Highest Mileage Mercedes In The World In 2024

Being able to say that you have driven 500,000 miles in a car is a pretty impressive feat. Then there are those rare examples of cars that have been driven a million miles. There are then the super-rare examples of cars that have defied all odds and have driven over a staggering two-million miles! From a list of the most reliable cars, you may expect to see such an example, but in this case, it is not. We are talking about a 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D which has clocked up 2.8-million miles!

We have brought you the following information about this legendary Merc that we think you will find entertaining, the story behind the car and driver, what makes the 240D a special car, and other examples of high-mileage Mercedes-Benz models.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including Hot Cars, Car Survey.org, Repair Pal, The Greek City Times, and NHSTA.

A 2.8-Million Mile 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D

One of the highest mileage cars and the highest mileage Mercedes-Benz that currently exists, only to be beaten by a few more remarkable examples, such as Irv Gordon’s 1968 Volvo PS1800, is a 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D that has achieved a verified 2.8-million miles. Owned by a gentleman in Greece named Gregorios Sachinidis, it has since been donated to the Mercedes-Benz Auto Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, for the world to see.

The Story Of The 2.8 Million-Mile Mercedes

Gregorios Sachinidis owned the infamous 1976 240D whilst working as a taxi driver in Greece. Not a huge amount of information exists about this extraordinary story, but according to an interview done with the Greek City Times, Gregorios Sachinidis bought the car in 1980 and worked for 23 years as a taxi driver, ferrying thousands of people around, including German footballer Gerd Müller and former Greek Prime Minister, Kostas

Using the same car for 23 years, the Mercedes-Benz 240D served as a loyal partner for all that time and would have seen an innumerable number of stories.

It Was More Than Just A Job

Along with using the Merc for business, it was also used for Gregorios Sachinidis’ personal ride for the same amount of time, and he traveled abroad from Greece hundreds of times in it, hence the high mileage. But, it was not all just for work or pleasure, the car was also used for charity work.

According to the same interview done with The Greek City Times, the 1976 240D was also used almost four-hundred times to drive supplies to war-torn-Serbia as part of humanitarian work that Gregorios Sachinidis carried out.

According to the owner, “
In fact, in 1993, crossing the war-torn Yugoslavia, I accompanied a truck with humanitarian aid to Belgrade, transporting the escort of the mission, businessman Stefanos Milios, the only person who had a permit to enter the country at that time”
.

Unable to afford another Mercedes-Benz during his career as a taxi driver, he stuck with the 240D. A replacement car in the form of a Mercedes-Benz C200 CDI was given to him by former Mercedes-Benz CEO, Alexander Paufler, in 2004 in exchangefor the donation of his beloved 1976 240D to their museum.

1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D Specifications

Built for luxury, comfort, and sturdiness, the 1976 240D does not possess the most outrageous performance specifications, but clearly, for Gregorios Sachinidis, it was more than enough to see him good for nearly three-million miles and provided a reliable car to be used throughout his career. Maybe not as reliable as some of the most reliable hybrid and plug-in hybrids around today, but the huge mileage speaks for itself.

(Data gathered from Classic.com)

How The 1976 240D Survived

According to Gregorios Sachinidis, careful maintenance of the 1976 240D was carried out when needed by himself as a mechanic.

ccording to Mercedes-Benz, you should service new models every 10,000 miles or at the turn of the year, whatever comes first. The service interval for older diesel cars, like this 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D, requires an oil change every 3,000 miles. If that was carried out as it should have, that would mean the owner would have done 933 oil changes on the same car! But it isn’t just the oil changes that are a big reason why this car has lasted so long. We will leave it up to you to decide if it is still worthy of one of Mercedes-Benz’s high mileage awards.

It Isn’t All As Simple As It Seems

There are differing reports out there that suggest that this 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D had either two or three engine changes over its very long life. So, the chassis and a majority of the interior would have seen 2.8 million miles, but the powertrain, or powertrains, did not.

The 2.4-liter inline-four W115 engine in the 240D does not usually make it to many lists of the most reliable and hardy engines out there, so we are not surprised that an engine change or two was in order. It is certainly no ultra-reliable Toyota IGZ-FE V-12 engine.

Related: The Highest-Mileage SUV In The World In 2024

What Makes The 1976 240D So Special

Boasting a heavy looking, boxy, but luxuriously grand exterior, deep cushy leather front and rear seats with wooden dash, large centrally-placed steering-wheel, and round speedometer inside, the 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D is a classy looking sedan inside and out, despite its low-performance specs.

Showcasing the legendary Mercedes-Benz hood ornament and wide front grille, it is easy to tell that at the time, Mercedes was creating an inexpensive and luxurious sedan for the masses in mind. A design style that has gone on to shape the way a lot of modern luxury vehicles look.

No-Nonsense Engineering

In the mid-1970s, Mercedes-Benz’s engineering design team was at the forefront of automotive innovation, setting new standards for luxury and safety. Led by visionary engineers such as Bruno Sacco and Rudolf Uhlenhaut, they created line after line-up of beautiful cars that were precisely and very well-built.

The engineering design team was characterized by meticulous attention to detail, rigorous testing procedures, and a relentless pursuit of perfection. Their contributions not only shaped the brand’s reputation for engineering excellence but also influenced the direction of the automotive industry as a whole. The multi-million mile 1976 240D would have been built with the same level of no-nonsense engineering prowess, a possible factor for how it has survived for so long on the road.

Luxury And Reliability

Though no reviews on the 1976 version of the 240D exist on Car Survey.org, there are plenty of reviews of later model years. One owner of a 1979 Mercedes-Benz 240D commented that, though it is slow, it is very reliable and scored it a reliability mark of 9 out of 10. The same owner also drove his model 180,000 miles on the road! A lot further than you may expect some modern day cars to last, with some exceptions of course. Though few in reviews, it does offer a good insight into the reliability of the old Mercs alongside their luxurious pull and the length of time owners will drive in them.

Mercedes-Benz: A By-Word For Reliability

According to Repair Pal.com, Mercedes-Benz as a manufacturer has an overall reliability rating of 3 out of 5, which puts it above average compared to other manufacturers around. Of course, this is an average dependent on a range of models in their lineup. It can only take a few ‘bad models’ to bring that average down. But, what you do get with a Mercedes-Benz is good reliability and a luxury experience inside and out. Reliability and luxury are especially apparent in some of Mercedes-Benz’s newer SUV line-up.

Build Quality And Precision

Also, according to Repair Pal.com, the average yearly cost of maintaining a Mercedes-Benz is $908. That puts it at the higher end compared to some manufacturers like Toyota, which has an average yearly repair cost of $441, but parts for Mercedes-Benz cars are slightly more expensive, and if you take your Merc to a specialist, it will cost you more.

On average, Mercedes-Benz vehicles need to visit a garage 0.7 times a year and chances of a repair being severe is a lowly 13%. This is based on newer models, of course, but it still gives a good idea of the build precision and quality of the manufacturer. Obviously though, examples like Gregorios Sachinidis’ 1976 240D were built of something very solid!

Other High Mileage Mercedes-Benz

This 2.8 million-mile 1976 Mercedes-Benz is by far the highest mileage Mercedes in existence in 2024, but there have also been some other very high mileage examples made by the German manufacturer.

A 1966 Mercedes-Benz 250SE Coupe exists with over one-million miles on the clock which still looks as glorious today as the day it was built. There is also a 1981 240D which has made the huge milestone, and only second to Gregorios Sachinidis’ 1976 240D, a 1991 Mercedes-Benz E-Class has a verified 2.11 million miles on the clock. There is clearly something endearing to Mercedes-Benz owners about running their cars for as long as possible. It could be the luxury, it could be the comfort factor, it could be the namesake, or it could be that some models of Mercedes-Benz will just keep going and their owners like to push them as far as possible.