One of the most commonly considered aspects when shopping for a car is mileage. Generally, the perceived value of a car drastically drops once it crosses 100,000 miles. Most of us don’t expect a car to make past the 200,000 mark, unless it’s a diesel. But what about Chevrolet Corvette? It was meant to be driven, and driven hard.
With a quick search, you may find that the Corvette with the highest mileage for sale is an overpriced 1992 C4 with 274K miles. Impressive, but it has nothing on Mark’s 2000 C5 Chevrolet Corvette, which has just under 710,000 (!!) miles. No, that is not a typographical error, the exact mileage last reported was 709,972. When Jalopnik first covered Mark’s C5 Corvette last year, it was sitting at 650,000 miles. The original 5.7L LS1 V8 is still under the hood, though the transmission was replaced.
Mark has always owned Corvettes, but realized it wasn’t efficient to continue to buy new cars and put a ton of miles on ’em. And we’re happy he did, because (as cheesy as it may sound) he’s reminded us that if you take care of your cars, they’ll take care of you.
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Many car owners never realize that GM cars are the longest lasting, such that they become classics in your hands. I had a 1984 Old Ciera coupe and sold it to a neighbor in 2010 (26 years), and a 1995 Buick Rgal Sedan which I sold to a friend in December 2015 (21 years). I have seen fellow workmates spend more money changing their imports several times in those same years. Our junkyards have so many imports in them that thery are becoming specialized per import brand, especially from Japan.
GM may not be the largest manufacturer anymore, but their cars last longer than any other brand. Selling more hamburgers make make more sales but selling steaks that are enjoyed longer make for a better quality life.
Exactly. Cars are made to be driven, and if you do its required maintenance, they will last a long time. I have a 1992 Cadillac Allante; have owned it for 22 years. It currently has 108,000 miles, so by comparison to this Corvette, it is just getting broken in.
I think he has gotten his money’s worth. GM should use it in an ad!
Pushrod V8’s are highly reliable. This is why people want them over Turbo-4’s. It’s why I bought a Chrysler 200S V6, instead of even considering a Malibu Turbo.
I say this as a Sky Red Line owner. The Sky is a perfect use case for a Turbo-4. But for high mileage, naturally aspirated, old era V6 and V8 engines.
Oh, and a transmission designed for thrashing. That’s how you get a million miles.