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One million kilometres – one owner – one car
August 6, 2012
Gerrie Esterhuizen has been driving Volkwagens for well over 20 years but it’s his current vehicle, a 2004 Volkswagen Polo, which he holds closest to his heart. As a salesman Gerrie and his wife Magriet travel up to 800km a day visiting clients – that’s over 10 hours of daily travel and 12000km a month. The Polo has endured a serious life of daily travel over the testing terrain of the Free State and parts of the Northern Cape, North West and Lesotho. However, the most astonishing fact is that the Polo has gone trouble- and accident free for over one million kilometres.
“We always wondered what would happen when the speedometer hit the million-kilometre mark,” said 67-year-old Gerrie.
“After 999999.9 kilometres, the speedometer just shows six dashes, although the trip meter carries on working,” Gerrie’s wife of 47 years, Magriet, said.
“We reckon the Polo used 66 666 litres of fuel to get to the million mark. That’s an excellent figure of about 700km per 50-litre tank, or 15km a litre (6.6km/l). Working out the cost over the years at an average of R8/l, that’s about R533 000 in fuel costs.”
“But the cost of maintaining the car has been so low we can’t calculate that. We have had two new fuel pumps fitted – one at 200 000km and the other at 800 000 – but the engine has never been opened since we bought the car at Alan Hudson Motors in Nelspruit. Its clutch, starter, alternator, exhaust system, radiator and oil pump are all original. We always ensure that genuine VW parts are used when the vehicle goes for service.”
As a token of VWSA’s appreciation the Esterhuizens were presented with a new dashboard cluster by Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa, David Powels and their vehicle was given a special overnight paint refresh, dent removal surgery, and general clean-up under the watchful eye of VWSA’s Production Director Tom du Plessis.
When asked about the secret to their achievement, the Esterhuizens replied: “Drive a well-maintained and reliable car like our million-kilometre Polo.”
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