On March 29, 2004, my 1998 Mercury Tracer passed the 100,000 mile mark. 1,157 days later, while driving home from tonight's 5-3 Oakland A's victory over the Texas Rangers, the odometer rolled to 125,000 exactly, where it remains, parked outside our condo.The milestone itself isn't all that significant, but it's a good marker to see how much I'm driving. 25,000 miles over 1,157 days shows an average of only 21.6 miles per day over the last 3-plus years, which tells me that aside from commuting to and from the office five days a week, I really don't get out much.
The commute to work is 7.5 miles, according to Google Maps, so the act of simply going to and from the office covers 75 of the 151.2 miles driven on average per week over the last four years, assuming I go to the office five days a week, every week. That's about half of all my driving, even with 40 or so A's games and Cal Bears games in the East Bay per year, and the occasional visit to see the family in Palo Alto, Sacramento, Paradise or Chico.
So, either I could argue I have no life, or that I live in an area nearby all I need, from groceries to entertainment. I could also say I'm trying to conserve the environment, or that my wife and I take her car often enough that I'm not racking up the miles like I once did. Regardless, for having 125,000 miles behind it, the car is in remarkable shape. I haven't had to get it serviced for a really long time, aside from the occasional oil change. As much as I may dream of a better, fancier car, or look envious at hybrids to do what's right, we're in a pretty good spot with our 10-year-old clunker.