Dutchman has million kilometres on the odometer of his Toyota
More than a million kilometres, Martien Scheffers and his Toyota Land Cruiser have been together. Although the odometer is no longer running, the motorist from Aarle-Rixtel is counting on many carefree kilometres: “We will continue together. It is a privilege to drive in.”
Even Toyota engineers have not taken it into account. The odometer in the Land Cruiser of Martien Scheffers from Aarle-Rixtel has been awarded 999,999 for about 3,000 kilometres. Although they have passed the magic limit of one million kilometres, the technology in its off-road vehicle is still lagging behind.
“A little something,” laughs Scheffers, who bought the car new in 2002. “I have never done much,” he says. “But I have not skipped a garage job. If a car is so good for you, then you should be so good for your car.” Many credits go to his regular garage, Scheffers adds directly: “If you look under the hood, the net is as if I had bought it six months ago.”
The 66-year-old Scheffers drives up and down almost daily between the flower auctions in Grubbenvorst and Rijnsburg, about 400 kilometres a day. And during all those kilometers, his Land Cruiser never really let him down, he continues: “Nothing really happened.”
Scheffers does not even seem surprised at the tirelessness of the Land Cruiser. He bought his first Land Cruiser in 1995, and that car still drives around. “Somewhere in Estonia,” he added. Scheffers does not dare to say how long his current model continues to drive. But as far as he is concerned, it is far from time to say goodbye: “In other countries you sometimes see that people have a car in their garden. When the time comes, I hope to find such a nice place for the Toyota as well. But as long as it keeps driving, we continue together. It is a privilege to drive in.”
To smoke
Yet Scheffers still wants to mention a point. “I am an avid smoker,” concludes the proud owner. “I think I smoked 200,000 cigars in that car. But in my opinion, Japanese are not such smokers. The cigarette lighter always breaks. It has been replaced about six or seven times. I have already asked Toyota if there is no guarantee anymore.”
