Japanese cars can be amazingly reliable. My wife drives a 2003 Toyota Celica (a sporty Corolla) and I drive a 2003 Audi A4. They both have about the same miles, around 150k. The A4 has had thousands and thousands of dollars worth things fail the years. There is a lot of extra Audi tech stuff to break of course, but even common things like oil seals and water pumps and wheel bearings just seem to require more frequent maintenance than our Japanese cars.

The Toyota, since new, has needed 2 sets of tires and 1 set of brake pads, both normal wear-out items. The air conditioner relay has failed twice, at a cost of ~$15 to replace. The newer part number has a higher amp capacity and seems to be holding up fine since then. The driver side door lock actuator failed once.

It almost gets it's preventative maintenance missed, because nothing ever breaks to jog your mind that the car needs to be maintained.