Isuzu Botswana, reliability is everything; The 1 MILLION KM Bakkie
A name known by many across all trades. From farmers, police, firefighters and miners, Isuzu often finds itself in the toughest situations. For many in these fields, reliability is truly everything. Tackling robust work like a horse galloping on a sandy beach.
Isuzu has stood the test of time over and over again. One such story comes all the way from Mossel Bay on the Western Coast of Southern Africa.
David Manley, a retired Ship Surveyor demonstrated how reliable Isuzu is when his 18-year-old Isuzu 25 Diesel LE, hit the 1-million km mark on the clock. Wow! A million kilometres is a lot for a car that’s 18-years-old. If that isn’t impressive enough, it’s still going.
Back in 2000, he bought his resilient Isuzu bakkie. Bought brand new, she's been proving her worth ever since. The Bakkie saw a lot of South Africa. Being used to travel all over carrying David's sons' boat to different sailing competitions during his High School years...
A month after it hit the 1 Million Kilometer mark in 2017 David and his wife took a trip to the Kalahari and back. Further showcasing just how strong their Isuzu bakkie is. When they got back they decided the bakkie was old enough to retire.
Living a more simple life of daily errand running and farm work transport is how she spends her days now. She earned the relaxed life of a retiree, of course. After all, she did pile up over a million kilometres.
She may be 18, but is still strong and wasn’t ready to completely retire. Another trip for 2019 was organised to go through to Namibia and back.
Mossel Bay to Namibia is approximately 1741.5 km there and back. Adding a whopping 3,483 km to the already impressively large number on the clock. That doesn't even include the driving around they would be doing in Namibia itself.
Over the 18 years, David only had minor services done on his bakkie. Taking over the routine servicing himself after the bakkie hit the 200 000 km mark.
The bakkie still has its original engine and turbo. He had the timing gears replaced at 500 000 km's and an exchange gearbox installed at 540 000 km’s.
He has nothing but confidence that his old Isuzu workhorse will still see many more days on the farm. Further strengthening the trust in the reliability and power of the Isuzu brand. We believe this Isuzu proved its worth over those 18 years.
A few rust marks only display the natural ageing cycle this bakkie is going through. 18 is pretty old in car years, you could almost consider it a classic!
When you think of reliability, what comes to mind? Something that you know won’t let you down in desperate situations? Getting to work on time is granted a desperate situation.
Our definition of reliability at Isuzu Botswana is more than that. We aim to be as reliable as the vehicles themselves. If you’re looking for reliability, we can help you. Leave your details and a team member will get in touch.
*Have a look at the original article by Wheels24.