highest Vehicle Mileage, a distinction Gordon has owned since 2002.
His secret is no secret: Regular maintenance and repairs.
Most car owners probably aren’t as patient or doting as Gordon, even though the average age of cars on the road is 11.4 years, older than at any other point in automotive history.
While a recessionary economy may be to blame, the credit likely goes to automakers, who are making more durable vehicles and charging a premium for them. The average new car price was over $31,000 in 2013, an increase of nearly $5,000 from a decade earlier, according to TrueCar.com.
It’s no wonder we’re holding onto our cars longer. But for over 200,000 miles?
Nearly 1 percent of all vehicles in the used car market top 200,000 miles, according to iSeeCars, a used-car aggregating site that catalogs over 30 million online listings. The expansive survey pool consisted of vehicles from model year 1981 to 2010.
Based on their data, iSeeCars dubbed these workhorses the longest running cars on the road.
Of the longest running used vehicles listed on iSeeCars.com, only three cars, the Honda Accord, Subaru Legacy and Toyota Avalon, cracked the top 20 most used cars sold with over 200,000 miles.
In general, light-duty trucks average 90,000 miles, or 20 percent more than the 75,000 miles averaged in cars.
Why do trucks and full-sized SUVs dominate the longest running vehicle list?
Theories abound such as trucks are made to haul more weight and have correspondingly stronger parts; they’re less complicated and easier to service, leading to more frequent and comparatively inexpensive repairs; the expectations of a truck are different, more functional, than that of a car, so owners care less about creature comforts or aesthetic considerations. They’re also subject to more work-like regular maintenance.
These vehicles may be more likely to be driven to death than traded in, or sold and bought again and again on the resale market. Family haulers are likely to get passed on or do double duty in advanced age as a work beater.
Another theory holds that replacement parts on other vehicles are worth more than the car, making it logical to junk a ubiquitous sedan for the parts. Honda Accord parts, for example, can be used to repair so many other Accords or other midsized sedans.
If we were to exclude SUVs and trucks after the aforementioned 3 sedans, the highest percentage of used cars with over 200,000 miles would be the Honda Odyssey, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus, Honda Civic, Acura TL and the Subaru Outback. Those all fall into the common perception of intrepid vehicles.
Vehicles owners are as peculiar as their personalities, so any blanket explanation as to why trucks last longer than cars will be pocked with exceptions. What may be most insightful from the data is factoring in longevity and the perceived value of your vehicle at 200,000 miles, which is only 1/15 of the world record.
Longest Lasting Vehicles
Rank
Models
% of cars over 200K miles
1
Ford - F-250 Super Duty
4.2%
2
Chevrolet - Silverado 2500HD
3.6%
3
Chevrolet - Suburban
3.6%
4
Toyota - 4Runner
3.5%
5
Ford - Expedition
3.0%
6
GMC - Sierra 2500HD
2.7%
7
Chevrolet - Tahoe
2.1%
8
GMC - Yukon XL
1.9%
9
Toyota - Sequoia
1.7%
10
GMC - Sierra 1500
1.6%
11
GMC - Yukon
1.6%
12
Honda - Accord
1.6%
13
Dodge - Durango
1.5%
14
Subaru - Legacy
1.5%
15
Toyota - Tacoma
1.5%
16
Toyota - Avalon
1.5%
17
Ford - Explorer
1.4%
18
Ford - F-150
1.4%
19
Lincoln - Navigator
1.4%
20
Chevrolet - Silverado 1500
1.4%
rduffer@tribune.com
@DufferRobert
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/chi-top-20-longest-lasting-vehicles-20140318-story.html
