In your opinion what are the best longevity things to do

I don't think there is any car that is rustproof unless all components are made of carbon fiber. As long as they use metal in any component of the car, then they are all rust prone.

That is one of the reasons I find spending a large sum of money on a car is a bad investment if one intends to keep a car for a long time. Whether it is a $100K car or a $20K car, its value will be $0 when they rust away in 10+ years.

 

Carbon Fiber...for the win.

 

Already some great advice. To sum it up, folks who pay attention to their cars (which includes keeping maintenance records) probably get the longest life out of them. Listen and learn the normal noises she makes when she's new so you'll quickly id when something doesn't sound right later on.
In my opinion, the two main killers of Toyota's are rust and car accidents. Some neglect them (like only doing 10,000-15,000 oil changes) yet they seem to be able to handle some neglect (at least for a while). Same thing with transmission...they can go a while unserviced but, in the end, it'll bite you in the butt. When Toyota engines hit around 100,000 miles, that's when issues with the wrong oil change intervals (or using sub-standard oil) seem to pop-up.
But by paying attention and learning, you're on the right track!

 

Aside from covid prices, wouldn't paying $20K every 10 years (or 15 or more if you take good care of it) and selling at $0 be cheaper than $20K every 3 years and selling the car at half the price?

 

Yes, that is absolutely true. The problem is selling it at half the price you paid for. Purchasing a car and selling it in 3 years only works if I can sell it for a profit 3 years down the road. Selling a 3-year-old car for half of the price you paid is totally wasteful. If that's all I can get for the car, then yes, I will keep it longer. Or if there is no prospect of selling a car for profit or at least breaking even, then leasing is a better option. I have leased vehicles many times in the past. It works great. In most cases, I can lease a car otherwise too expensive to purchase. I don't have to worry about paying a repair bill. I know exactly what monthly budget to allocate for the car cost. I can drive a new car every 3 years. And since it is a rental car, I don't have to take great care of it. Just have to be able to return it without excess miles or obvious damages.

Fortunately, in my case, $28-$34K (MSRP) PPs all sold for profit. Our current 22 Escape PHEV, I plan to sell it in 3 years for profit. May be not as much of profit as the PP, but should not be a problem. I have gotten 3 years depreciation of the car already discounted when I bought it.

 

If I could figure out how to make a profit off of a car kept and used for a few years and I were sure enough I could trust it I would do it. But my life's experience tells me any car I buy will only depreciate.

Seeing how I've averaged 20,000 miles per year over the last 5 years I also don't think leasing would work for me.

However, my 10 year old Avalon doesn't have any signs of needing to be replaced. In another 5 years it will have over 250,000 miles at the rate I am driving, and with no apparent rust and me religiously changing oil and fluids and such, hopefully it'll last even more than that.

The only thing that crosses my mind is whether it would make sense to sell my Avalon now that it is still worth something. Because of Covid, this Avalon that cost me some $15,000 originally (used) is still worth around $10,000 some 5 years and 100,000 miles later, at least according to Kelly Blue Book. That calculates to less than $100 per month of depreciation. Selling it now could help get me into a more expensive vehicle, like that minivan I've always wanted. Decisions, decisions...

 

Yes, that is also true, except for very rare vintage cars or something like that. The car's value will always depreciate with time. But for a new car, the depreciation is always based on the MSRP, not on the total price you pay for it. So, if you buy a new car with discounts, incentives, rebates, and tax credits, then it is absolutely possible to make a profit by selling a new car purchased 3 years ago. A used car is more complicated to pinpoint the market value, but it is usually easier than new cars to find a bargain on a used vehicle. So, if you can buy a used car below market value, again it is possible to sell it for profit. In a way, isn't that how the used car dealers make tons of profits? Not saying it is easy to make profit by selling used cars or there is a sure way to do this, but it is possible.

Yep, with your mileage, you are out of luck on great leasing deals.

The only problem is that a more expensive car is going to cost you more. With the miles you drive, you are getting money's worth from the $15,000 (used) Avalon. And if you continue to take care of the car and you don't end up with a large repair bill, then you did very well.

I sold our 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid originally purchased at $18K 4 years ago (5 years old used car). It was a replacement for our 2005 Sienna that had to be decommissioned early due to a rust problem. We wanted another minivan at the time, but I didn't want another Sienna with 19mpg. The only hybrid minivan that existed back then was Pacifica Plug-In, but it was way too expensive. No used Pacifica Plug-In was yet available. Anyways, Pathfinder was a great car for long trips with plenty of cargo room and a very comfortable ride. And it served our occasional hauling needs and rare backcountry off-roading. But with COVID and life changes, we just aren't driving as we use to. We put only 22Kmiles during our 42 mo ownership. In fact, less than 3K miles in the last 12 months. And it did not make much better mpg than the Sienna. Knowing that rust started to eat up the vehicle, I knew the operation cost of this vehicle is only going up even though it is hardly being driven. So, we got rid of it along with my 21 PP and downsized to a single compact SUV, Escape PHEV. So far, it is serving our needs. Not as roomy and as powerful as Pathfinder. Not as efficient and as trouble-free as PP. But from two cars to one car always saves money. The only thing is that my work now cleared all COVID restrictions. There is a good chance I may have to go back to my daily commuting routine. If that happens, then we will need another car.

 

This reminded me that we once had a poster who was flipping Toyotas. He'd buy new, drive for around a year, then sell. IIRC, he was actually exporting them up to Canada. Was around the time the FJ Cruiser came out.