How long does a car last?

" Statistics

... 1960s and 1970s, the typical car reached its end of life around 100,000 miles

... 2000s the typical car lasts closer to 200,000 miles." -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car_longevity

About 7 years on the new ones. With unibody. Salt in the air. Volcanic dust removing paint under them they do not last long. Rust threw. A frame vehicle over 20 years if parts are replaced. Or the frame rust threw & can not be welded back together. Is the end of them. Some jeepney were built in the 50s & still in service. Scrums built on truck frames 20 years. New bodies can be mounted on frames. Stile don't change much. People have old ones for parts behind there homes. All can be rebuilt or patched together on them. But the law here will change in 2020. Were you can only keep a vehicle 20 years to reduce air pollution.

Hi so age has more to do with it so design life is 7 years so you have 5 years at an average of 80 K kilometres.

A Fiat??? It will last until you get tired of fixing it.

Cars can last forever if you keep up the maintenance. Driving exclusively in cities - stop/start and short trips - will put more stress on the mechanicals, while keeping the mileage low, so those cars may die at 100,000. Saying that, taxis can get to 500,000 no problem. Running on the open road all day you'll get to 250,000 without dramas. However stuff does wear out and parts/dealer prices don't go down just because your car is old. The thing that kills cars is when you have to buy a set of $400 shockies or a $500 service or whatever when your car is worth about the same. Most people decide it's not economically viable around then.

It can last indefinitely. I'm still driving a car manufactured in 1962 and I've owned it for 37 years. Although it has received regular preventive maintenance over it's 500,000+ km life so far, it has still required a lot of major repairs over the years to keep it going. It helps that I am a competent mechanic with a lot of tools and am able to fix most things that come up, It also helps that I live in a very dry region so rust isn't a problem. That's one of many things that shortens the life of a vehicle.

Overall, though, in the hands of the average owner, my car would have died decades ago, so it's really up to you. It's not about age or miles, it's really about your patience, your budget, and your know-how. So, if you're talking about just doing oil changes, checking the fluids, changing belts, hoses, tires and brakes periodically, there's no telling when it will require major repairs. For the average owner, 200,000 km would probably stretching it.

I have a 1989 Chevrolet van with 189,000 miles. My costs, other than gas, oil, whatever, has been A/C work, brakes and tires.

Well some of the first cars ever built are still running so I guess they can last forever if you want them to.