Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Monte Carlo #899 At 200K - It Ain't Rocket Science

Coincidence or not, back on December 3rd, I was east bound on 680 just west of my office in Youngstown, Ohio when the odometer on my 2002 Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS dialed past 200,000 just a couple of days past the car's eighteenth birthday. Responsible road goer that I am, I pulled off to the shoulder to photograph the event. And, if we're being honest, pulling off to the side of the road assured my taking a steady photo free of any blurriness.

It's funny, I would never buy a car with this kind of mileage on it but when you've put most of the miles on a vehicle yourself, much I guess in the same way we kid ourselves we're really not that old, the high mileage doesn't seem like that much.  Well, that is if you've taken care of your ride over the years. I've driven cars with well under a 100,000 miles on them that couldn't hold a candle to my good old boy here. The only inkling I have that I have a lot of mileage on my car is the expression I see on people's faces when I tell them about it.

It most certainly doesn't ride, handle or look like a car that's gone the equivalent distance of most of the way to the moon or more than seven times around the earth. In fact, dare I say, save for a forever on check engine light, that's on, allegedly, because of a bad and pricey EGR valve, I'd say it rides and handles much the same way it did when I first got it going on ten years ago. And besides a scratch or two here and there, when it's all washed up, it's as good looking as the day I got it too.

So, what's the secret to being able to hold onto a car as long as I have this one and put this many miles on it? A number of things but essentially I believe it boils down to luck, desire, patience and maintenance.

I'm lucky in that over the years nothing catastrophic has occurred that would necessitate its replacement. And by catastrophic I'm inferring damage from an accident (knocks on Tupperware like dash board top). I'm patient as well knowing that it's fiscally irresponsible to fix a two thousand dollar problem, like a blown transmission or internal engine issue, with a twenty, thirty or forty thousand dollar solution. Not that anything like that has occurred but that's the plan in case anything like that did happen.

As far as desire goes, I bought this car with only less than 15,000 miles on it in 2010 "on the cheap", well relatively anyway, with the desire to keep it as long as possible to save money. To that end this car has paid dividends ten fold. I know scores of people who have had three if not four new cars in the time I've had my one oldie here and each of those cars cost them well over $30,000. Think about that - that's over $100,000 spent on a depreciating asset.

It also helps that I know how to use a torque wrench and I'm not afraid to tackle projects that make many a mechanic wince. With the exception of swapping out the upper and lower intake manifolds and gaskets and the AC condenser recently, I've done all of the myriad repairs this car has required over the years myself. Saving, repeat after me, thousands of dollars. And people wonder how I put our two sons through college. Hey, this ain't rocket science.

Driving responsibly is important too. No jack rabbit or drag strip type starts and I baby it with grand fatherly type transmissions shifts. My family says I drive like an old man, if the slipper fits, wear it, but that kind of driving pays off. I also never slam the doors, trunk or hood and freak out whenever anyone else does. Trust me, that sort of thing takes a toll on the structure of the car.

Finally, I really love the damn thing and since no one makes these types of cars anymore, let alone the fact that GM hasn't made a Monte Carlo since 2007, what would I replace it with? My fondness for it, I think, is because it reminds me of the NASCAR inspired Monte Carlo SS' that Chevrolet made between 1983 and 1988 that I've always been a fan of. That's ironic too considering I could care less about NASCAR let alone my having no clue as to who Dale Earnhardt was, what he accomplished and why Chevrolet ever made a car with his name plastered all over it. I guess I'm like a football fan who's a fan of the ball but not of the game itself.

So, what does the future hold for what many refer to as "The Dale"? Honestly, I have no idea but I'm going to hang in there with "him" because, with my now one thousand mile a week commute, it doesn't pay for me to sell it an incur the expense of paying off its replacement. While miles are piling up at a stunning rate, the fact is most of my driving is turnpike cruising with the tach rarely going north of two thousand rpm's. I venture to guess every one thousand miles on my car is like a hundred miles on a car that's city driven.

Besides, if I got rid of "The Dale", what would I do with this jacket?