What cars are most likely to run past 200k miles 

Kinja'd!!! by "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
Published 04/09/2017 at 13:06

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I’ve been thinking, what cars are most likely to run past 200k miles ? Now I have a few rules. No trucks, SUVs, or Hondas/Toyotas. I know that eliminates almost every car that is destined to run that long. But that is why I ask the question. What cars are secretly super reliable or at least likely to ? All of the cars I have ever owned that are over 200k are toyota 4Runners and a Diesel F-250. My pick for cars that will do 200K no sweat...

The Crown Vic family. My girlfriend and I have a 2003 Grand Marquis with 83K miles and I am sure it could run forever.

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Replies (47)

Kinja'd!!! "MM54" (mm54mk2)
04/09/2017 at 13:10, STARS: 2

I agree with the panther platform (the crown vic family as you put it) - though my p71 feels near-death at 192k, it’s from incredible body rot thanks to 15 years in the salt. The drivetrain is pretty solid

Kinja'd!!! "Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]" (jarrettw)
04/09/2017 at 13:11, STARS: 2

Mazdas with B-series engines. This includes the pre-2006 Miata, and I believe many of the pre-2.0 Proteges as well.

Just watch for rust!

Kinja'd!!! "If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
04/09/2017 at 13:12, STARS: 2

Jalopnik did a piece on that last week . Here are the top ten cars likely to pass 200k:

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Kinja'd!!! "Logansteno: Bought a VW?" (logansteno)
04/09/2017 at 13:16, STARS: 3

Any GM car with the 3800 V6 or 2.2 EcoTec.

Kinja'd!!! "Leon711" (leon711)
04/09/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 1

I know that for some reasons the reputation for VW group cars is to be unreliable, but they are common taxis all over Europe. My vote is Skoda Superb, Skoda Octavia and VW Passat (euro version) being cars that’ll run well beyond 200k.

Kinja'd!!! "smobgirl" (smobgirl)
04/09/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 0

My sister’s Kia Soul probably will.

Kinja'd!!! "Alfalfa" (alfalfa-romeo)
04/09/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 3

There are plenty of Volvo 850s over 200k, it’s just that the odometer itself doesn’t make it to 200k.

Kinja'd!!! "Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/09/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 0

Can confirm the Crown Vic / Grand Marquis should be top of that list. I was so confused when I didn’t see it on there. My ‘97 Vic is running great at almost 246k. Ignore the out of place PRNDL needle though, lol. The car was actually in park. A minor adjustment should fix that.

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Kinja'd!!! "Laurence" (mrlaurence)
04/09/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 2

Mercedes w124? Them things were built to run forever...

Kinja'd!!! "Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition" (realasabass)
04/09/2017 at 13:30, STARS: 0

I put 130k on a 2012 focus. Oil, spark plugs, air filter, and tires was all the maintenance that was required in that mileage. It was in very good shape when I sold it in 2015, and have no doubts it would have made it to 250k no problem. I guess it would have needed a clutch at some point, but it showed no signs when I got rid of it.

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:35, STARS: 0

I have a really hard time believing the S-Class

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:35, STARS: 0

Yeah typically they will be much uglier than how they run when they get up there in milage

Kinja'd!!! "Conan" (ske1n)
04/09/2017 at 13:36, STARS: 0

All the electronics break but the engines themselves aren’t that bad.

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:37, STARS: 0

haha that shifter thing was a pretty typical ford thing

Kinja'd!!! "I have another burner, try to guess it!" (ihaveanotherburner)
04/09/2017 at 13:37, STARS: 1

It wasn’t on the list DO published, because it was only of models still in production.

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:38, STARS: 0

Thats pretty good. That one surprises me ! My question is why did you get rid of it ?

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:38, STARS: 0

I can see that. I think they get a worse rep then its worth

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:38, STARS: 0

I know that 3600 will just keep running forever

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 0

I guess that makes sense. I never pay much attention to mazda to be honest

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 0

Yeah I am sure that is true

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:40, STARS: 1

I wish they still made MB to last forever but they have gotten to focused on the luxury aspect of their business

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 13:40, STARS: 0

Yeah I imagine most of the korean cars probably will

Kinja'd!!! "Amoore100" (amoore100)
04/09/2017 at 13:44, STARS: 0

These things.

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Not because they’re reliable or cheap to service, but because we love them enough to keep dumping cash into them instead of buying a Camry.

Kinja'd!!! "Leon711" (leon711)
04/09/2017 at 13:55, STARS: 0

There could be logic, I’m not sure if non European assembled ones like youget in North America are worse but they certainly run forever here.

Kinja'd!!! "Junkrat aka Rick Sanchez: Fury Road Edition" (realasabass)
04/09/2017 at 14:01, STARS: 0

I bought it because I had a job where my mileage reimbursement was enough to pay the car payment, insurance, gas, and maintenance. I moved to another job where I got a company vehicle and could not justify the costs of keeping the car. The car was a bare bones SE model so it did not have SYNC which I hear was kind of a nightmare on these cars.

Kinja'd!!! "dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford" (dtg11)
04/09/2017 at 14:04, STARS: 0

I test drove an 850 that had 380k miles, it was neat. Drove pretty nicely too, probably because the mechanicals had been rebuilt 45k miles prior

Kinja'd!!! "gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee" (gogmorgo)
04/09/2017 at 14:07, STARS: 0

My parents’ ‘04 impala did 385,000KM, 240,000 miles, before it got written off. It was running just as well as when they bought it, likely woulda done another 385k. Only problem was the passlock system acted up every now and again. Just about everything replaced was wear items or else teenager-inflicted.

With a proper maintenance schedule anything will last 200,000 miles. It’s really not all that significant a milestone. It’s that 300,000 mile marker that starts sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Kinja'd!!! "If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent" (essextee)
04/09/2017 at 14:33, STARS: 0

It’s probably referring to the W116/W126 cars...

Kinja'd!!! "TheD0k_2many toys 2little time" (thed0ck)
04/09/2017 at 15:05, STARS: 0

you said no trucks but i dont care.

Powerstroke diesel. Specifically the 7.3 but take care of a 6.0 and 6.4 and they will last just as long

Kinja'd!!! "bingham123" (bingham123)
04/09/2017 at 15:07, STARS: 1

i had a ford fiesta mk3 with 300k a mk2 gold with 200k and a volvo 340 with 230k. my mums volvos have all gone to well over 200k and her first car an fso had 450k miles before it died to rust

Kinja'd!!! "fintail" (fintail)
04/09/2017 at 15:16, STARS: 0

Diesel MBs of 123/124/126/116. It’s getting tougher and tougher to find them under 200K miles.

For moderns, I suspect all E and below can do it easily, given proper maintenance inside and out. Bluetec and CDi cars will easily hit that.

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:27, STARS: 0

That would be my guess too

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:28, STARS: 0

Ahh okay that makes sense to me

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:29, STARS: 1

Still cool to see a car with 380K miles on it even with the rebuild it is neat 

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:30, STARS: 0

I can’t imagine why the US Spec ones would be much different but then again I could be totally wrong. Because I have a US spec Passat and I need it to last me well over 200K

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:31, STARS: 0

Yeah that is true. Back in the day 200K was a lot but now I guess most cars should** be able to get there with the right maint

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:31, STARS: 1

This is valid haha

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:32, STARS: 0

Yeah I figure any of the diesels won’t have too much trouble making that happen

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 15:33, STARS: 1

Yeah I had a 200 F-250 with a 7.3L powerstroke. Literally only did regular maint and it was perfectly fine at 350K when we got rid of it. Never had one issue with that truck besides rust

Kinja'd!!! "Leon711" (leon711)
04/09/2017 at 15:41, STARS: 0

I can’t imagine it being different, the only reason I said it was because that’s only thing I can think of. The only thing that can stop a modern car hitting 200k is lack of servicing and maintenance.

Kinja'd!!! "TheD0k_2many toys 2little time" (thed0ck)
04/09/2017 at 15:45, STARS: 0

mine too. my 99 will rust apart before it dies

Kinja'd!!! "torque" (torque01)
04/09/2017 at 15:57, STARS: 0

Since you’re a VW (or at least TDI guy...) I’ve had/have three VWs all go past well past 200K miles

84 GTI had it for 4 years & it had +260K before sold to a neighbor for a city car

91 GLI had it for 6 years & put 120K miles on it & sold to my mechanic for parts with 300K miles

98 TDI (Jets) I’ve had it for 12 years, I’ve put 127K miles on it & it currently has +247K (still my daily driver). Though I still like driving his one (TDI) & the engine & turbo* are both strong, it has enough rust underneath that I’m looking around for its replacement

*brand new turbo @210K

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 16:01, STARS: 1

Yeah I don’t have the TDI anymore but I have a gas Passat now. My TDI was at about 70k when I sold it back and this car I have had for about 6 months and it has 15k on it

Kinja'd!!! "Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll)
04/09/2017 at 17:05, STARS: 0

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This one has over 200k miles on it right now, and it has a fresh “Motorfahrzeugkontrolle” or MFK (Swiss safety inspection, far more thorough that the notorious German TÜV) sticker. I’m not saying that it was cheap to get it that far. It just proves that everything is possible if you have more money than sense, or just love a car and aren’t willing to trade.

Kinja'd!!! "Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy" (camshaft-chris)
04/09/2017 at 19:59, STARS: 0

Ah, ok. I must’ve missed that part when I read the article, lol. Thanks!

Kinja'd!!! "TDIGuy" (owenrosier)
04/09/2017 at 21:19, STARS: 0

Yup I regret ever getting rid of that truck

Kinja'd!!! "pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
04/10/2017 at 07:05, STARS: 0

my ‘04 Lancer has gone past 400k miles.