Nothing was stopping Newton, Iowa man Daniel Bragg, or his 849,000-mile Chevy Suburban, from picking up his lottery score. After winning $150,000 on a scratcher, Bragg drove his ultra-high mileage SUV through a snowstorm to the lottery office to collect his hefty prize. However, that journey might be the last for his old Chevy.
Bragg told the lottery office, according to its Facebook post, “I’ve gotta get a car!” Apparently a new pickup is in Bragg’s future but I sincerely hope he keeps his Suburban. GMT800-series trucks—both pickups and SUVs—are pretty well-regarded for being tough, affordable, and easy to work on, so they tend to see high mileage often. That is if they aren’t taken by rust first. Bragg’s Suburban seems to have some rust on the wheel arches and some transfer case issues based on his Facebook posts, but its chassis must be in good enough shape to drive around the earth 34 times. And, honestly, it looks pretty damn good for a truck that’s suffered more than two decades of Iowa winters.
But even with rust and a few mechanical problems, 849,000 miles is an incredible achievement, both for the truck and its owners, however many it’s had. I understand the desire to buy a newer, lower-mileage truck with his winnings but I’d keep the old Suburban. With $150,000, you can fix it up and have a lot more money left over than if you were to buy a new truck. Plus, there’s the sentiment of this truck having taken Bragg to his winnings, even through the snowstorm, despite its age and mileage. It literally weathered the storm with him. So whether he gets a new truck or not, I hope he keeps the old one and helps it reach one million miles. If he doesn’t want to, I know of a very foolish man in New Jersey who might be willing to take it off his hands.
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