Greek taxi driver drove his car for almost 3 million miles
- This taxi driver has racked up nearly 3 million miles on his car
- Over the course of 23 years, he’s taken it along on a lot of interesting journeys
- This has taken him into war zones and introduced him to famous faces
Published on Aug 08, 2024 at 8:32 PM (UTC+4)
by Ben Thompson
Last updated on Aug 09, 2024 at 4:53 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
This taxi driver racked up nearly three million miles just by doing his job.
Gregorios Sachinidis racked up 2,850,000 miles (4,586,630 kilometers) in his 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D, which he used solely for work.
This milestone was reached over a career spanning 23 years.
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The 3 million mile taxi that saw a lot over the years
The Greek taxi driver first brought the car over from Germany in 1981, according to the Greek City Times.
During that time, he drove around several national celebrities and politicians, such as future Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, German footballer, Gerd Müller, and Greek actress, Marinella.
If American celebrities like the Rock or Lady Gaga are anything to go by, taxis aren’t part of their day-to-day travel options – they have their pick of luxury cars.
![Taxi](https://supercarblondie.com/wp-content/uploads/Taxi-1.webp)
The taxi would also be used to transport goods to war-torn Serbia.
He recalled: “When I took the taxi, there were few Mercedes circulating in Greece, while I had the advantage of speaking German, as I lived in Germany for 15 years.
“So, I worked with travel agencies, which sent me clients to transport them within Greece, but also to the surrounding countries.
“I transferred businessmen to Skopje, Germany, Banja Luka, I went eight times to Turkey and more than 90 times to Bulgaria.
“In fact, in 1993, crossing the war-torn Yugoslavia, I accompanied a truck with humanitarian aid to Belgrade, transporting the escort of the mission, businessman Stefanos Milios, the only person who had a permit to enter the country at that time.”
In 2004, he was asked to donate his car to the Daimler-Benz museum in Stuggart, Germany, to which he happily obliged.
In return, he was gifted a brand new C-Class.
Had he kept driving the car at 100,000 miles (160,934 km) per year, the odometer would be nearing five million miles (over 8 million kilometers).
During the time he had the car, he kept it in good shape.
“I remember in 1989, when it had snowed a lot in Thessaloniki and for two weeks no cars or buses were running. At that time, we only worked ten taxis,” he recalled.
“I took a girl from Mitropoleos to take her to Perea. In the middle of the route, the traffic police stopped us and told us that the road was not safe.
“I finally took it at my own risk, as I was used to snow.
![](https://supercarblondie.com/wp-content/uploads/Taxi-2.webp)
“On the way back I found nine girls who could not find a way to return and were frozen. They managed to fit in the taxi, after sitting two in front and seven behind!”
Which car had more mileage than Sahinidis’?
Ultimately though, there was one car that had more miles on it than this trusty taxi.
That would be the late Irv Gordon’s Volvo P1800S, which he drove for over five decades.
He would rack up more than three million miles (4.8 million kilometers) in it – having paid a year’s salary of $4,150 for it back in 1966.
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Ben Thompson
Ben got his start in journalism at Kennedy News and Media, writing stories for national newspapers, websites and magazines. Now working as a freelancer, he divides his time between teaching at News Associates and writing for news sites on all subjects.