I bought the car new in October 2009. It's a 6 speed manual. I've had it for just about 17 years! It has approximately 150 000 km on it. (approx 94 000 miles) I don't use it much. Paid it off in 6 years.
I've had several problems with that car:
- Premature rust that was fixed under warranty
- The transmission mount broke within the first couple of years and it took forever for the dealership where I went to find the problem.
- Due to the problem above, I had the transmission rebuilt under warranty (thankfully)
- The body control module (BCM), or the brain that controls everything electronic in the car, went kaput once to a point I had no more power steering, no working blinkers, no lights, no radio, nothing. It took 4 visits to get the thing fixed and replaced.
- The new BCM now has a problem where the fog lights don't work anymore. (I honestly don't care, they're mostly decorative)
- The engine mounts broke recently due to potholes
- I had the exhaust system patched I don't know how many times.
- Now rust is starting to form on the body. I had the car treated with a rust proof treatment every year and it still got the best of it. (It's minor though. You can barely notice it)
This all cost me a pretty penny, but it's still cheaper than a new car over all. And the car looks and works fantastic.
I hope to keep it for as long as I can. I don't trust new cars at all. And the gauge clusters and consoles now are all screens that are too bright at night and make it difficult to see well. Mine has red gauges and no screens which is frankly the best at night. And the only high tech feature it has is Bluetooth connectivity for my smartphone with prerecorded voice commands and built-in phone book. That's all I need, really.
I'm pretty proud of myself for keeping it in such good shape for so long.