Posted on 09/03/2009 8:02:36 PM PDT by Frantzie
In the Olympics of car ownership, Rachel Veitch of Orlando, Fla., is a marathoner of the first order, with a record virtually impossible to match.
For one thing, Veitch is still driving at the age of 91. For another, she has had her 1964 Mercury Comet Caliente for 45 years, racking up about 559,000 miles on it. Together, Veitch and her car have outlasted her three husbands -- a feat surely worth of a footnote in the annals of automotive history.
This happened for a simple reason: A retired nurse, Veitch likes to keep things in good working order -- a trait that her patients no doubt appreciated when she cared for them in critical care units after open-heart surgery.
(Excerpt) Read more at autos.aol.com ...
Outstanding!
What a gal! What a car!
They don’t make them like that anymore, youbetcha!
BTTT
Cute video!
Good for you Rachel Veitch.
Thanks for the link. I really got a kick out of this, and brought a tear to my eye. Rachel reminds me of my grandmother, who died back in May. She had Alzheimers, and knew when it was finally time to give up the keys, at 91. Lucky for her, she had three strong grandsons who always took care of, and fixed her cars.
I wouldn’t think twice of giving this woman a big hug if I ever met her.
On the other side of the coin, I have had relatives who held onto the keys WAY too long. Still remember the photos of my grandmothers crashed 69 Chevelle in the late 80’s..
granny clunker ping
My mother will be 89 soon and hasn’t driven a car in a year or more and will probably never try to drive again......As long as no one opens their fat trap and tells her she can’t
Maybe she should of worked harder on keeping care of her husbands?
As someone in the car business, I can tell you that the least expensive option is to always fix what you have. So many people take a loss on a perfectly good automobile to buy something that gets marginally better mileage and is financed too long. Want to have money in the bank? buy a car and maintain it well. “Watch the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves” as a wise woman once said.
Great video. I sent a link out to my list.
One great regret of my life is selling my pristine '57 Chevy in 1970 for $400.
Knowing what I know now, I would have just kept her maintained and never purchased another car.
As a side note, I was thinking today...Saw a couple in an Astro van. Ugly, interior rattling I’m sure, but I have seen more miles on those than anything else.
I have seen more 400K plus Astro vans than any other vehicle. Probably sold 50 Accords for every Astro, but that is a great workhorse. If any drivetrain part wears out, they are cheap to replace. Ugly abomination, but if you want utility on the cheap, grab one.
Roar right Reorge!
I owned 20 odd cars by the time I was 23. 72 Centurion, 71 T/A 78 T/A, Opels, 65 Dart convertible etc. I have often thought I should have just stuck them in a warehouse until I was older. Hindsight is 20/20
Remember my neighbor tellin me he negotiated over $50 in the driveway trying to give away his 1966 Vette 427 during the gas crisis.
Well, that could explain snagging three husbands in spite of her age...
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