Doug Everett Story

The Hilux that refuses to retire

When Doug decided it was time to sell his Hilux, he was 92 years old.

The ute he was replacing was a 1984 Toyota Hilux SR5 he had owned for most of his life. For seven of those years, it barely left the farm, tucked away in a shed while Doug continued to pay the registration regardless. When it was finally brought back into action, it went on to teach the next generation how to drive and tow, becoming part of the family rather than just a vehicle.

Now 96 and living in Wanaka, Doug Everett is still part of the Hilux story.

He bought it brand new from Invercargill while farming in Tuatapere, before later moving to Te Anau where it came into its own as a workhorse on his deer farm. In 2011, he passed it on to his daughter-in-law Marg Hay and her husband Doug Hay in Cromwell.

“It still had the original spark plugs and points in it when we got it,” says Marg. “My husband gave it a tune up and it never missed a beat.”

At the time, the odometer read just 79,000 kilometres.

For Marg and her daughter Jaclyn, the Hilux quickly became part of daily life. It set up Pony Club events, worked the paddocks and handled trips around Cromwell. Jaclyn learnt to drive in it at the Cromwell Racecourse and chose to sit her licence in the Hilux because she wanted to pass in a manual, even though she had other options.

“It has a big emotional attachment for us,” says Marg. “Doug Everett was my father-in-law and is still very special to our family. He trusted us with it because he knew we would look after her.”

Eventually, Marg and Doug felt the Hilux deserved to keep working rather than be restored and parked away. That is when it found its way north.

West Auckland couple Ian Goodwin and Cathrin Ferguson became the next caregivers after spotting it online and being drawn to its history.

“We loved that it hadn’t been passed around,” says Ian. “You just don’t see that anymore.”

Today, the Hilux lives in Henderson Valley, still doing exactly what it was built to do. It is the shopping cart, the dump run vehicle, the work ute and the road trip companion.

Ian uses it to haul materials for his work as a car upholsterer. Weekends often mean bikes in the back and trips to Mount Maunganui. It even made the long drive from Cromwell to Auckland when they bought it, without missing a beat.

“It was a good test run,” says Cath. “And it’s never been an issue since.”

The Hilux remains largely original, complete with dents earned on the farm and a piece of wire acting as an aerial after a goat ate the original. It is serviced every five thousand kilometres and never pushed beyond what it needs to do.

“We don’t drive it over 95 km/h,” says Ian. “There’s no need. It just trucks along beautifully.”

Despite being surrounded by hot rods at home, it is the Toyota that draws the most 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,” says Cath.

Each year, Ian and Cath send Doug Everett a photo of the Hilux, showing him where it is and how it is being used. A quiet continuation of a relationship built on trust and care.

Asked to describe the ute in a few words, every owner lands in the same place.

“Robust, reliable and trustworthy.” Both generations describe it the same way.

“True Barry Crump,” says Ian. “It will go anywhere and do anything you want it to.”

At a time when one in four Kiwis drive a Toyota, this 1984 Hilux helps explain why. Not because of its age, but because of the trust it represents. The kind of reliability that keeps Toyota in Kiwi driveways for generations.

One common theme across every owner is consistent servicing. That discipline is what keeps a vehicle reliable decade after decade. Toyota Service Protect builds on that same philosophy, offering eligible vehicles a 1 year or 15,000km warranty following each scheduled service at an Authorised Toyota Store, helping ensure Toyotas continue to do what they were built to do as they age.

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