Man's Toyota Corolla from 1993 hits 2,000,000km with original engine and transmission, may 'outlast him'
Published on Jul 08, 2025 at 5:45 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Jul 08, 2025 at 9:10 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
The Toyota Corolla is famed and revered for its endurance and reliability.
However, this one might just take the biscuit.
A man from New Zealand bought a 1993 Toyota Corolla in 2000, and now 25 years later it’s still going strong.
Not only is it still functioning well, but he’s passed over 2,000,000km with the original parts.
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1993 Toyota Corolla passes 2,000,000km mark
Graeme Hebley bought his 1993 Toyota Corolla all the way back at the turn of the millenium.
Graeme lives in Upper Hutt, and is a local newspaper delivery driver.
As a result, he requires a stable, reliable car for his work.
The English-built, imported car has driven between Wellington and New Plymouth six times a week.
That’s around 5,000km, for those of you unfamiliar with Kiwi geography.
Graeme bought his Toyota Corolla in 2000 when it had 80,000km on the clock.
Due to the volume of driving, Graeme said it required servicing every two weeks.
In fact, the delivery driver said while his Toyota Corolla had its original engine, its cambelt had been changed ‘almost’ 20 times.
That being said, the transmission, engine, and drivetrain were still all entirely original.
The secret to the Toyota Corolla’s longevity
In an interview with the Whanganui Chronicle, Mr Hebley explained how his car had lasted so long.
“That era of Toyota has such built-in reliability… but if it wasn’t so frequently serviced, it just wouldn’t work,” he said.
Interestingly, Hebley’s connection to the Whanganui area is through the garage he uses for services.
Guthrie’s Auto Care has serviced the car every two weeks for the past 22 years.
John Sherman of Guthrie’s Auto Care couldn’t believe the endurance of the Toyota Corolla.
“It still has the original engine and transmission,” Sherman confirmed.
“If I hadn’t worked on it, I wouldn’t believe it. I wouldn’t believe it could do two million without something going wrong.”
While this Corolla hit an incredible milestone, it still didn’t come close to the actual record, which is held by this Volvo P1600 owned by Irv Gordon.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
