QuickTake:

Eugene and Springfield residents talk about their long-lasting vehicles — those with odometers that have passed the 300,000-mile mark. From camping adventures to long moves, they are often a point of pride.

Bob Keefer’s 2005 Subaru Outback has failed him only once.

It was a hot day in May 2022. Keefer and his son were in the mountains outside the southeast Oregon town of Lakeview, headed to Nevada. The extreme heat and the strain of an uphill stretch of road were too much for the radiator. It blew, causing a bad leak.

“It was 40 miles back to Lakeview, but it was all downhill, so we basically coasted back to Lakeview,” Keefer recalled.

Keefer, a longtime Eugene-area resident, got the car after hearing a fellow Pacific Northwest resident on the NPR show “Car Talk” recommend the Outback in 2005. He went out and bought it right away, telling his wife only after the fact.

Father-son duo Bob Keefer and Noah Strycker pose in the Alvord Desert in July 2023 with their Subaru. Their car has taken them more than 320,000 miles. Credit: Courtesy of Bob Keefer

Since then the car has taken him and his family more than 320,000 miles, many of those on the trek between Eugene and the peaceful emptiness of Harney County.

Keefer likes his Outback so much that he recently decided to replace the engine for $6,000, instead of buying a newer Subaru. He doesn’t care for the newer, bigger models that have touch screens.

A family friend and Rudi Rudolph sit with his 2002 Honda Odyssey, which they call “Big Red,” on one of their many adventures. It has more than 320,000 miles on its odometer. Credit: Courtesy of Rudi Rudolph

Cars are never just cars, especially the ones that carry us the farthest. That’s what we learned when Lookout Eugene-Springfield recently asked readers about their long-riding cars — those with more than 300,000 miles on their odometers.

They’re workhorses that earn nicknames — like “Big Red,” a 2002 Honda Odyssey that belongs to Carrie and Rudi Rudolph. 

The red minivan has pulled their camping trailer across the Northwest. It has hauled countless loads of yard debris and plywood during home projects. Like Keefer’s Outback, Big Red has more than 320,000 miles on it and has needed only a radiator replacement.

These cars are also companions during life-altering moments, like Elliot Harwell’s move from the Bay Area to Oregon. She drove her 2005 Nissan Altima to and from California eight times when she moved to Springfield, and it was with her when she first fell in love with the Beaver State.

“It was in that car that I first saw the Rogue Valley in moonlight and knew I needed to move to Oregon,” Harwell said.

Elliot Harwell leans on her 2005 Nissan Altima, which has taken her on many round trips between the Bay Area to Springfield. Credit: Courtesy of Elliot Harwell

The highest-mileage car we heard about is also the youngest. Steve Tolleson’s 2017 Toyota RAV4 has more than 392,000 miles on it “and is still going strong!”

Not all high-mileage vehicles are so lucky. Karl Eysenbach’s 1985 Toyota Tercel is now in car heaven. It was at about 388,000 miles when it was T-boned in Salem. Eysenbach said while it was the most reliable car he ever owned, its tan color and small size made it susceptible to multiple rear-ends.

“At some point, I did have it painted in yellow,” Eysenbach said.

Joan Flanders and Greg Fisher’s 1993 Toyota pickup didn’t make the 300,000-mile cut, but Flanders said in its 32 years, it has been to the mechanic fewer than 20 times outside of routine tune-ups and oil changes.

“I just wanted to brag on our great truck!” Flanders wrote.

Lilly is a graduate of Indiana University and has worked at the Indianapolis Star and in Burlington, Vermont, as well as working as a foreign language teacher in France. She covers education and children's issues for Lookout Eugene-Springfield.