This car has more than 1.2M km on it — and it's still going strong

CBC

05-08-2025

If you were to spot Andy Campbell's ride on the road, you might not think too much about it.
Maybe you'd think it's a bit dated — a throwback to an earlier time when cassette tapes were all the rage and backup cameras were just a glimmer in a car designer's eye.
But if you took a closer look, you'd see that there's something special about Campbell's 1985 Toyota Tercel.
It's not just that it runs perfectly, or that it's practically in mint condition.
The only thing wrong with this Tercel is that the odometer doesn't go up high enough.
It reads 253,070. But it's missing a one. As in, one million.
This car has 1,253,070 kilometres on it — and counting.
That's more than three times the distance to the moon, or enough kilometres to drive around the Earth 31 times.
And Campbell has the photos to prove it. When it turned over from 999,999 kilometres to 000,000 kilometres in September 2017, he pulled over to the side of the road to snap some photos. Now, he keeps them in his glove compartment as proof in case there are any doubters.
Campbell bought the '85 Tercel in Halifax around 1990, paying $2,500 for the vehicle with about 125,000 kilometres on it.
Since then, he's used it as his daily driver, putting on at least 120 kilometres a day driving from his home in Wyses Corner, N.S., to Halifax and back each day of his working life.
Now retired, he still uses it to run errands or boot around the Maritimes, or even as far afield as Newfoundland.
Although the Tercel is old enough to qualify for antique plates, Campbell doesn't want them, as they would restrict his ability to use it for everyday purposes.
"You go to a car show and the people drive the cars to the show and they polish it and take it home and put it in the garage and cover it over," he says. "That car is for me to use. If I gotta get up in a snowstorm and go to Halifax or Elmsdale or whatever it might be, I can go with it."
His own best mechanic
Over the years, nearly everything on the vehicle has been replaced or repaired, and Campbell says the only original part is likely the body, and even that has had work done on it.
Aside from the front-end alignment, he does all the work himself, relying on his sizable stash of parts, most of which are no longer available from Toyota. He's got three more Tercels up on blocks at the back of his property, just in case he needs something.
"It looks like junk and to most people, it probably is," he says.
But to him, it's gold.
He says the key to keeping a car running for a long time is to do regular maintenance such as oil changes and lubrication, and to undercoat the vehicle. A heated garage doesn't hurt, either, he says.
Campbell acknowledges that Tercels have a reputation for being "rust buckets," but says his secret is to fill all of the crevices with grease. "They've got pumped every one of them right full."
Backup ride
If his Tercel is temporarily out of commission for maintenance, Campbell does have a backup.
"Would you like to see my new car?" he asks.
The garage door opens, and an identical Tercel pulls out.
"This is my new one — '86," he says, grinning.
Campbell says he's not really a car guy. He's not a Toyota guy, or even a Tercel guy.
He's a his Tercel guy.
He's passionate about his vehicle because it's practical, great in the snow, easy to maintain and cheap to operate.
"Everybody can pass me on the road but I get to pass them at the service station," he says.
Campbell is not the only Tercel long-hauler in the province.
Jim George of Kentville also has an '85 Tercel, but it's a mere babe in the woods compared to Campbell's, with only 534,000 kilometres. The two men also know a third Tercel owner in Nova Scotia whose vehicle has over one million kilometres.
George, who at one point owned 10 Tercels in varying states of roadworthiness, says the vehicles are often a conversation piece.
"If you don't like talking to people, don't buy one," he says.
Most of the stories George hears run along these lines: "My dad had one and handed it down to me when I went to school and me and my friends beat the living crap out of it. That's the biggest one. Everybody got the hand-me-down one."
Campbell says strangers often stop to take photos of his car and share their own stories of long-gone Tercels.
Sometimes, the tire-side chats come with an offer to buy Campbell's ride.
"Not a chance. It's not for sale now, next week or ever," he says. "You can go to Halifax and pick the best car out in Halifax — Cadillac, Lincoln, Rolls Royce — and bring it out and I won't trade you. I don't want it."