Big odometers don’t scare true road warriors. From a Kansas courier’s Hyundai that flashed 1,000,000 miles after just five years to Volvo’s legendary 3.25-million-mile P1800, these 17 iron-horses prove that meticulous maintenance and a steady highway diet can carry any car or truck into seven-figure territory.
1. 2007 Nissan Frontier – 1,000,000 miles
- The original clutch lasted 801,000 miles. Brian knows just how to slip it.
- He drove 77,000 miles a year, no GPS. Just old-school know-how.
- The odometer maxed at 999,999. The trip meter proved he hit a million.
Chicago-area delivery driver Brian Murphy set out in 2007 to rack up a million miles, hauling auto parts six days a week.
Thirteen years later the little pickup clicked over the mark with its original 4.0-liter V6 and five-speed manual still intact.
Good guy Nissan celebrated with a brand-new 2020 Frontier, and Murphy kept the old truck as a bragging-rights commuter.
2. 2013 Hyundai Elantra – 1,000,000 miles
- Farrah Haines drove 548 miles a day, every day, for five straight years.
- Her Elantra hit a million miles with the original powertrain still running strong.
- The odometer couldn’t show 1,000,000, so Hyundai made her a custom “1M” badge.
Parcel courier Farrah Haines blitzed a million miles in barely five years, averaging 200,000 miles a year across the Plains.
Hyundai verified her odometer, certified the still-original 1.8-liter four-cylinder, and created a special “Million-Mile” badge that now rides on the trunk lid.
3. 1996 Lexus LS 400: 1,000,000 miles
- The original owner racked up 700,000 miles in 12 years, probably a traveling salesman legend.
- The Lexus hit a million miles without ever opening the engine. Still sealed, still running.
- It became an internet meme, a road trip legend, and even paced a Lemons race.
YouTuber Matt Farah bought this big V8 sedan at 897,000 miles, chronicling its final sprint to seven figures as the “Million-Mile Lexus.”
The digital odometer froze at 999,999, so a GPS logger captured the proof while the silky 1UZ-FE V8 purred on unchanged.
4. 1990 Honda Accord -1,000,000 miles
- It’s had 185 oil changes: more than some cars will ever have fill-ups.
- Still running its original engine and transmission after a million salty Maine miles.
- Joe saved every receipt and got a brand-new car from Honda in return.
“Million-Mile Joe” LoCicero’s commuter clocked a million in 2011 after 19 timing belts, 661 oil changes, and one engine rebuild at 741,000 miles.
Honda threw a parade in Saco, Maine, and gifted LoCicero a brand-new Accord for his loyalty.
Sadly, Joe passed in 2016. Seems like he was a real fun guy.
5. 1999 Chevrolet G3500 Express Van –1,000,000 miles
- He averaged 14.6 MPG, even with over 6,000 hours of idling on the clock.
- The original transmission lasted a full million miles without needing a rebuild.
- He replaced just one engine (at 930k miles), got five windshields, and never missed a delivery.
Expediter Paul Pertile logged meticulous maintenance on every fuel stop and service.
His 6.5-liter diesel never needed an internal repair (although it eventually was replaced at over 900k miles), and the original 4L80-E transmission survived the full million-mile haul, earning the van a feature in ExpediteNow magazine.
For more on this one, check out: https://millionmilechevy.com/category/my-story/
6. 1988 BMW 325i (Mobil 1 Lab Mule) –1,000,000 miles
- It ran 24/7 for four years straight on a rolling road, and no human ever touched the wheel.
- After a million miles, the engine’s cylinder bores still measured “within new spec.”
- The test used Mobil 1 synthetic oil and BMW’s maintenance schedule: oil changed every 7,500 miles.
Does this one kind of feel like cheating to you?
Mobil stuck a brand-new E30 on a rolling road at 85 mph, fed it synthetic oil, and let it run non-stop for four years.
When engineers tore the M20 inline-six down after one million simulated miles, wear was still within factory spec, marketing gold for synthetic lubricants.
7. 1964 Porsche 356C “Blu”: 1,000,000 + miles
- He’s driven the same Porsche daily for over 40 years, racking up a million miles.
- The engine’s only been rebuilt twice, and the transmission lasted 900,000 miles.
- Almost everything on the car is original, including the smile on his face since day one.
Los Angeles yacht broker (what a Porsche Guy sounding job) Guy Newmark inherited “Blu” from his father and uses the air-cooled coupe as a daily driver.
The flat-four has been rebuilt only twice, and the first transmission overhaul waited until 900,000 miles, a true testament to Porsche engineering from the Beatles era.
8. 1989 Saab 900 SPG –1,001,385 miles
- His million-mile Saab was featured at the Detroit Auto Show with a giant sign on the windshield.
- Gilbert didn’t even get a T-shirt at first, until media pressure got him a brand-new Saab.
- Saab created a new policy: reach a million miles in your original Saab, get a free one.
Traveling salesman Peter Gilbert piled the miles on Wisconsin highways for 17 years.
After eight deer collisions and one clutch at 200,000 miles, the turbocharged hatch crossed a million and earned a permanent spot in the Wisconsin Automotive Museum.
9. 2007 Toyota Tundra –1,020,000 miles
- His million-mile journey began as a hot-shot hauler, crisscrossing Louisiana with time-sensitive freight.
- Sheppard’s Tundra racked up highway miles so fast, he hit six figures within a single year.
- Even after a million miles, the truck’s chrome and body panels still looked showroom-shiny.
Louisiana hot-shot hauler Victor Sheppard hit a million in nine years on the original 4.7 V8.
Toyota flew engineers in to dissect the truck, then swapped him into a brand-new Tundra. Sheppard has since repeated the feat with a 2014 model.
10. 1991 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 –1,060,000 miles
- He bought the truck with just 41,000 miles and vowed to avoid car payments forever.
- Chevy celebrated the milestone with cameras rolling and a live NPR broadcast from the road.
- Frank lovingly called the truck “Old Girl,” inspired by The African Queen and years of loyalty.
Steak hauler Frank Oresnik rolled his 5.7-liter V8 pickup to one million on a Wisconsin back road while an NPR crew broadcast the moment live.
Meticulous logbooks list more than 300 oil changes and every part ever replaced.
11. 2006 Ford F-250 Super Duty – 1,200,000 miles
- Phil logged most of his miles shuttling greyhounds to racetracks all across Florida.
- The engine was swapped at 400,000 miles, with one pulled straight from a junkyard.
- Friends threw a “million-mile party” to celebrate, complete with cake and racing dog tales.
Greyhound breeder Phil Marsella racked up over a million miles in just four years transporting racing dogs across Florida.
Friends threw him a “million-mile party,” and the 5.4-liter Triton kept ticking after a junk-yard replacement engine at 400,000 miles.
12. 2014 Tesla Model S P85 – 1,240,000 miles
- He’s put over 1.2 million miles on a used 2014 Model S, driving it all over Europe, Africa, and China.
- The car has gone through 14 rear motors, mostly refurbished, due to early design issues.
- He charges smart, never fully draining or topping off the battery, helping it last longer.
German owner Hansjörg von Gemmingen-Hornberg proves EVs can run with the diesel crowd.
His Model S has burned through 4 battery packs and 14 rear motors (looked it up, they’re each $3000-$5000 each) but still cruises Europe daily while sharing data with Tesla engineers.
13. 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe: 1,280,000 miles
- Mercedes has awarded this car four official high-mileage badges, starting at 200,000 miles back in 1975.
- It’s racked up 1.2 million miles across just two owners and nearly six decades of daily use.
- Despite the mileage, it still sports its original M129 straight-six engine; rebuilt but never replaced.
SoCal realtor Ben Clopot discovered 300 pages of service receipts when he bought this pillar-less coupe.
The original M129 straight-six has been refreshed but never replaced, and Clopot adds 35,000 miles a year commuting between open houses and Las Vegas family visits.
14. 2000 Ford F-250 Super Duty Diesel – 1,300,000 miles
- John hit one million miles on I-10 near Luling, Texas: documented with handwritten notes.
- The original 7.3L diesel and manual transmission are still going strong, even after 1.3 million miles.
- At 80 years old, he still breaks concrete as an 8th-degree black belt in karate demos.
Texas martial-arts instructor John Freeland still daily-drives his 7.3-liter Power Stroke with the factory manual gearbox.
Hoses, starters, and alternators have come and gone, but the core drivetrain soldiers on, proof that old-school diesels love long stretches of I-10.
15. 2008 Toyota Tacoma –1,520,000 God Blessed miles
- He updated the mileage sticker on his truck every 10,000 miles, like clockwork.
- His Tacoma delivered nuclear medicine, helping patients while racking up legendary miles.
- After Mike’s passing, his truck was placed in a Toyota showroom as a tribute to his legacy.
Medical courier Mike Neal logged 500-mile days delivering nuclear medicine around the Carolinas.
After an engine swap at 880,000 miles, the mid-size pickup rolled past 1.52 million and now lives on display at the dealership that sold it to Neal new.
16. 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D Taxi – 2,850,000 miles
- He racked up nearly 2.9 million miles using it as a taxi across Greece for over two decades.
- The car went through four engines, rotated as needed,before its retirement in 2004.
- Mercedes rewarded him with a brand-new C200 CDI when he donated the legendary Benz.
Greek cabbie Gregorios Sachinidis bought this diesel W115 with 220,000 miles already showing, then spent 23 years shuttling passengers around Thessaloniki.
Mercedes traded him a new C-Class when the odometer reached 4.6 million km and parked the taxi in its Stuttgart museum.
17. 1966 Volvo P1800 – 3,250,000 miles
- He bought it new in 1966, and logged over 3 million miles by the time he passed in 2018.
- Irv drove an average of 100,000 miles per year, just for the fun of it.
- His Volvo holds the Guinness World Record for the highest mileage by a single owner.
Long-Island science teacher Irv Gordon drove his red P1800S off the lot in 1966 and never stopped.
Guinness certified 3 million miles in 2013; Gordon pushed another quarter-million before his passing in 2018.
The original B18 block survives, making this little Swedish coupe the undisputed mileage king.