as long as u take care of a vehicle with a decent engine, they can last 250,000 or more as long as the oil is changed regularly and u check for leaks. i have a '99 chevy c2500 with 174,000 on it and the only thing that has gone wrong in the last 50,000 is a power steering line leak and i had to get the radiator fixed. all together 250.00. thats better than another car payment.
What really helps is to take care of all the things everyone else neglects. If it has an automatic tranny, change the fluid. The timing belt is scheduled to be replaced too at something like 70,000 miles, and no one does it. Same with the coolant. Then all you have to worry about is replacing external bolt-ons as they wear out, like water pump, alternator, power steering pump, and so on.