Nebraskan drove his Chevy Suburban 1 million miles without an engine overhaul

  • A veteran drove his 1994 Chevy Suburban for 1 million miles
  • He did it without replacing the engine
  • The van looks just as new even today

Published on Sep 01, 2024 at 12:23 PM (UTC+4)
by Siddharth Dudeja

Last updated on Sep 13, 2024 at 11:46 AM (UTC+4)
Edited by Nalin Rawat

A car hitting a million miles is not as uncommon as it used to be, but this man from Nebraska drove his Chevy Suburban for 1,000,000 miles on its original engine just because why not?

Meet Ben Welch, the proud owner of a 1994 Chevrolet Suburban that he got not long after his tour in Vietnam, and he utilized it to the brim.

Most vehicles that hit the million-mile mark usually go through a lot of hardware changes, but this case is particularly different.

Everyone knows how iconic the Suburban used to be, and this story made it ten times better.

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Nebraska man hit 1 million miles on his Chevy Suburban

Welch bought the 1994 Chevy, hoping to replace it the following year when a new model came out.

However, Welch mentioned in an interview with In Wheel Time that he didn’t like the 1995 variant of the van.

The next thing he knew, he had not only kept the Chevy but was averaging around 40,000 miles every year.

Although several cars can greatly exceed a million miles, there’s one thing in common for most of them.

The engine suffers greatly and often needs to be replaced.

Take this world’s highest-mileage Mercedes, for example — the 240D cab went through multiple engine overhauls and replacements before hitting its record-breaking number.

Cars reaching the million-mile mark on their original engine — like this 2003 Accord — is as rare as it gets.

Reaching the record number

Now, you might be wondering how Welch managed to keep his Suburban in pristine condition.

It was all thanks to extreme care and the help of his mechanic friend — Randy.

Whenever he faced issues, Randy was there to fix up the van in no time.

And with regular maintenance and inspections, the Suburban reached 1,000,000 miles.

If that doesn’t surprise you, Welch still takes good care of the car despite getting a fairly recent model a while back.

Now, that’s certainly one way for an enthusiast to show appreciation, and we’re here for it.

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Siddharth is a tech nerd with a secret love of all things cars. He has been writing for a few years now, and on his free time you would find him gaming when he's not procrastinating.