My 18 year old truck is great.

And mine is fine.

But again, it is luck. Some cars seriously went downhill before they were 10 years old.

My car is reliable. I got lucky. I've replaced the brakes. And I was illustrating that I only need minimal reliability since it isn't my main form of transporation. I have public transport and live in a walkable place. I can (and do) dress for weather.

The rest of the comments aren't specific to 25 year old cars. I've had an array of used cars in an array of ages. Anything over 4-5 years starts to break due to wear and tear. Alternators and starters go out. Brakes have wear and tear. Things happen. You still likely have a car payment - and you are more likely to if you are poor. Being poor brings the bonus of opting for a car that's been driven more instead of less simply because of the price difference.

'Pretty reliable' isn't the same as the reliability of a newer car.