Man Buys Most Reliable Minivan Ever, Takes Annual Photos Of His Children Growing Older In It As It Accrues 330,000 Miles

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In 2012, a Michigan man purchased a 2004 Mazda MPV minivan — a vehicle that most folks rarely see today, and frankly rarely think about at all. Over the next 11 years, the machine would blow him away with its unrivaled reliability, racking up 200,000 miles on the already 130,000 mile total, and rarely requiring any significant mechanical repairs (besides rust). Here’s the story of this incredible minivan, and of the family that grew up in it.

This 2004 Mazda MPV minivan was featured by our one and only David Tracy way back in 2018 on Jalopnik. Those of you who fan-girl over DT content will recall that he actually drove this MPV as the first installment of High Mileage Heroes, a segment I hope to continue in his legacy (he’s still alive, don’t worry). At the time, our hero Jamie Anton had amassed an impressive 140,000 miles on his MPV for a total of nearly 270,000 miles.

He originally purchased the vehicle in 2012 when it had 126,050 miles on the clock; he picked it up for $6,200 at what DT called “a sketchy used car lot.” Jamie has gotten his money’s worth out of this MPV, conducting only simple maintenance on  the 330,000-mile, 19-year-old car, in addition to some rust repairs. The van has been everywhere, Jamie told me over Facebook Messenger. It celebrated its 300,000 mileage anniversary in Big Sky, Montana back in August 2020!

Anyway, besides the fact that Jamie still has his MPV, five years after DT drove it, and 11 years after he bought it, why is it making a reappearance? Well take a look at this .gif Jamie sent me:

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He’s taken an annual picture of his children growing older each year in the back of their family MPV. That’s dedication! Might as well count the MPV as a child. There’s a gap between 2012 and 2016. I guess Jamie shipped his daughter off to some ultra-worldly expedition to find a higher mileage MPV. She came back with a brother, whom Jamie drove home from the hospital in this van.

David’s Turn

Hi Autopians, it’s David Tracy, here. I sent our weekend youngster, Rob, this story to write up after my friend Jamie messaged me that he “Had [his] 11th vanniversary this week.” He continued: “Old girl just keeps on going.” Then he sent me the .gif of his family (shown towards the top of this article), and I knew we had to share it with you all. That’s some wholesome stuff that we all need to balance out all the negativity we’re getting from the media.

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I drove Jamie’s van three and a half years ago, and wrote a whole article on it (see screenshot above). At the time, I noted just how few repairs Jamie has had to make:

What’s incredible is how few mechanical repairs Jamie has had to do to this machine in the roughly 140,000 miles he’s had it. “[I have never touched] ANYTHING related to suspension or driveline,” he me.

“Struts/shocks/axles/axle boots/axle seals/ball joints/swaybar links/wheel bearings/etc… I’ve never touched,” he continued, before saying that, other than the sway bar link boots being cracked, the rest of the car is in “like-new shape.”

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I also described what it was like to drive the thing:

And after driving this amazing high-mileage MPV, I can say: Jamie’s statement is no exaggeration. The machine is incredible. The engine—the 200 horsepower, 200 lb-ft Duratec V6—is so quiet, I literally couldn’t tell it was even on. The transmission shifted beautifully through all five gears, and when Jamie told me to “floor it,” the acceleration actually felt more lively than I expected.

Though I didn’t throw it into any turns at high speeds, my time behind the wheel had me thinking that this thing was meant to be more of a cruiser than a canyon carver. With its front MacPherson struts and rear torsion beam, the MPV’s ride quality was great, and equally as plush were the wonderful leather seats.

I don’t have much to say about the brakes or the steering, as I didn’t exactly take this thing on a track, but they were good. (I know bad brakes when I use them, going back to my various sketchy Jeeps brought back from the brink.) The MPV felt brand new. Truly. Which is remarkable, since Jamie says he thinks the engine and trans are original.

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The engine under the hood is a 3.0-liter “Duratec 30” V6, which you might also find in a Ford Escape, Ford Taurus, Lincoln LS, Mazda 6, Jaguar X-Type, or any number of Ford-family cars. Apparently co-developed with Porsche, and largely considered underrated by those in the know, it’s largely free from major weaknesses, with the biggest problem being catalytic converter ingestion (I did find a video about loose cam bearing cap bolts, though Jamie hasn’t had that issue).

You can see the valve covers off Jamie’s engine in the image above, as he replaced the leaky gaskets (it was a simple and dirt-cheap job). Here’s a look at Jamie’s van’s camshafts with 200,000 miles on them:

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Jamie tells me he replaced the timing chains/guides as a preventative measure. He also took care of the seals while he was at it:

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As for the issue of the engine sucking in bits of catalytic converter and then destroying itself, Jamie checked his exhaust early-on. “When I disconnected it from the front header, it then emptied itself out.” You can see that here:

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Hopefully that’s all of the catalyst in that housing; given that Jamie has put 130,000 miles on it since, I think it is.

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Jamie has had to do lots of bodywork on his van. You can see in the image above that the thing got sideswiped (he also had his front left side hit by a rogue tire, though he fixed that with junkyard parts). Jamie luckily found a silver parts van nearby for only $400:

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The Michigander engineer and proud human-and-car-dad removed the parts van’s doors and hacked off its rear quarter panel:

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Unfortunately, even though the replacement front door was dent-free, it did have some rust. Jamie hacked that out and welded in some new sheetmetal, then he sanded, bondo’d, primed, and painted it:

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He also fixed his car’s rusty rocker pael/B-pillar base:

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Luckily, the piece on the donor car was in much better shape. He cut that out:

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He hacked/drilled out his old piece, then welded in the new one:

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After sanding, bondo-ing, priming, and painting, things looked good:

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Jamie even fixed some rust around the rear wheel well, though to hide what he thought were less-than-ideal results, he installed a flare from a Pontiac Vibe:

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Jamie also mended some rust holes he found in his floor; this required dismantling much of the interior:

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And after knocking on some brown spots, he found quite a bit of metal with almost zero structural rigidity left:

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Jamie’s an engineer, so he’ll gladly admit that his repair is a bit janky. He ground down the rust and screwed on some patch panels, using sealant to keep moisture out:

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An ideal fix? No. But it’ll hold.

Below you can see Jamie’s van’s maintenance log from 2012 to present, and directly above that is a plot showing how many miles he puts on the vehicle as a function of time:

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date miles driven til 300k MPY pace MPD total MPY total MPD recent service category cost   notes  
4/13/2012 126,050   173,950         purchased, Chicago, IL          
6/11/2012 131,245 5,195 168,755   88.1 32,139   tire fix in Fort Collins, CO          
10/18/2012 140,166 14,116 159,834   75.1 27,406 75.1 oil change          
2/4/2013 145,530 19,480 154,470   65.6 23,940 49.2 oil change          
4/1/2013 147,167 21,117 152,833   59.8 21,835 29.2 add 1 quart oil          
4/19/2013 148,694 22,644 151,306   61.0 22,278 84.8 oil change          
5/30/2013 151,082 25,032 148,918   60.8 22,176 58.2 8 quart trans fluid          
6/3/2013 152,273 26,223 147,727   63.0 23,008 297.8 4 quart trans fluid (old stuff for Scott)          
6/3/2013 152,273 26,223 147,727   63.0 23,008 #DIV/0! oil change          
6/6/2013 152,642 26,592 147,358   63.5 23,165 123.0 add 1 quart oil          
7/23/2013 155,989 29,939 144,011   64.2 23,450 71.2 oil change          
12/7/2013 162,250 36,200 137,750   60.0 21,912 45.7 oil change          
1/27/2014 164,306 38,256 135,694   58.5 21,351 40.3 add 1 quart oil          
3/6/2014 166,215 40,165 133,785   58.0 21,185 50.2 oil check – 1 qt low          
3/16/2014 166,662 40,612 133,338   57.9 21,116 44.7 oil change          
5/14/2014 170,129 44,079 129,871   57.9 21,142 58.8 add 1.2 quarts          
6/10/2014 171,752 45,702 128,248   58.0 21,169 60.1 oil change          
9/3/2014 177,152 51,102 122,848   58.5 21,366 63.5 4 new tires – Sumitomo HTR Enhance          
9/10/2014 178,000 51,950 122,000   59.0 21,547 121.1 oil change (estimated)          
1/9/2015 184,354 58,304 115,646   58.2 21,260 52.5 oil change (was 1 qt low)          
1/31/2015 185,443 59,393 114,557   58.1 21,191 49.5 front brake pads          
2/22/2015 186,456 60,406 113,544   57.8 21,099 46.0 rear brake pads, full flush and bleed          
3/15/2015 187,550 61,500 112,450   57.7 21,058 52.1 rear air bag suspension          
3/19/2015 187,727 61,677 112,273   57.6 21,039 44.3 tire rotation          
3/19/2015 187,727 61,677 112,273   57.6 21,039 #DIV/0! spark plugs, 3 rear coils          
3/25/2015 188,125 62,075 111,875   57.7 21,057 66.3 Oil change       3,771  
4/4/2015 190,447 64,397 109,553   59.3 21,644 232.2 Home from MS          
4/13/2015 190,893 64,843 109,107   59.2 21,614 49.6 3 year vanniversary          
5/15/2015 192,550 66,500 107,450   59.0 21,537 51.8 mileage check          
6/7/2015 193,707 67,657 106,293   58.8 21,474 50.3 Oil change       5,582  
8/1/2015 196,948 70,898 103,052   58.8 21,475 58.9 mileage check          
8/24/2015 198,303 72,253 101,697   58.8 21,476 58.9 Oil change       4,596  
8/24/2015 198,303 72,253 101,697   58.8 21,476 #DIV/0! 12k timing chains, timing cover seals          
9/1/2015 200,000 73,950 100,000   59.8 21,838 212.1 Big 2-0-0 in Jackson, WY info        
9/6/2015 200,500 74,450 99,500   60.0 21,897 100.0 Air filter maintenance $12.00      
9/7/2015 201,781 75,731 98,219   61.0 22,256 1281.0 Beecher, IL info     3,478  
10/12/2015 204,169 78,119 95,831   61.2 22,328 68.2 Oil change maintenance $19.00   5,866  
11/5/2015 206,123 80,073 93,877   61.5 22,465 81.4 mileage check info     1,954  
11/28/2015 207,620 81,570 92,380   61.6 22,487 65.1 tire rotation maintenance $0.00   19,893  
11/28/2015 207,639 81,589 92,361   61.6 22,492 #DIV/0! front brake pads maintenance $29.00   22,196  
11/29/2015 207,639 81,589 92,361   61.6 22,475 0.0 1 quart oil maintenance $2.60      
11/29/2015 207,639 81,589 92,361   61.6 22,475 #DIV/0! coolant top off maintenance $2.00      
1/17/2016 210,641 84,591 89,359   61.6 22,471 61.3 mileage check info     6,472  
1/23/2016 210,971 84,921 89,029   61.5 22,461 55.0 oil change maintenance $19.00   6,802  
2/20/2016 212,746 86,696 87,254   61.6 22,474 63.4 Mileage check info        
3/23/2016 214,969 88,919 85,031   61.7 22,538 69.5 Mileage check info        
4/13/2016 216,116 90,066 83,884   61.6 22,501 54.6 4 year vanniversary info     25,223  
4/15/2016 216,241 90,191 83,759   61.6 22,502 62.5 Oil change maintenance $19.00   5,270  
5/11/2016 217,674 91,624 82,326   61.5 22,460 55.1 Mileage check info     55.1  
6/2/2016 219,117 93,067 80,883   61.6 22,481 65.6 Mileage check info        
7/18/2016 221,256 95,206 78,744   61.1 22,319 46.5 oil change maintenance $19.00   5,015 oci
7/18/2016 221,256 95,206 78,744   61.1 22,319 #DIV/0! water pump tensioner delete info     53.4 miles per day
7/28/2016 221,750 95,700 78,250   61.1 22,291 49.4 water pump replacement, 1 gal coolant repair $50.00      
9/20/2016 226,604 100,554 73,396   62.0 22,642 89.9 front brake pads from Autozone maintenance $30.00   18,965 since last set
9/20/2016 226,604 100,554 73,396   62.0 22,642 #DIV/0! oil change maintenance $19.00   5,348 oci
11/7/2016 229,356 103,306 70,644   61.9 22,592 57.3 Mileage check info     83.6 miles per day
11/25/2016 230,500 104,450 69,500   61.9 22,599 63.6 oil change, no filter maintenance $16.00      
12/6/2016 231,000 104,950 69,000   61.8 22,560 45.5 rear brake pads & rotors maintenance $61.00   44,544  
12/22/2016 231,800 105,750 68,200   61.7 22,520 48.1 front motor mount repair $22.00      
3/3/2017 234,555 108,505 65,445   60.8 22,187 38.8 front pads & rotors, tire rotate maintenance $80.00   7,951 since last set
3/19/2017 235,200 109,150 64,800   60.6 22,121 39.1 water pump (warranty replacement) repair $0.00   57.33333333  
3/19/2017 235,200 109,150 64,800   60.6 22,121 40.3 10 qts dex-6 trans fluid change, oil change maintenance $59.00      
4/13/2017 238,119 112,069 61,881   61.4 22,402 116.8 5th vanniversary info     22,003 annual miles
6/20/2017 240,061 114,011 59,939   60.2 21,971 28.6 oil change, maintenance $19.00   4,861 oci
6/20/2017 240,061 114,011 59,939   60.2 21,971 #DIV/0! installed used fan module, patched rear ac line repair $5.00      
8/21/2017 243,106 117,056 56,894   59.8 21,843 49.1 oil change plus filter. maintenance $19.00   3,045 oci – dang
9/18/2017 248,089 122,039 51,911   61.5 22,452 178.0 oil change plus filter. maintenance $19.00   4,983  
10/9/2017 249,173 123,123 50,827   61.4 22,414 51.6 Mileage check info        
10/26/2017 250,503 124,453 49,497   61.5 22,466 78.2 Mileage check info        
11/1/2017 250,857 124,807 49,143   61.5 22,463 59.0 4 new tires – Uniroyal Tiger Paw maintenance $369.00   73,705  
11/30/2017 253,097 127,047 46,903   61.8 22,544 77.2 oil change no filter maintenance $15.00   5,008 oci
12/5/2017 253,500 127,450 46,500   61.8 22,560 80.6 front brake pads – Raybestos maintenance $30.00   26,896 since last set
12/13/2017 253,904 127,854 46,096   61.8 22,544 50.5 mileage check info        
1/28/2018 257,000 130,950 43,000   61.9 22,588 67.3 Tire rotation maintenance $0.00   6,143 rotate interval
2/4/2018 257,532 131,482 42,468   61.9 22,605 76.0 oil change plus filter. maintenance $19.00   4,435 oci
2/5/2018 257,533 131,483 42,467   61.9 22,595 1.0 New battery maintenance $70.00      
2/14/2018 258,382 132,332 41,618   62.0 22,645 94.3 mileage check info        
3/26/2018 259,500 133,450 40,500   61.4 22,416 28.0 replaced 2 front exhaust studs repair $0.00      
4/13/2018 260,479 134,429 39,521   61.4 22,395 54.4 6th vanniversary info     22,360 annual miles
5/15/2018 262,213 136,163 37,787   61.3 22,357 54.2 mileage check info     4,681  
6/23/2018 262,995 136,945 37,005 12,934 60.5 22,098 20.1 oil change plus filter. maintenance $19.00   5,463 oci
8/22/2018 265,500 139,450 34,500 13,990 60.1 21,920 41.8 rotate then balance 2 front tires maintenance $20.00      
8/25/2018 266,216 140,166 33,784 15,627 60.3 22,005 238.7 balance 2 front tires (again) Walmart MO repair $20.00      
8/27/2018 267,001 140,951 32,999 17,504 60.6 22,109 392.5 mileage check info        
9/10/2018 267,956 141,906 32,044 18,194 60.6 22,125 68.2 mileage check info        
9/23/2018 268,150 142,100 31,850 17,177 60.4 22,033 14.9 RF balance all 4 tires… FFS repair $85.00      
9/27/2018 268,245 142,195 31,755 16,974 60.3 22,011 23.8 oil change plus filter. maintenance $19.00   5,155 oci
10/27/2018 268,828 142,778 31,172 15,469 59.8 21,823 19.4 mileage check info        
10/31/2018 269,000 142,950 31,000 15,473 59.8 21,813 43.0 mileage check info        
11/10/2018 269,413 143,363 30,587 15,455 59.7 21,785 41.3 mileage check info        
11/28/2018 270,000 143,950 30,000 15,175 59.5 21,711 32.6 mileage check info        
12/9/2018 270,370 144,320 29,630 15,043 59.4 21,669 33.6 rear brake pads maintenance $25.00   39,370 since last
12/12/2018 270,419 144,369 29,581 14,930 59.3 21,649 16.3 mileage check info        
1/6/2019 271,680 145,630 28,320 15,255 59.2 21,616 50.4 add 2 qts oil, trans cooler to radiator repair $6.00      
1/8/2019 272,000 145,950 28,000 15,575 59.3 21,646 160.0 mileage check info        
2/15/2019 273,045 146,995 26,955 14,892 58.8 21,470 27.5 oil change maintenance $19.00      
2/26/2019 273,666 147,616 26,334 15,089 58.8 21,466 56.5 mileage check info        
3/12/2019 274,002 147,952 25,998 14,823 58.6 21,396 24.0 trans fluid 9 qts flush maintenance $36.00      
3/23/2019 274,316 148,266 25,684 14,682 58.5 21,348 28.5 left for MS info        
3/24/2019 275,361 149,311 24,639 15,745 58.9 21,490 1045.0 arrived MS info        
3/30/2019 276,696 150,646 23,304 16,864 59.3 21,631 222.5 home from MS info        
4/5/2019 276,840 150,790 23,160 16,728 59.2 21,601 24.0 passenger side sway bar link repair $16.00      
4/13/2019 276,897 150,847 23,103 16,418 59.0 21,541 90.5 vanniversary 7 info     16,418 annual miles
4/21/2019 277,627 151,577 22,373 33,306 59.1 21,578 91.3 mileage check info        
5/20/2019 279,100 153,050 20,900 21,732 59.0 21,544 50.8 mileage check info     6,055 since OC
6/11/2019 280,067 154,017 19,933 19,611 58.9 21,498 44.0 oil change 5w20 supertech w MC 820s filter maintenance $19.00      
7/13/2019 281,950 155,900 18,050 20,268 58.9 21,497 58.8 4 tires from silver2 maintenance* $350.00      
8/13/2019 283,485 157,435 16,515 19,710 58.8 21,458 49.5 mileage check info        
9/17/2019 284,411 158,361 15,589 17,469 58.4 21,305 26.5 passenger side body panels replaced body $85.00      
9/25/2019 284,645 158,595 15,355 17,140 58.3 21,274 29.3 oil change 5w30 meijer MC 820s filter, blue van air filter maintenance $18.00   5,545 oci
10/19/2019 285,300 159,250 14,700 16,228 58.0 21,175 27.3 brake pads, caliper brackets and rotors from S2 maintenance $0.00   31,800 since fronts,
11/25/2019 286,820 160,770 13,180 16,026 57.8 21,093 35.7 mileage check info        
12/10/2019 288,120 162,070 11,880 16,997 57.9 21,150 86.7 mileage check info   2790 7.64 days / years since 200k
1/14/2020 290,645 164,595 9,355 18,181 58.1 21,214 72.1 mileage check info        
1/17/2020 290,666 164,616 9,334 18,013 58.1 21,194 7.0 mileage check info        
1/27/2020 291,134 165,084 8,866 17,981 58.0 21,179 46.8 oil change 5w30 s-tech, m-craft filter maintenance $18.00   6,489 oci
2/17/2020 292,411 166,361 7,589 18,266 58.0 21,187 60.8 mileage check info   310 15,514 since vv7
3/10/2020 293,333 167,283 6,667 18,070 57.9 21,142 41.9 mileage check info   0.85 18266.48 pace for vv8 🙁
4/13/2020 293,816 167,766 6,184 16,873 57.4 20,956 14.2 vanniversary 8 info        
4/30/2020 293,920 167,870 6,080 2,233 57.1 20,848 6.1 mileage check info        
5/15/2020 293,999 167,949 6,001 2,087 56.9 20,752 5.3 mileage check info        
6/25/2020 294,710 168,660 5,290 4,470 56.3 20,555 17.3 oil change maintenance $18.00      
6/30/2020 294,740 168,690 5,260 4,324 56.2 20,524 6.0 2 lower control arms, driver sway bar link repair $80.00      
7/29/2020 297,076 171,026 2,924 11,121 56.5 20,609 80.6 Rear Air bag set #2 repair $92.00      
7/31/2020 297,085 171,035 2,915 10,947 56.4 20,596 4.5 Left for UP info        
8/4/2020 298,162 172,112 1,838 14,038 56.7 20,699 269.3 Back from UP info        
8/14/2020 298,204 172,154 1,796 13,021 56.5 20,636 4.2 left for yellowstone info        
8/16/2020 300,000 173,950 0 18,057 57.1 20,837 898.0 Big 3-0-0 in Big Sky, MT info        
8/18/2020 300,409 174,359 -409 18,948 57.2 20,873 204.5 mileage check info        
8/20/2020 300,799 174,749 -799 19,758 57.3 20,906 195.0 Oil change, Napa 5w30, no filter maintenance $25.00      
8/23/2020 302,610 176,560 -2,610 24,317 57.8 21,102 603.7 back from yellowstone info        
10/16/2020 303,750 177,700 -3,750 19,494 57.2 20,869 21.1 mileage check info        
1/25/2021 305,567 179,517 -5,567 14,945 55.9 20,419 18.0 4 new tires – Sumitomo HTRs maintenance $537.00      
2/10/2021 305,850 179,800 -5,850 14,496 55.8 20,349 17.7 oil change + filter maintenance $18.00      
4/13/2021 306,994 180,944 -6,994 13,178 55.0 20,093 18.5 vanniversary 9 info        
5/24/2021 307,836 181,786 -7,836 12,604 54.6 19,937 20.5 new windshield repair $200.00      
6/23/2021 308,200 182,150 -8,200 12,042 54.2 19,799 12.1 driver side outer tie rod end maintenance $23.00      
6/30/2021 308,940 182,890 -8,940 12,461 54.4 19,838 105.7 pass side inner & outer tie rod maintenance $45.00      
7/9/2021 309,400 183,350 -9,400 12,584 54.3 19,835 51.1 rear engine mount maintenance $30.00      
7/11/2021 309,700 183,650 -9,700 12,770 54.4 19,856 150.0 front brake pads, LF brake hose, LF 1 piston clean, RR piston clean maintenance $55.00      
8/5/2021 311,858 185,808 -11,858 13,748 54.6 19,941 86.3 oil change +filter maintenance $18.00      
9/22/2021 313,011 186,961 -13,011 13,294 54.2 19,786 24.0 mileage check info        
12/13/2021 314,200 188,150 -14,200 12,217 53.3 19,449 14.5 Replaced alternator, used w 165k from S2 van repair $0.00      
2/26/2022 315,802 189,752 -15,802 11,732 52.6 19,207 17.8 Oil change, no filter maintenance $14.00      
4/13/2022 316,429 190,379 -16,429 11,307 52.1 19,027 13.6 vanniversary 10 info        
6/8/2022 317,515 191,465   11,005 51.6 18,847 16.8 floor rust, LR caliper & pads, RR caliper bracket maintenance $0.00      
8/31/2022 320,859 194,809   11,346 51.4 18,751 39.8 Oil + filter change maintenance $26.00      
12/6/2022 322,850 196,800   10,959 50.6 18,471 20.5 mileage check info        
12/10/2022 322,850 196,800   10,914 50.6 18,452 0.0 valve cover, timing cover and oil pan seals repair $42.00      
12/20/2022 322,852 196,802   10,803 50.4 18,404 0.2 Oil + filter change maintenance $26.00      
1/1/2023 326,191 200,141   11,900 51.1 18,659 278.3 mileage check info        
3/15/2023 326,500 200,450   11,191 50.3 18,346 4.2 mileage check info        
4/13/2023 327,255 201,205   11,146 50.1 18,282 26.0 vanniversary 11 info        

Jamie has been road-tripping this van all across the country, oftentimes towing a camper. It’s an absolute highway-crushing machine:

Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.30.23 Am Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.30.55 Am Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.31.39 AmScreen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.33.24 AmScreen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.31.49 Am

When it hit 300,000 miles, it was a big deal for the whole fam:

Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.32.23 Am

Here are some pictures of the Anton family’s latest road-trip this past Christmas, which took the van from Michigan to Key West and back without any issues:

Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.22.58 Am

Jamie’s got loads of albums filled with every bit of work he’s done on the van, his service logs, and all the big road trips the thing has taken his family on. He’s also got this collage in there:

Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.32.38 Am

And he’s got this fake-advertisement that he made:

Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.34.01 Am

Jamie uses the van to each his children how to wrench:

Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.30.04 Am

And he even takes it to car shows:

Screen Shot 2023 04 22 At 11.33.12 Am

“Most of the body panels from the silver [parts car] went onto mine after [mine] got sideswiped” Jamie told me, saying the hood, front bumper, front fenders, passenger doors, rear passenger quarter, and the hatch of his car are not the originals. Just the driver’s side sliding door and driver’s rear-left panels are original “due to a combination of rust and when that guy hit me.”

Still, though a Ship of Theseus it may be, it just keeps trucking along, taking Jamie, his wife Sarah, and their kids across this vast country in reliable comfort.

What a machine.

All Images: Jamison Anton

 

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68 thoughts on “Man Buys Most Reliable Minivan Ever, Takes Annual Photos Of His Children Growing Older In It As It Accrues 330,000 Miles”

  1. I had a 2000 mpv and i really liked it, got it with 150k and put 70k on it. Being in Oregon where we don’t salt the roads it had zero rust anywhere when I junked it. A friend of mine put new spark plugs in it and cross threaded one on the back side of the v and it ejected itself on the freeway. We replaced it with a 2007 Odyssey and while the Ody was objectively better at everything, I missed the feel of the mpv. The feedback through the steering, and how you could get just a little drop throttle oversteer in the rain. It was just more alive. I still think about that van sometimes.

  3. I’ll never tire of the wrencher mentality of this community. To wit:

    “I haven’t had to do anything to it!”

    *next part of story contains dozens of photos of major reconstructive work*

    Love it.

  4. I currently have a 2004 MPV and love it! It feels way faster than you expect, and is small enough to toss around on twisty roads and park easily in town. A perfect sized people transport. At 150K I’ve had no issues at all. My only complaints… it has a lot of road noise at higher speeds, and the rear spark plugs on the V6 are hell to change.

  6. I had a 2002 and the Jatco 5-speed on these had a flaw that caused one of the pistons to crack and then burn up the associated clutches.

    Mine failed around 150k miles. There was a good post on the mpv forum explaining how to repair it, without removing the transmission. It took me a few tries because I switched two seals that were almost the same size, but I was able to eventually figure it out and fix it.

    I had a plastic PCV elbow fail (common problem) and some coils go bad, causing misfires.

    I also had an oil leak from the timing chain cover, and the timing chain tensioner seemed like it might be on the way out when I sold it at 180k.

    I replaced it with a 3rd gen Odyssey (2005). The Odyssey is a much better minivan than the MPV! Yes, it’s bigger, but even the non-VCM Odys actually have better EPA fuel economy than the Mazda, so there isn’t much downside. It hauls more people and more of their stuff and it does it with better comfort.

    1. Seriously. My eldest (of 3 at the time) was already in a booster seat by the time we got our first minivan, and I didn’t know how we had lived without it. Because I love oddball cars, we got a 2005 Nissan Quest 3.5(VQ) SE in metallic orange with an orange leather interior that looked kinda like a basketball. It had a center-mounted gauge cluster perched atop a barrel shaped center console, glove boxes on both sides, five sunroofs, and the back two rows of seats folded 100% into the floor. It was awesome. I like the cars I have now, but my wife and I both miss that minivan sometimes.

      https://wieck-nissanao-production.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/6f11a9c4c2b959d5af7bc5deceb42bc31ad07852/preview-928×522.jpg

  10. Wow, that’s a dedicated owner, and a great purchase.
    But, how can those struts not be a floppy mess after 300k on upper midwest roads? I rarely get more than 100k out of any “dampers”, front or rear, thanks to Chicago’s plethora of transverse cracks and displaced expansion joints.

    1. Had the same question, after 300k and towing duty the struts (at least) are not doing their job to OE spec anymore and there’s probably a few random links and bushings with rubber that’s about to crumble out. But with two decades of Midwest salt, maybe he’s better off not touching those bolts.

  11. We had a 2005 MPV equipped about the same as this one. Kept it for about 10 years and brought 2 of our kids for their first ride home from the hospital in it. (The two older ones got to ride in the old Elantra station wagon for their first ride). It was my wifes car at first and when she moved up to the Odyssey (more space for 4 kids) I inherited the MPV.
    We kept it for about 12 years and put maybe 165k on it before trading it in. It still ran great but can confirm, the rust is a nightmare. It was just falling apart everywhere and I wasn’t nearly as ambitious as this guy is. Also, while I’m pretty skilled turning wrenches, I have zero skill with bodywork. I’ve tried… it was bad.
    Also the 165k wasn’t really representative of the abuse my poor van took. As a civil engineer, I tended to use the van a s a mobile office and the engine racked up hundreds of hours idling for heat/ac and power for my laptop while I was working at remote locations away from the office. It was probably the only Lazer Blue MPV out there with a big amber LED flashing lightbar and a bike rack on the roof.

  12. Awesome story. The MVP was basically the perfect minivan, in that it was the right size. Outside of the southwest, this is the sort of work that needs to be done to keep an ’00s Mazda on the road, unfortunately. I really respect the commitment though.

    Reminds me that I need to get the kids into the newly acquired van for a photo-op.

      1. Yeah since the MVP, the 5 and the Chrysler shorties there hasn’t been anything like that available since 2015 when the 5 went out of production. I would have gone with something that length over what I had if it were available.

        I have a friend who wanted to get a van, but it would barely fit into the garage to the point where they’d be parking it outside or having to squeeze around the damn thing. They also wouldn’t be able to open the tailgate without opening the garage first. Not something you want to have to do in Upstate NY if you don’t have to. They decided to just hold onto their small hatchbacks (a Fit and an Elantra Touring). But if someone was willing to make a van that wasn’t enormous they’d be all over it tomorrow.

  13. My ’86 Range Rover Classic might have suffered quite badly from rust (I’ve replaced most of the floors, sills, rear crossmember, etc), but I’ve got feeling that these ’00:s cars are even worse. My brother had ’06 M-B A-series hatch as second car. It was totally rusted, several holes in the floor, etc. Very often one can see audis and vw products from the late 00:s with rust patches. Sprinter back doors seem to be hydrophobic. Etc. And the 90’s Volvo’s have no rust issues.

  14. I went to go scroll to the end of the article somewhere around the body work section, wow!
    This is a lot of work to keep a loved vehicle on the road.
    Grade A+ Autopian.

  15. I briefly had a 2002 MPV. Bought it dirt cheap. Well, it was dirt cheap for a reason. Finding replacement parts was almost unobtainable in South Western Ontario. Managed to sell it for almost double what I paid for it, during the pandemic, to a Mazda enthusiast.

  16. Another angle on this great story: think about the sheer amount of money this family has saved on their transportation over the last 8 years. They bought their van fully depreciated already and then got another 200k out of it, without feeling like they were missing out. After reading about how so many people take out 7-year loans on $60k pickups and then roll over the negative equity before it’s even paid for, this story is such a breath of fresh air. This guy may be a car nut, but he’s also a financial genius.

    1. This is dead-on. Not only is it easier on the wallet, it’s easier on the planet because he didn’t cause a new vehicle to be manufactured.

      1. The planet? Not really. Every car in service is part of the overall market for automobiles, new or used, and buying a used vehicle just ensures that someone else can buy a new one to replace it (and must, or there won’t be a supply of used vehicles). What this guy has done, is perform heroic accident and rust repairs to extend the usable life well beyond the usual scrap/recycle point for the vehicle. But even then he scrapped out another complete vehicle to make that happen.

        1. Every car that is saved from the crusher reduces the demand for a new one by just that tiny amount. If everyone could delay scrapping their vehicle by just one year, it would definitely have an impact on the number of cars built and ultimately help the planet.

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