I just wanted to throw out the clip I saw about the guy with the 1966 P1800 Volvo with 2.9 million miles on it. In the first decade he had it up to over 600K, and with the now 2.9 M it averages around 64,444 a year. He plans to have it over 3M in the next year or so. He wants to celebrate the 50 yr. anniversary. He claims he has always kept up the maintainence on it. I was just envisioning what it would have taken to get a 1966 Mercedes that far down the road and the costs? If it was dealer maintained from start to finish, how many zeroes would it add to the original price tag?? Just knowing the monies some people have spent, and not even seen 100K. They say it was like 6 round trips to the moon! Just to keep a car that long without getting totally worn out with it is appalling.

On any car with that mileage, how many parts do you think are actually original? I would imagine he's basically replaced the entire car except for the odometer.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

To get that kind of mileage out of a car you have to pretty much replace everything, several times over. The body shell is probably all that's original and some of that probably isn't I'm sure its been hit.

Going by what Craig ran into with his 300D, figure on a motor every 400k-500k, and a transmission every 200k-300k...and just about everything else in between.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

One of my customers has a 1995 Volvo 850 sedan (non turbo) with around 130k miles. The Volvo feels like a lot lessor car than the E300 with 284k miles.

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Jim

I remember an oil company in the 1970's who run Series I Land Rovers on their concession in Asia. - 1950's models. Many had a million K's+ on them. The story was - At least the license tag numbers were the same.

I've had a couple Volvo p1800s, both 72s with fuel injection. They are great cars, but (like mid century Benzes) they rust like crazy, particularly the rockers, cowl, rear fender wells/shock mounts and around the headlights.
I might even still have some parts laying around.
Mechanically, I have to say that they would stand up with any Mercedes. The B23 straight six is a bulletproof workhorse, originally designed as a tractor motor if I'm not mistaken. I used to subscribe to SEES (the magazine of the Volvo Club Of America) and there were many 1800's reportedly having 4-500K+ with original motors and [manual] trannies.
I would love to have another one, not the 73 wagon though, I never really cared for the wagon.

I have a V90, runs well just passed 100k this past spring. It has a 2.9L 24V I6, peppey for what it is...

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

I have a 5 speed volvo 850 wagon and the mechanical odometer died 2 years ago at 206k mikes. The rest of the car feels brand new. It routinely gets 30mpg on 87 octane.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

A doctor just wrote an article, saying that he has a 98 year old patient that's going on a hiking trip to the Alps!

This guy watches everything he eats and exercises regularly.

The commentator made the comment that we have all seen some people and some objects (refrigerators, cars, drills, clocks etc) that last far far far beyond their expectations.

This Volvo could be like the Mercedes 123 Greek taxi with the 4 gazillion miles on it.

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Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

From the only one photo of the car the exterior looked immaculate, and very shiny red paint. On the up side of the this I would like to think, that it sitll could have the original complete drive train under it. The one thing that crosses my mind is the kind of work or job he had. I wondered if maybe he didn't have a job, and was on a mission for Volvo to set a guinness book record, as he did accomplish. The percentage of people in todays world, that purchase a new vehicle, and keep it to even a 200K mark without turning it, would be still quite small. Anyway, maybe it will give Mercedes a ping, and it will reinvent to pursue a kind of 1M badge??

I had the pleasure of meeting Irv at a classic car/Volvo meet and I was told, by Irv, that the car is original. It has not been in an accident that would involve major body repair.
The main point he made to me was that he BABIES this car. He drove like an old man even when the car was new. He imagines the proverbial "glass of water on the dashboard". He babies the drivetrain and sticks to an ironclad maintenance policy. He cleans the body to avoid rust and generally takes "ultracare" of that car. That's why it hit this milestone.
He did not set out to do this. It just occurred to him that it may make it after the first 500K.

The world's best automotive magazine in English is from the UK and is called CAR.

Each issue contains a one-line conclusion on every car sold in the UK.

Some years back the statement for Volvo was, "Next to SAAB, the safest car made in Sweden."

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles