400,000 miles and counting: Sean Furlow's quest for a half million miles on his Saturn SL1

[Saturn team]

Every time Sean Furlow looks at the odometer on his 1993 Saturn SL1, he shakes his head in disbelief.

And why not? At 401,027 miles and counting, Furlow’s Saturn is still going strong.

“I still drive it every day and there’s never been a time when I’ve turned the key and it wouldn’t start,” Furlow said. “As long as it’s running, I make money on it every time I drive it.”

As Furlow points out, when you amortize a $13,000 car over 15 years and more than 400,000 miles, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.

The beige workhorse came to Furlow through his father-in-law, who put 250,000 miles on it before passing away suddenly several years ago. Furlow said he kept driving the car as a sort of tribute to his father-in-law, then became captivated with the idea of driving it until it reaches 500,000 miles.

The thing is, he said, he’s had to do little to the car to keep it on the road.

“I make sure I change the oil regularly and we’ve had to replace a water pump and an air-conditioning compressor,” he said. “No oil leaks, the transmission’s never been replaced – the shift light even still works.”

Not that it’s all that pretty anymore.

“The roof liner’s long gone, the seats are kind of worn out and the paint is pretty faded,” he said. “We still wash it, but it doesn’t get waxed anymore.

“But I think it still looks damn good for being as old as it is.”

Although he still holds out hope that he’ll be driving the SL1 when it rolls over 500,000 miles, Furlow admitted almost wishes it would finally give up the ghost.

“There are some days I wish it would die so I could buy a new car,” he said. “But I think it’s unique and it’s a nice tribute to my father-in-law and the pride he took in keeping the car running strong.”

Do you have 300,000 miles or more on your Saturn’s odometer? Tell us about it!

[Vegas Linda Lou]

And I thought I was so freakin' cool for hitting 200K. Now I have somebody to look up to! Congrats, Sean!

[SatredL]

I found out that I know the wrong Sean Furlow. But 400k is really good, keep going.

[Laurie Dunfield-Baker]

That's fantastic! If it's workable for you, you could buy a new car and keeping the SL1. It would just take longer to reach the goal, since you'd be driving both.

[SatredL]

Stateville CC.Sean Furlow?

[Rob]

Congrats and good luck on your quest Sean!