Te Kūiti passenger driver Val Parry and her 600,000km Toyota Funcargo.
Te Kūiti’s Val Parry was taking passengers to Auckland Airport this week and had begun the run home, when her odometer clicked over to 600,000 kilometres.
“I was happy to drop my passengers off for their holiday in Brisbane, but sorry there was nobody in the car to celebrate the moment with,” Val said.
“It deserved a high five or two.”
Val has run a passenger service for 11 years, driving her trusty 2004 Toyota Funcargo most days.
She had not had a speeding ticket in all that time, loved her job and could not see why her car should not reach one million kilometres.
“Okay, it has just begun to use a little bit of oil, so we’ll see how it goes.”
The 1.3 litre vehicle was serviced about every six weeks, or 6000 km, depending on how busy Val was at the time.
So, is it the car model or the servicing that has enabled this remarkable mechanical longevity?
“It’s the servicing, of course,” Val said.
“I can’t recall any major repairs in the years I’ve had the Funcargo, but in any case, there’s no replacement for regular servicing and a good mechanic.”
Val, who drives from Te Kūiti to Te Awamutu and back three times a week, or further afield by appointment, gets her car serviced at General Automotive and Diesel, where owner Kerrin Cressy confirmed there had been no mechanical issues in the years he had been servicing the vehicle.
“She’s done a lot of driving in it,” Kerrin said.
“But if you look after things, they usually go for a very long time; I think we’ll get Val to 700,000 kilometres pretty well.
“Her aim is a million, but I don’t know if it will get up there; I don’t know Val has a million k’s in her either.”
Kerrin said he had known Val for a long time.
“She has known me since I was age-zero, so I do my best to keep her going.
“But to be honest, we have had to do so little to that car, regular servicing and consumables such as brake pads and bulbs, stuff like that, but no major faults.
“It has the original engine and gearbox, which is pretty amazing.
“Val was just in this morning. She’ll pop in every now again and we’ll just check (her car) for her, top up the oil if it needs it and stuff like that, and off she goes again and books it in for a service when its due.”
