The Story of Greek Taxi Driver Gregorios Sachinidis and His 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D, World’s Highest Mileage Mercedes

In 1981, Gregorios Sachinidis, a taxi driver from Thessaloniki, Greece, purchased a used 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D from Germany. The car already had about 220,000 kilometers (approximately 136,700 miles) on the odometer.

For the next 23 years, he used the Mercedes as his taxi, driving it around the clock. His work wasn’t limited to the streets of Thessaloniki; he undertook countless long-distance journeys across Greece and into surrounding countries like Germany, Turkey, and Bulgaria. He even transported humanitarian aid to war-torn Yugoslavia in 1993.

“When I took the taxi, there were few Mercedes circulating in Greece, while I had the advantage of speaking German, as I lived in Germany for 15 years,” Sachinidis told Greek City Times. “So, I worked with travel agencies, which sent me clients to transport them within Greece, but also to the surrounding countries. I transferred businessmen to Skopje, Germany, Banja Luka, I went eight times to Turkey and more than 90 times to Bulgaria.

“In fact, in 1993, crossing the war-torn Yugoslavia, I accompanied a truck with humanitarian aid to Belgrade, transporting the escort of the mission, businessman Stefanos Milios, the only person who had a permit to enter the country at that time.”

By the time he retired the car in 2004, it had accumulated a staggering 4.6 million kilometers (about 2.85 million miles). This feat earned his car the distinction of being the Mercedes-Benz with the highest recorded mileage to date. To put that in perspective, 4.6 million kilometers is the equivalent of driving around the world 115 times.

Sachinidis’s success was not just a matter of luck. He was meticulous about the car’s maintenance, performing regular oil changes, filter replacements, and other necessary checks. He also used three engines in rotation, rebuilding them as needed to ensure the car's continued performance.

In 2004, Mercedes-Benz recognized his incredible achievement. They asked him to donate the legendary taxi to their museum in Stuttgart, Germany, as a symbol of the longevity and quality of their engineering. In exchange, they gifted him a brand new Mercedes E-Class.