29th Mar 2010, 09:18

I think that in most cases, if you take good care of a vehicle, it should last at least 10 years.

My Jeep Wrangler is 15 years old, and still going strong.

I also own a Saab 9-3, that is now 7 years old and has been extremely reliable. I point this out because these are 2 vehicles that seem to get labeled as unreliable in some consumer oriented publications, as well as on this site.

Good maintenance should certainly help any vehicle last longer. There are of course some exceptions, as some vehicles are badly engineered and suffer from (for example) premature engine or transmission failures.