Photo: Screenshot from YouTube video by FOX2 St. Louis
Jim O'Shea bought a Volvo 740 GLE back in 1991 from a dealer called Volvo West Country. His father was not happy with the purchase, as his brother ran a Ford dealership. Jim pushed further and told his dad that he guaranteed that he would get one million miles out of the car. It took him thirty years, but he did it.
It all happened in November 2021, when Jim O'Shea made the news with his amazing mileage in the same car. In the three decades that passed, O'Shea's Volvo went through two transmissions and three engines, but the original shell is still there. Moreover, Jim probably deserves an award from his insurance company, as he never had an accident in three decades.
His car was dinged in the driveway three times, though. As you can observe, the 30-year-old Volvo is far from pristine, but it still works. There are a few rust marks on the body, as well as paint chips, but the engine still runs fine. Jim has told reporters at Fox2 that he changes parts himself, and that he finds it easy to work on his car.
Now, time for the sad part. Jim never got to tell his dad that he managed to drive a million miles in the Volvo that he bought back in 1991, as his father passed away before he had accomplished that objective.
Jim claimed that he remembered the fact that another person had entered the dealership back in 1993 with a Volvo from the 1960s that had done one million miles (1,6 million kilometers). At the time, that person was given a new car for free, Jim recalled. The moment described was pivotal in Jim's choice to buy a Volvo.
The person described with a million-mile Volvo might have been Irv Gordon, as he drove his 1966 Volvo P1800 to 3.2 million miles by the age of 77. Gordon was presented a brand new Volvo 780 Coupé by the Swedish manufacturer as he hit a million miles in his red P1800. Irv Gordon's record still stands to this day.
With that in mind, the Volvo dealer that first sold him his car decided to offer him a 2022 Volvo S60 sedan to drive for free for two years. The vehicle has been offered through the company's "Care by Volvo" all-inclusive car subscription, but at a full discount. That means that Jim will have maintenance, tires, wheels, insurance, and excessive wear protection included with his new ride.
If that was not wholesome enough, the salesperson who handed Jim O'Shea the keys to his car back in 1991 was still working at the dealership. Now, Stephen Lynch is the General Manager of West County Volvo, and he was happy to once again hand Jim the keys to a new Volvo.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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