Megane hit 100,000 kilometres

On 2 August 2023 my Megane III reached a milestone – after twelve years and one month in service its odometer hit 100,000 kilometres. Such mileage is usually reached far earlier, yet if you use a car only if necessary, six-digit readout appears once a vehicle grows older.

The car has been with my family since driving out of dealership showroom. My parents bought it brand-new in July 2011 and they used it for more than five years sparingly for driving around town and intermittent long-distance trips. After more than five years, as my old car was turning less reliable, my parents opted for a new vehicle and handed over their (donated) Megane III to me. The car had just under 30,000 kilometres on the clock at that time.

For around the first year of its usage, it served me for daily commutes to the underground station, but after I moved to Warsaw, I switched to a routine of using it on average two or three times a week, for at least mid-distance journeys and long trips.

I have taken down dates it hit the previous milestones:
- 30,000 kilometres on 14 November 2016 (just upon the handover),
- 40,000 kilometres on 17 November 2017 (a trip to Berlin and Wrocław, to Mazury along the way),
- 50,000 kilometres on 18 August 2018 (trips to Toruń, Bielsko-Biała, Mazury, Vienna, Slovenia and Bratislava, Wrocław along the way),
- 60,000 kilometres on 22 August 2019 (a trip to Dolnośląskie along the way),
- 70,000 kilometres on 15 December 2020 (a trip to Bieszczady along the way),
- 80,000 kilometres on 12 February 2022 (a trip to the seaside along the way),
- 90,000 kilometres on 23 December 2022 (trips to the seaside and to Wisła twice along the way),
over the last 10,000 kilometres trips to Wisła, skiing to Jakuszyce and Prague, Wisła for the long weekend in May, Wisła and Bieszczady in early June and Wisła in July. Note out of 10,000 kilometres driven over seven months nearly 6,000 were driven in long-distance trips.

The car hardly ever sits in traffic jams and is very seldom used for short-distance (below five miles) journeys. With such driving habits the car’s condition remains impeccable. Wear and tear makes itself felt, but part replacements are predictable and do not suck a hole in my wallet. Only the air conditioning has been going bonkers recently and I fear it might be the first costly defect. Given the rising prices of brand-new cars, the car has not depreciated since 3 years – I estimate its resale value at PLN 25,000, yet for a while I am not going to check it out.

I realise given the car’s age (not a mileage), the days of its reliability might be numbered, so I am slowly thinking of a replacement, which would be probably a reliable petrol-fuelled compact estate car, bought brand-new and intended to be kept going for more than a decade too!

Off to Czech Republic to cycle around Moravian wineyards. A write-up with photos due in 2 weeks.