Your lowest-mileage classic or used car?

[MagicRat]

Have you found any older cars that were interesting because they had very low mileage? What was their annual mileage driven?

I have found that most very low mileage cars seem to be owned by the elderly.
For example, my dad is almost 80 and hardly drives. So his '99 Chrysler has just 25,000 miles. (2272 miles per year)

3 years ago, I tried to buy an '87 Dodge Aries, also with 25,000 miles, owned by an elderly family friend.
(1250 miles per year). Someone else scooped it, though

I own a '68 Ford Thunderbird with 46,000 miles (1095 miles per year). The original owner passed on in 1973, and his wife did not touch the car at all, so I bought it from the estate vendors in '89.

13 years ago, I was offered a rough '67 AMC Rebel with 18,000 miles.
(600 miles per year at the time). I didn't buy it because it was a base model and needed paint work, which I hate doing - foolish me.

And the winner? At a car show, 5 years ago, I saw a '55 Chevy with just 5,300 documented original miles - not for sale (at the time, 106 miles per year)

Any other stories?

[maxwedge]

My 55 Chrys. New Yorker has documented 57k.

[chvyl01]

ok,I dont have any pictures yet but my great uncle just passed away...he left a car in his will for my mother, she passed away but knew he had the car in his will and passed it on to me...probate court wasnt too hard seeing how I am the only family member left alive, the car a 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury III convertible, he bought the car new, bought 2 of them 1 for his wife, a week after he bought it she drove of the side of a mountain in hers (red) he parked his in the barn covered it and never drove it again, my uncles and cousins would go out and look at it and try to get him to let them drive it...which wasnt happening but he would let them start it, when I went to get it I had all expectations of trailering it and towing it home and wasnt looking forward to pushing it out of the barn and up a hill...but when I got there the key was hanging in the ignition...I turned it and almost fell to the floor when it fired up...I aired up the tires which are cracked bad and will be replaced but the car has exactly 1153.8 miles on it..yes thats one thousand one hundred fifty-three point eight miles,,the paint? perfect no fade and after washing shines like the day it rolled out the showroom...everything works...top is not cracked or faded...the oil isnt even dirty...altho all fluids will be changed...perhaps I'll put this sweet ride on e-bay...it has the 383 with automatic slapstick shfter...wonder if I could find a couple old 8-tracks to see if that works...the radio does. I'll take $30,000 any takers?

[MagicRat]

Great story. It remonds me of one I read in a collector car magazine about 20 years ago.

In about 1960, a young man in the US military was stationed in Europe. He left is nearly-new Corvette parked in his parent's garage in Florida. He died overseas. His parents were very distraught. They did not want to get rid of his car but did not want to see it either. They simply had that part of the garage sealed-off with a brick wall, with the 'Vette inside.

30 years later, the parents passed on and the house was put up for sale. The new owner quickly noticed the house structure did not look right, and had the brick wall knocked-down, to reveal the nearly-new old corvette inside.

[ella12]

Depends on how old you are considering. I once bought an much older car with 40k miles. But parts started to fail once I drove it on a daily basis. But a newer car with high miles has been used a lot. I'd go for the older car with lower miles. It would be cheaper and still have a decent lifespan left.