Issue #103 : Better Mileage

April 1, 2018 truereview 0

Recently, Consumer Reports noted that almost any car can make it to 200,000 miles and beyond, if you’re willing to throw money at it.

Here are the 10 cars that can get that far, according to the company: http://bit.ly/2wj5t9A.

My wife, Deb, and I have three cars. At the latest count, my 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee has 331,045 miles; my 1999 Plymouth Voyager van has 183,700; and Deb’s 2004 Hyundai Accent has 217,457. So the average is way more than 200,000: it’s 244,000 and change. Yes, we drive them to destruction.

Six years ago, the New York Times offered its own viewpoint. In an article published March 20, 2012, in terms of cars and mileage, “200,000 is the new 100,000,” according to the Times. “Two numbers make it apparent that 100K is no big thing anymore: The average car on the road is about 11 years old, and the average car is driven about 15,000 miles per year. Multiply those figures together and you’ve got a fairly average car with something like 165,000 miles on it.”

Growing up in the 60s and 70’s, I recall as soon as your car reached 50,000 miles, it was time to sell it. My dad traded his vehicles in every two years.

Based on my experience, cars can remain road-ready if I keep them clean, change the oil regularly, have a great mechanic and perhaps, if the stars align and the river doesn’t rise, I can get them all to 500,000 miles each.

My fingers are crossed.