My car just hit 165,000 miles.  It is a ’97 Honda CR-V.   I bought it when they first came out.  Having had an Accord before, I remained loyal to the brand. At the time, I was commuting to work, and wanted something that would perform better in snow.  I never thought that it would reach this many miles.  It seems to be a car with nine lives.

At 123,000 miles, I thought it was dying.  The engine would suddenly turn off when you were driving.  Luckily, this always happened on back roads.  It always started right up again so I was able to get home.  Of course by now I had subscribed to AAA plus.  I took it into the dealer and found out that it had a recall for the ignition switch.  What was the cost of repair?  Free.

At 135,000 miles, it needed new tires.  It told the sales man at Sears that I did not need anything too expensive since I didn’t think the car would last much longer.  It was the third set of tires put on the car. Am I going to need a fourth?

At 145,000 miles, the engine light went on.  It was also making a strange noise.  Now for sure I thought it was finished.  Nope.  There was an extended warranty on the emissions up to 150,000.   I just made it.  That trip cost me about $30.00 for an oil change and a blown out light bulb.

Of course, there have been brake repairs, a timing belt replacement, and many maintenance services.  I no longer go to the dealer, but a nice local garage named Murray Bros. that does excellent work. These days I feel good about supporting local businesses.

My girls have never known another car.  They call it “greenie” due to the dark green color.  Whenever I mention that I might have to get a new one soon, they get upset.  I wonder if they will feel that way when they are old enough to drive.

Many items these days are dispensable.  People trade in cars regularly.  I have always held onto a car until it died.  I know it isn’t the popular thing to do.  I know the automobile industry would collapse if everyone held onto cars for so long.  However, for all the talk about being green, maybe holding onto our cars longer would help the environment.

I don’t know how much longer this car will run.  I know I have the oldest car in the school parking lot and it isn’t very attractive with its rusted hub caps and fading paint.  Now I have a dilemma.   I am wondering how far it can go.  I met a person at the gas station that said his had 238,000 miles.  Maybe my Honda CR-V will have ten lives.

Update 9/18/2012:  The same car has now reached 180,000 miles.