Stock agent's near-million-kilometre LandCruiser auction closes Monday

Gary Driscoll's LandCruiser is up for sale just short of the 1,000,000km mark, and he reckons he'd have got there a lot sooner if AuctionsPlus hadn't cut down how much driving his job requires.

The Driscoll & Co Pty Ltd stock and station agent has parked the 2009 200 Series Sahara up on 999,999km at Horsham Toyota and it could be yours if you're the successful bidder.

Buying a mob of sheep traditionally meant driving out to look at them first, often long distances into New South Wales and South Australia. "When you wanted a mob of sheep, you had to go and look at them," Mr Driscoll said, pointing to the runs he used to do out to Broken Hill, Tibooburra, Wilcannia, Lightning Ridge and Deniliquin.

It's taken him about 17 years to reach the million kilometre mark, but Mr Driscoll reckons he could have done it quicker before AuctionsPlus was used so widely and if the vehicles he drove previously were up to the test.

"The previous 100 series was 650,000km and we traded in. Then the previous vehicle was a Prado, and then all the vehicles before that were Ford Falcons, which you only kept for 200,000 to 300,000km because they'd start to fall apart," he recalled.

Mr Driscoll's connection to the platform goes back further than the car. He signed on as an assessor with CALM, AuctionsPlus' predecessor, in the mid 1980s and still assesses sheep and cattle across the Wimmera today.

He's still in the vehicle more than any city person can comprehend and is curious to know what will happen when the final 500m are driven.

"When we arrived at Toyota in Horsham with all the nines, they'd been trying to find out from Toyota whether it was going to click over to all zeros again, or whether it just stay on the nines and they don't really know because they haven't had one do it before," he said.

It hasn't moved an inch of that final drive because he's determined to leave that honour for whoever buys it.

"Whoever buys it, they'll be able to tell you," Mr Driscoll said of the odometer's next move. "That'll be a bit of a novelty for them."

Mr Driscoll came closer to finding out than he meant to. On his final drive into Horsham with a journalist, he pushed a bit further than planned, realised he was going to run out of kilometres, and pulled up short of the dealership to call for a tow rather than risk it.

With no comparable million-kilometre sale to price it against, Mr Driscoll's also happy to let an open auction do the job a valuation never could.

He asked for a two-week window rather than a quick sale, betting that interest would build. It has: bidding has already hit $31,000, with inquiries reaching AuctionsPlus from as far as Germany and the United States.

There's no test drive on offer, for fairly obvious reasons, but Mr Driscoll has posted videos of the engine running so buyers can hear it for themselves. The original starter motor, replaced at 973,000km, goes with the car in a box in the back.

Bidding closes Monday, August 17 at 6pm AEST. 

The Bottom Line

• Gary Driscoll's 2009 LandCruiser is sitting on 999,999km, with bidding on AuctionsPlus already at $31,000 ahead of a Monday close.
• Toyota can't say whether the odometer will reset to zero or lock on nines once the LandCruiser ticks over.
• The timer will come on on Monday, August 17 at 6pm AEST, with the original starter motor and rubber mats included in the sale.
• Browse and bid here