Mileage is nothing to be frightened of. On the contrary: it should be celebrated, embraced and used as confirmation that a car was probably built to last. 

I like to call them cockroach cars: those that would survive and probably thrive after a nuclear bomb (I’m writing a book on them). I’m grateful to the good people at Lease Loco, who submitted a Freedom of Information request to the DVLA to find out just how many vehicles have in excess of 750,000 miles on their odometer. The results are surprising, so let’s dive in. 

Steering away from vans, the fact that there are 36 Vauxhall Astras on the list is no shock. The Bertone coupé version of the Mk4 really does look rather purposeful and cool and, best of all, is spectacular value. 

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I found a relatively restrained 2003 1.8 16v example with 118,000 miles, a fresh MOT, a full service history and just a couple of previous owners for £1300 all in. Also a 2002 Turbo 888 Limited Edition at £14,000 (expensive on account of it being very rare) with 700,000 miles still to go – and go quickly. 

And it’s not just the Astra: there’s a fabulously strong overall showing from Luton. We’ve been told that Zafiras are terrible and catch fire all the time, but 20 of them still managed to reach the big 750,000. Not only that, but there are also 14 Vauxhall Corsas. 

98 Used ruppert

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the arrival in the mega-mileage area of 33 Rover 75s. The 75 is an excellent saloon that we’ve celebrated many times, and despite meeting its end 16 years ago, along with its maker, it continues to easily win new fans.