In 1984 Doug Everett, of Tuatapere, bought the Toyota Hilux ute and used it for many years, including on his deer farm in Te Anau.
In 2011 when Mr Everett was in his early 80s, he sold it to Doug and Marg Hay, of Cromwell.
Mrs Hay said Mr Everett, who now lives in Wānaka, was her [former] father-in-law and “still very special to our family”.
“He trusted us with it because he knew we would look after her.”
The ute had a “ big emotional attachment for us”.
At the time the ute still had its original spark plugs and points.
“My husband gave it a tune-up and it never missed a beat.”
At the time, the odometer read 79,000 km.
Mrs Hay and her daughter Jaclyn used the ute at pony club events and Jaclyn learnt to drive in it at the Cromwell racecourse.
Eventually, Mr and Mrs Hay decided to sell the ute, which is when Henderson Valley couple Ian Goodwin and Cathrin Ferguson bought it. By this time there were 152,745km on the clock.
Mr Goodwin said the couple saw the ute advertised online and were attracted to the vehicle because of its history.
“We loved that it hadn’t been passed around.
“You just don’t see that any more.”
One of the jobs the ute is used for is to haul materials for Mr Goodwin’s work as a car upholsterer.
Weekends often mean bikes in the back and trips to Mount Maunganui.
It even made the drive from Cromwell to Auckland when they bought it, without missing a beat.
“It was a good test run and it’s never been an issue since,” Ms Ferguson said.
The Hilux remains largely original, complete with dents earned on the farm and a piece of wire acting as an aerial after a deer ate the original.
It is serviced every 5000km and is never pushed beyond what it needs to do.
“We don’t drive it over 95kmh,” Mr Goodwin said.
“There’s no need. It just trucks along beautifully.”
It also draws a lot of attention. Strangers stop to ask about it, people regularly offer to buy it, and the answer is always no.
“It will stay in the family for a long time,” Ms Ferguson said.
