Still driving my bought and paid for 2011 Ford. It’s borderline unrepairable on some stuff but FORSCAN gives capabilities to access most ECUs so barring any major failure I should drive it until it rusts out.
But unfortunately you’re right. It’s probably the single biggest thing keeping me from pulling the trigger on a Tesla.
I live outside the rust belt and my 2012 Civic has been paid for the last 5 years and trouble free. No repairs outside of wearing parts like shocks, brakes and a serpentine belt which was replaced even though the techs told me it didn't need it. I was just worried that 140k miles was enough service out of it. My ongoing service has been 5k oil and filter changes plus tire rotation. I've never missed that service. Take care of a quality car and it will last outside of the rust area of the US. I fully expect to keep this car until it starts to have electrical issues, if it ever does. In my experience once a car starts down that road it's time to move on.
140K miles on that Civic is just breaking it in, for sure. My wife's 1995 Civic has over 330K on it, and my daily driver 2007 Civic is nearing 200K. They both burn very little oil and neither has lost appreciable fuel economy. We do try to take good care of them, from a maintenance perspective. (I'm in Ohio, and the road salt is taking its toll, however.)
Keep your car if it works for you. Financially that's the sensible choice regardless of technology. But you should expect to have less maintenance work if/when you switch to an EV.
But unfortunately you’re right. It’s probably the single biggest thing keeping me from pulling the trigger on a Tesla.