Things That Work: My Jeep Wrangler at 300,000 Miles

I was at work, so my boy Thomas and my wife Mary Ann picked out my new car, a 97 dark green Jeep Wrangler.  All I had to do was drive it off the lot. For some reason this, more than any other vehicle, felt like my car — not a hand-me-down, nor a family vehicle.

Today, after 300,000 miles and many years, I pulled off the side of the road and took a picture of it.  That’s the original paint job as you can guess, and the forth rag top, but it’s still going strong and it’s my dependable day to day vehicle.

Now that 300K miles doesn’t include more than 50K+ miles being towed behind our RV touring the country.  The Jeep was our expedition vehicle while the RV stayed at the campground.  We went everywhere, from San Diego to Bar Harbor, including places in Canada.

This Jeep is my main utility vehicle.  I removed the rear bench seat and use the space to load up my books when I go to a book signing or convention.  There’s plenty of space for all my books, signage,  luggage, and even the trolly to carry it all.

From time to time, the question of a new car has come up, but I’ve always said I didn’t want to give up on my Jeep until it reached 300,000 miles, but considering how well it’s holding up, I may move that goalpost.

I want to acknowledge the help of Pit Pros of Round Rock for my regular 3000 mile oil changes and their help keeping me on track with all the other regular maintenance a good car needs.   For all the mechanic help, Round Rock Muffler and Automotive has been the place where I’ve gotten tires and belts and the occasional transmission tweaks, water pumps, door locks and whatever else goes wrong.  They always do the job and put my Jeep back into service quickly.