SuperGolf heads for 800 000km
2012-05-29 10:16
SUPERGOLF GOES THE SUPER-DISTANCE: Roy Dyson's MkIV diesel VW Golf is closing on 800 000km with an unopened engine. We hope he makes it.
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Toyota Hilux models built in South Africa recently hit the record books for the longest distance driven across Antarctica, while at the same time setting an unofficial speed record to the South Pole.
Do you own a diesel VW Golf? If you do, we bet it hasn't covered anywhere near the distance of this one in Britain that's covered more than 725 000km.
It's a privately owned, bought-used, Mk IV Golf S TDI belonging to Roy Dyson and his story starts back in 2001 when he retired from his food delivery business and moved from Lancashire in north-west England to Devon in the distant south-west. With family and friends up north, Roy and his wife Doreen knew they would be doing a few extra miles.
DAY TRIPS AND WEEKENDS
So, while visiting one of his sons, he came across the silver Golf S TDI on a VW dealer's forecourt. That was in May 2002, when the Volksie had fewer than 10 000km on its clock.
The couple embarked on many day trips and weekends away, along with their frequent journeys back to Lancashire, and the kilometres soon began to accumulate, big-time, with 50 000 being achieved by December of the that year. The 160 000km mark was recorded during July 2004, a quarter-million passed in June 2005, 320 000 in August 2006 and 400 000 in June 2007.
Soon after 480 000km the Golf suffered its only recorded breakdown; a failed alternator was replaced by the AA at the roadside. Indeed, Roy recalls that the only time the car didn’t make it home under its own power was during the winter of 2010 when the couple were trapped in a snowstorm and spent the night in the car.
The weather was also responsible for the car’s only accident, when it slid on ice and the nearside rear door was damaged.
ORIGINAL ENGINE
Apart from regular oil changes and attention to the brakes, the car needed very little attention thereafter and, impressed by the Golf’s reliability, Roy’s local service centre gave it a complimentary service at 700 000km.
With the total running distance having just passed 720 000km, the car still has its original engine, the cylinder-head has never been parted from the engine block, it uses very little oil between services and it still averages a little over five litres of regular diesel every 100km.
Inevitably, the car has had a couple of clutches, several sets of brakes and wheel bearings, cam belt changes every 100 000km and quite a few sets of Michelin Energy tyres.
Roy hand-washes the car every two weeks and puts the reliability and longevity down to regular servicing and having parts replaced as soon as they are showing signs of wear rather than waiting until things break or fall off. He's looking forward to, in UK terms, 500 000 miles later this year - that's 800 000 South African kilometres.
Do YOU have a long-lived car (of any brand) with a service history that confirms its long-distance service? Send your story (and a picture, if possible) to les.stephenson@24.com and we'll do our best to publish as many as possible. If you know somebody with such a car, email this news item to them.
