The achievement of reaching 200,000 miles has become much less of a significant achievement in recent years. The advancement in technology means that most modern higher end cars have the ability to reach the 200,000 mark with some regular and basic maintenance.

Before this burst of technology, the double century club was an emotional and truly wondrous event. No matter how long the car had been in your hands, you felt proud when that clock ticked over to 200,000 miles. The car had been through all of your painful crunched gears, high revving angry moments and tyre squealing as you took corners too fast.

There were a select few cars that regularly hit that magical mile-count down to pure build quality. I'm not just talking about the taxis that cover the mileage in a much shorter space of time. I'm talking about the cars that took a whole lifetime of family life, with the dog throwing up in the boot and the kids pouring their orange juice into every crevice of the car.

They had to deal with the sales rep who drove at 70mph whilst staring into the abyss, thinking about the presentation he has to give in Coventry on the new health and safety procedure that no one cares about. All those Cornish pasties he let flake off into the electrics, they dealt with them all.

When you see a car in the classifieds with 200,000 miles or more, the majority of you will immediately scroll on. Well, today is the day I am going to champion these heroes and say don't scroll on, give these guys a chance to impress.

"Why should I James? You absolute plank," I hear you say. Well, they are ridiculously cheap once they hit that and the cars in this list will have many more miles in them.

Trust me, if you are offered a car with 130,000 and no service history or a car with 200,000 miles and a full service history, go with the latter.

Here are the heroes from the 200,000 high-mile club:

BMW 5-series E34

Not only does the BMW E34 have brilliant build quality, it also looks bloody gorgeous.

Volvo 850 T5 and Volvo V70

I was trying to stick to one model per brand but with Volvo, I just couldn't. The undisputed king of the high-mile club, Volvos from the '90s and early '00s were just indestructible.

It is actually pretty hard to find a classified listing of a Volvo estate that hasn't got 200,000 or more. Volvos are the fine wines of the motoring industry. They keep getting better with age... except the S40, that was shit.

Mercedes W124

Pushing the Volvos very close for the crown is the Mercedes W124. Simplicity is king in the case of Mercedes' '90s E-Class.

I'm pretty sure the W124 will be the only car to survive the apocalypse.

VW Passat

The VW Passat is an understated car, but you shouldn't underestimate its build quality. The Passat is a car that is put through thick and thin by families and it takes it all in its stride.

Lexus LS400

The Lexus LS400 is a car I've wanted for years. I can't think of a better car than the Lexus LS400 that often dips below £1,000 in the classifieds.

Saab 900

Sweden makes another appearance on here with something a little sportier. The Saab 900 is a pretty fun car to drive, so its appearance on this list is even more impressive as I'd put money on the journey to 200,000 miles wasn't a comfortable one.

Peugeot 405

A French car? On a reliability list? Je ne pense pas! Well, the Peugeot 405 bucks the trend as it is an absolute tank. My family owned one of these for many years and it barely put a foot wrong. We sold ours to a farm with 180,000 miles on the clock many years ago and it is still going.

Have you joined the 200,000 mile-high club or been so close to it? Was it in any of the cars in this list or was it in another hero? Let me know in the comments.