This is the Mercedes that has traveled over 3.4 million kilometers. It’s a Mercedes-Benz W124, the vehicle that has the potential to shatter all lifespan records. Even the owner finds it difficult to believe. He had no idea when he bought it 28 years ago.
It is stated that vehicles are no longer manufactured in the same way that they once were. It is most certainly accurate, but how did they create them back then? They made them last, as unprofitable as it may sound these days. And here’s some strong proof: In 1991, a Mercedes-Benz E-Class W124 drove about 3.4 million kilometers (2,112,662 miles). By 1997, it had already reached its millionth unit without requiring any changes other than oil, filters, and a few minor consumables.
The odometer had stopped counting since the automobile was not designed to last that long or travel that far. But the owner kept counting until he couldn’t believe how far the vehicle had traveled.
His white W124’s diesel engine is mated to an automatic gearbox that is still operational today. Rust has eaten away at it here and there, as the photographs show, but the engine and other mechanical pieces are in excellent shape.
Its owner, 84-year-old Magnus Sæle, used to be a cab driver in Øygarden, Norway. He would never trade in his motorized partner for a new one. A Mercedes-Benz 300D W210 is also parked in his garage. That one has traveled 900,000 kilometers (559,234 miles), so he still has a long way to go to match his sibling’s performance.
