[throwaway0a5e]

Lifetime TCO is a thing.

If you bought a Bubble Taurus in '99 and fed it a new transmission every 100k you'd probably come out the same after adjusting for inflation between then and now.

I deal exclusively in shitboxes that are about 10yr beyond what the demographics most represented. Anyone peddling a "just buy a particular brand and you'll be all set" narrative is just wrong. If you said "be rich enough to do maintenance on the book schedule and not abuse your vehicles" you'd be on to something. There's a reason everyone wants a used grandma car.

[WkndTriathlete]

That depends on how much you value your time. I have had Hondas for the past 25 years that have not required major repairs for anything. Worst was having to get the automatic transmission solenoid replaced on a Pilot with 240k+ miles on it. In your world that would be 6 transmissions over three cars over 25 years; there's no way I would make that trade, since those 6 transmission failures represent significant lost time (opportunity and time costs when the car breaks down, getting it back and forth to the repair shop, etc., etc.)

[jdmichal]

Funnily enough, my first car was a used grandma '99 Taurus. I sold it to a family member, and it's still driving.