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Andy Campbell is 82 years old, lives in Wyses Corner, Nova Scotia, and has been driving the same 1985 Toyota Tercel as his daily car for over three decades. The odometer locks at six digits, doesn’t accommodate the “1” for a million, and he keeps photos to prove what the dashboard can’t show.
If Andy Campbell crosses paths with you on the road, you probably won’t notice anything special. A small, boxy Toyota with an 80s look, from a time when cassette tapes were state of the art and backup cameras were science fiction. But if you get closer and look at the dashboard, you’ll need a second to understand what you’re seeing.
The odometer reads 253,070 km. The number is correct, except it’s missing a digit in front. A “1”. As in one million. Campbell’s 1985 Toyota Tercel has already traveled 1,253,070 kilometers and is still counting. The dashboard simply wasn’t designed to accommodate seven digits. Campbell carries with him the photos he took when the marker hit one million, because he knows that without proof no one believes it.
US$ 2,500, 125,000 kilometers on the clock, and a decision that lasted 35 years
Since then, he has used the car as daily transportation. When he was still working, he drove at least 120 kilometers a day between his home in Wyses Corner and Halifax. Retired, he continues to use the same car for shopping, visiting neighbors, and traveling across the Canadian maritime provinces.
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The Toyota has crossed Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island multiple times, and has reached Newfoundland on a few occasions. It has never left the Canadian Atlantic. Campbell has no interest in an antique plate, which would restrict the vehicle’s use for everyday purposes. This Toyota is not a relic. It’s the car he uses to go to the market.
The garage that became a storage for parts that Toyota no longer manufactures
Campbell accumulated over the years a considerable stock of components, most of which are no longer available at Toyota dealerships. At the back of the property, three additional Toyota Tercels are on blocks, serving as a source of spare parts.
In the shed, there are heating engines, radiators, fans, complete engine blocks, and practically everything a Tercel might need. Campbell says most of the parts are there waiting for an emergency he hopes never happens. But if it does, he won’t need to go anywhere. “It looks like junk and to most people it probably is,” he says. “To me, it’s gold.”
All maintenance done by himself, except for one thing
Except for the steering alignment, Campbell does all the car maintenance by himself. Practically everything in the vehicle has been replaced or repaired at some point over three decades. The body is probably the only original part still on the car, and even it has been repaired.
The secret he reveals to those who ask is straightforward: regular oil changes, constant lubrication, anti-corrosive applied in the right spots, and a heated garage for the Canadian winter. Campbell acknowledges that the Tercel has a reputation for rusting easily, but says the trick is to fill all the crevices with grease before corrosion starts. Result: a 40-year-old car that still runs perfectly and is practically in zero-kilometer condition on the outside.
The photo taken by the roadside when the meter hit a million
Campbell recounted that he stopped the car on the side of the road when the odometer was about to hit one million. He was on his way to Prince Edward Island and kept an eye on the numbers as he drove. When the nines started to appear in sequence, he stopped, grabbed the camera, and photographed before the marker turned.
The caution made sense. Without the photo, it would be difficult to convince anyone that that small, boxy Toyota accumulated more than a million kilometers without stopping. Campbell carries the images with him wherever he goes: the record of each series of nines and zeros before the turn, the physical proof of what the dashboard can no longer show.
The spare car is another Tercel from the following year, of the same color
When asked if he has a spare vehicle to use while the Toyota is under maintenance, Campbell replied yes and invited the CBC reporter to see. The spare car is a 1986 Toyota Tercel. Same color. Same model. One year newer. Campbell presented the vehicle with the seriousness of someone showing a recent acquisition: “Want to see my new car? It’s the 86. Do you like it?”
Campbell says he is not a fan of cars in general. He is not a fan of Toyota nor the Tercel model. He is a fan of this specific Tercel because it is practical, good in the snow, easy to maintain, and cheap to operate. The phrase he repeats with satisfaction sums up the relationship: “Everyone overtakes me on the road, but I overtake them at the gas station.” As for selling, the answer is definitive. “You can go to Halifax and choose the best car there, Cadillac, Lincoln, Rolls Royce, bring it here and I won’t trade. I don’t want it.”
The two million goal and the doubt about time
Campbell is 82 years old and has already surpassed 1.2 million kilometers. The next declared goal is two million. He adds, with dry humor, that he doesn’t know if he will live long enough to get there. The Toyota, given its history over the last 35 years, would probably get there without difficulty.
Campbell is not the only high-mileage Tercel owner in Nova Scotia. Jim George, from Kentville, also has an 85 Tercel, but with only 534,000 kilometers, a beginner in comparison. The two also know a third owner in the province with more than one million kilometers on the same model. It seems that in Nova Scotia there is an undeclared culture of making the simple last forever, and the Toyota Tercel has become the involuntary symbol of this philosophy.
The report was published by CBC News in August 2025, with text and video by Frances Willick.
Have you ever had a car that refused to stop working or that you kept for much longer than expected? Tell us in the comments.
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