I have always been careful to pick a car that is well made and appealing to the eye. My 1982 Datsun 280ZX was a great example. I kept it for 9 years and 120,000 miles before its untimely demise in a freak accident. It still looked and ran like new up till the last day. After that, was a Mazda 1991 RX7 that I kept for 8 years, and then an Acura Integra for 6 years. The only reason I didn't keep the Integra longer was because I fell in love with a certain Chrysler that just screamed to be parked in my garage.

Over the years I learned two things:
1- Each year that passes with the same car amounts to thousands of dollars in savings over buying/leasing a new car.
1- The key is you have to LOVE the car you bought. The more you LOVE it, the better you'll treat it, and the longer you'll keep it.

I'd probably still have that 280ZX were it not for the accident.