I have a long history of "driving to the moon" cars with over 239K miles. I've done an American Motors Rambler, VW Bus, Geo Prizm, and have a Cube with 158K miles. Oil changes, car washes to keep salt buildup down, stay on top of issues, and get great results. I look at the repair as how many car payments? Biggest gamble was a rebuilt transmission, 7 car payments, but I got another 18 months.