Man Spent $75 on a Truck That Lasted 38 Years

9 years, 2 months ago - 6 January 2015, Autoblog
Man Spent $75 on a Truck That Lasted 38 Years
Absurd as it is, some buyers today are worried about getting their car to last throughout the term of their seven-year car loan.

Minnesota resident Bob Sportel has the opposite issue: his Chevrolet truck seemingly won't die. Sportel needed a cheap ride to get to work when he took a job at a farmer's co-op 38 years ago, so he bought a rusty 1957 Chevy pickup for $75 from a farmer; at the time, the 20-year-old truck was almost as old as Bob was.

After nearly four decades of daily driving and an estimated 300,000 miles, Sportel is still driving the truck today. Bolts secure a fender, Bondo secures the lights, what looks like a whole roll of duct tape keeps him sitting on the bench seat instead of in it. For a 58-year-old pickup that's never seen a garage or a new coat of paint – but did get its oil changed four times a year – that's not bad; Sportel thinks his repair bill hasn't got above $1,000 for the entire time he's owned the truck.

He still has no plans to get rid of it, saying, "It just becomes a part of you." 

 You can watch his story in the video