The ridiculous prices are why we are still driving a 2002 Toyota van and a 2012 Toyota Prius both with over 150k miles.
I did buy a car for my oldest daughter last year after graduating college and getting a job prior to finishing.
I’ll buy one for my other daughter in a year or so when she finishes.
Outside that I’ll drive what we have into the ground.
Our 2004 Toyota van has about 225,000 miles. We have had two transmission rebuilds, presumably due to all our towing over the years. We thought with some work on the front end and steering pump we'd be good for a bit longer, but sadly we might be bidding our trusty van farewell sooner than expected. The transmission starting acting up on our drive to close up our summer place and we limped in last night. It's at the shop for diagnosis and hubby is online starting to get quotes on the next tow vehicle. Sniff. Like you, we run our cars as long as possible and hubby does a lot of work himself with parts ordered online for added savings.