The odometer showed 474887.8 miles when I met up recently with Morgan Gafford, who bought his 1985 Toyota Tercel “right off the transporter” in May of that year in Midland, Texas. “It had 0 miles on it. All zeros.”

With the exception of 30 by his dad, Gafford has put all those miles on the car. “The engine in my ’78 Chevy van had started making a big noise, so I got on my bicycle, … rode to the dealership and bought the Tercel. I didn’t test-drive it. I had never even been in a Toyota before,” said Gafford, who now splits his time between Midland and Galisteo. He paid $5,800 for the Tercel.

“This car has never been in a Toyota shop and never required any major repair. It does go through mufflers every two or three years.” Gafford attributes his Tercel’s longevity to his driving style, proper break-in and maintenance. “I drive it easy and hate tearing up a car from neglect. It gets between 38 and 40 mpg.”

He makes a point of using only Toyota oil filters and changes the oil every 3,000 miles. Fresh synthetic oil goes in the transmission every 100,000 miles. Asked why he’s had the car so long, Gafford said, in his thoughtful manner, “If you take care of what you have, give it some TLC, you only have to buy it once.”

Today, the Tercel has acquired a patina from 22 years in the sun and those many miles of service. The car is well worn but obviously well cared for. Riding with Gafford in the Tercel, it starts immediately, is remarkably smooth and quiet — even tracks straight at highway speeds.

If he had the choice of any car, what it would be? Gafford doesn’t skip a beat: “My car that I have right there. Because it’s never let me down, and I know how to maintain it.” The Tercel has, in fact, never left him stranded and has had only one flat tire on the road.

How many miles does Gafford expect from the car? He laughs: “One million. I want to see all those nines turn into zeros again!”

Gafford doesn’t think this car is exceptional in its longevity: “Any car could go this long if you maintain it properly and are lucky enough not to have a major accident.”

He goes on to say, “What I like best about the Tercel is its simplic-ity. It’s the Model T of the latter 20th century.” On the subject of quality of manufacture, Gafford feels “quality control was great in Japan in the 1980s. Toyota’s quality today is about the same, it’s just they have become so complicated, you can’t work on [the cars] yourself anymore.”