Rachel Veitch held the long end until the very end. From 1981 to 2012, she covered 870,000 kilometers in a Mercury Comet. And it's almost free.
93-year-old Rachel Veitch was not the kind of person the car repair shops just hang out with.
Ever since the somewhat elderly motorist bought a Mercury Comet in 1981, she has purchased lifetime warranty parts for the car.
This means that, among other things, she has had seven mufflers, three sets of shock absorbers and 16 batteries changed. And yes, all of this is still being paid for. Just not out of Rachel's own pocket.
– Firestone still pays for my batteries. I have had 16 of them, she said.
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Like its owner, the Mercury, otherwise dubbed "Chariot", is getting older. And Rachel knows it well. That is why she has also compiled a guide on how to service the car, which is from 1964, correctly.
The workshops get a copy of it every time "Chariot" is serviced or in to have a part replaced under warranty. The lifetime guarantee.
In the Chariot, Rachel has short 120 miles per hour – 193 km/h – she said. But perhaps just as impressive is the fact that owner and car have lasted longer than all of the 90-year-old lady's three marriages.
Right up until 2012, when her sight failed, Rachel Veitch and "Chariot" liked to travel far and wide around most of the United States. At the age of 90, she just completed a trip of almost 5,000 kilometers around the country.
– I have it all. Automatic transmission, power steering, air conditioning, says the elderly lady.
Rachel Veitch died at the age of 99 in 2017. In the clip below you can see and hear her talk about the Mercury. A true feel-good tale that even reached the famous talk show host Jay Leno. A man who is something of a car enthusiast himself.
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