The highest mileage Mercedes in the world drove 2.8 million miles in 23 years
- A Mercedes 240D racked up almost three million miles
- The car was driven by Greek taxi driver Gregorios Sachinidis
- The 240D ended up at the Mercedes-Benz Museum
Published on Aug 30, 2024 at 2:55 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Aug 30, 2024 at 4:26 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A man once racked up almost three million miles in his 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D – making it the highest milage Merc in the world.
Greek taxi driver Gregorios Sachinidis traveled a staggering 4,586,630 kilometers or 2,850,000 miles in his 240D.
After buying the car in 1980, Sachinidis took incredible care of the car and kept it on the road for a whopping 23 years.
The 240D was used as Sachinidis’s work vehicle, which helps explain the mighty mileage.
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The car was used as a taxi for more than 20 years
Sachinidis’s dedication to his job – and his 240D – saw him join the exclusive, and unofficial, million-mile club.
Other members of the sky-high mileage group include Irv Gordon who clocked up more than three million miles, and this guy from the US who recently hit 1,000,000 miles in his 2003 Honda Accord, which still had its original engine.
However, some may say that Sachinidis’s entry into the million-mile club is a bit of a cheat, as his car was used for work and not personal use.
Over his years behind the wheel, Sachinidis traveled through Greece and into the surrounding countries – at one point he even provided humanitarian aid.
The car ended up in the Mercedes-Benz Museum
“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,” he recalled in an interview with Greek City Times.
“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.”
After 23 years on the road, Sachinidis was asked to donate his beloved 240D to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, which he did.
In return, he was given a brand-new C-Class – not a bad trade, if you ask us.
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
