What’s it like to travel the world in a £75 Skoda?

The ultimate wacky racers drove to 46 countries in 12 months

The trusty Skoda and Nissan Micra in question (Max White)

What did you do in the last year that gave you a sense of accomplishment? Got a new job? Bought a house? Watched the entire back catalogue of Doctor Who episodes?

For friends Max White and Rich Matthews, both 24, the answer is a little different. The pair spent the last 12 months driving around the world – in a £75 Skoda they bought off Gumtree. Oh, and a £150 Nissan Micra.

“We’d already done the Mongol Rally – where you have to find the cheapest car you can and drive it to Mongolia – and we completely fell in love with it,” says Max. “We wanted to take it one step further, so we started looking for the cheapest car in the UK. And we thought, why not give it a go and see if we can do the entire world?”

Plans were loose – the boys knew they wanted to go to certain must-visit countries, and based the route around those. They only procured two visas before they left – for Russia and Uzbekistan – and didn’t even purchase the car – a Skoda Felicia Estate – until two weeks before their departure.

“It was incredibly spontaneous,” says Max. “We knew if we had a vague plan we’d be OK, but we wanted to make up the details on the way.”

Fixing up the Skoda wasn’t too challenging: “Surprisingly, because it was so old it was easier. It meant the parts were simple and, to be honest, it didn’t need much work.”

Although they’d only planned to take one car, the pair hadn’t counted on how much interest their journey would spark among friends and family. When they started sharing the idea online, 10 people in one day asked if they could join in on the fun.

This led to the Nissan Micra, swiftly purchased by Rich on Gumtree for just £150. “Those two cars did the entire world,” says Max fondly. “Loads of other cars joined and left along the way. We said to people that if they wanted to join, they were more than welcome to.”

What followed was the journey of a lifetime, with moments of joy and moments of “what have we done?” in equal measure.

Max says: “The scariest time was in Guatemala. We’d paid the local equivalent of 10p so we could camp on a field near a waterfall. We were sitting up late at night, talking and looking at the stars, when a pick-up truck drove past with someone shooting a gun into the air. That was pretty terrifying.”

At other points, mother nature was the most dangerous adversary. “Sometimes we’d overstretch ourselves,” says Max. “In Russia, we hit a massive pothole at night and the car had no spare tyres. Siberian winter is no joke – it was one moment where we said, ‘Should we just give up?’ Not because we couldn’t do it, but because it was a genuine health and safety issue. But we always tried to push through; everyone was very positive most of the time.”

And challenges often led to new experiences and gave a chance to connect with local communities. “We were middle of the desert in Kazakhstan and hadn’t seen anyone in days,” says Max. "We were on a road we’d nicknamed Fury Road because it was so bad – uneven and full of potholes. Someone drove over one at the wrong angle and ripped the oil tank.

“We had to push the car because we couldn’t fix it. But it worked out amazingly – the other car drove off and the first civilisation they came to was an oil refinery. The locals drove a truck out to tow our car, plus gave us free oil, vodka and camel’s milk. By breaking the cars, we were forced into local interactions and met some incredible people.”

Max explains that, being so old, the cars were simple to fix whenever they broke down along the way – either the boys would have a go themselves or use a local mechanic, who would use whatever parts they had to hand to keep the vehicles going. However, he is quick to stress that the cars themselves held up incredibly well under the pressure.

“It seems unfair to say the cars broke down when actually we pushed them so far,” he says. “Our group was quite adventurous – rather than main roads we drove through deserts and mountain passes.”

After crossing 46 countries and four continents, taking on a mountain 4,000 metres high along the way, are the cars still drivable? “I drove my car today!” laughs Max. “I had to get an MOT as everything expired after a year, but honestly, the car still drives really well.”

The journey, rather than sating their desire for adventure, has left them wanting more. So what’s next? A double decker bus, of course.

“We were blown away by how many people were interested in joining us on the last trip,” says Max. “So we’re going to get a double decker bus, drive it around Europe, get lots of people involved and raise lots of money for charity while having another adventure.”

Something tells me this might not be their last.

To find out more about Max and Rich’s next project, go to facebook.com/globalconvoy