My first car was 12 years old. It was a specific car make by GM. It was an absolute disaster. The people who sold it to me clearly patched it together long enough to get it sold. It started overheating just a week after I got it, and within a few months the radiator needed to be replaced. It continued to overheat and I had to carry a jug of water in the backseat. Never could find any issues that caused it (until it finally gave up the ghost - its water pump ruptured, and it probably was the culprit the whole time, some small leak that went unseen.) The AC stopped working, and then the windows stopped rolling down. Horrible.
In contrast, my current car, a Toyota, is 16 years old. And she's in great shape. Everything still works perfectly. Haven't had to fix a single thing on her (knock on wood).