I am sure it is a lovely car, but I have never seen a daily driver that was
15 years old that doesn't qualify as a beater unless you have gone to
remarkable lengths to keep it cherry. In my apartment complex my six closet
current neighbors all have Japanese cars - 2 Honda, 3 Toyotas and a Mazda.
The newest one is 6 years old, the oldest 12. They all look like crap -
faded paint, faded interiors. Two smoke when on startup (1 Mazda, 1 Toyota),
and one won't even start-up at the moment (the owner can't afford the
repairs on his 10 year old Camry). One leaks oil all over the parking lot (a
Civic). None looks as good as my 14 year old F150 did 2 years ago (sold it
back then).  So whenever somebody tells me how great Japanese cars last, I
just scratch my head. Almost any car can last 20+ years, if you can stand it
that long. Except for an old farm truck (a Dodge D600), the F150 was the was
the vehicle I kept for the longest period of time (14 years). At the end it
looked ok, although the paint was faded (and it led a far harsher life than
most vehicles since it was a farm truck). I have put more miles on other
vehicles (150k is my maximum) but I've never had a vehicle more than 10
years old that I really wanted. Things wear out (bushings, gaskets, door
seals, brake seals), paint fades, interior plastic fades and becomes
brittle, seat cushions take a set, etc., etc. Usually I go 5 years or 150k
miles, whichever comes first. I suspect this is not the "cheapest" way to
provide myself with transportation, but then if I wanted cheap, I'd still be
driving a 1978 Fiesta.

Ed