Is it the miles on a car that determine if or not the car will last?

IWent car shopping/looking with my husband and saw a 2000 hyundai accent with only 65,235 miles (this is the car I want to purchase for daughter). But my husband wants to get a Ford Taurus which has 140,254 miles on it. He feels the newer the model, the less trouble the car will have because it's made better than older models. I say the less miles on a car the longer it ll last because there's less wear & tear on the car from driving.

Would do you think. A professional opinion/fact would also be appreciated.

If its a city car thats had alot of short trips I don't put much on mileage anymore a rusted exhaust is the give away. Country miles don't seam to hurt cars as much as lots of short trips and never warming up.

Miles do not kill cars. Bad maintenance does.

Hubby is wrong - it just does not work like that
WITH OLD CARS LIKE THOSE YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THE CAR AS AN INDUVIDUAL AND NOT GENERALISE

When you're shopping for a USED car, you have to consider the actual miles on the vehicle as well as the calendar year that it was manufactured. A car with 140k miles on the odometer is NOT a "newer" car than one with only 65k miles, BUT…

When you consider that the AVERAGE family automobile in the USA gets 10k-15k miles a year, I would seriously question WHY a 17-year-old car only has the mileage I would expect to see on a 6-year-old car. Leaving a car sit for long periods without use or care can be just as hard on it as driving it for twice as many miles.

In either case, get your own independent mechanic to inspect ANY used car BEFORE you agree to buy it. It may cost a bit for the inspection, but if you find serious problems, it will be well worth the extra expense.

You don't want a 17 year old Hyundai, period. In this case the Ford would be the better choice. Mileage is an indicator of how much use a vehicle has had, but it's only one piece of the puzzle. An independent inspection is your best guide on the future life expectancy of a used vehicle.

How long a car stays on the road is almost always determined by how much money the owner is willing to spend to keep it roadworthy, maintenance and repair-wise.

Most cars, even most you find in a scrapyard, don't have their service life ended by a sudden "the engine just exploded" sort of event… And even those whose engines did just grenade did so because a more minor issue was neglected (and oil or coolant leak, for example) until it ran out of a fluid that ended up ruining something more expensive. Most cars whose service life is ended were either crashed and not worth the cost of repair OR they developed some sort of major problem (or a bunch of more minor problems because problems weren't fixed as they developed…) that made the car cost more to fix than it would be worth after being fixed so it's cheaper to just scrap them than to fix them and continue driving them.

For your 2 choices, they'll probably provide an entirely different set of problems from one to the next. The newer but higher mileage Taurus will likely need more moving parts replaced sooner since ALL moving parts wear out with use and the car has more use on it. Parts like bearings, pulleys, the alternator, power steering pump, the transmission etc., all wear out with use. The lower mileage Hyundai will probably require more non-moving parts to be replaced because age (and not driving a car regularly) can deteriorate things like hoses, seals and gaskets. It might experience more fluid leaks than the Taurus but need fewer moving parts replaced over the same amount of time.

If you (your husband, you, and your daughter) are they type of people who get seals and gaskets repaired as they leak, the lower mileage car might be the better buy. If you are someone who tends to let those sorts of leaks go, you might end up running out of an important fluid, like oil, coolant or transmission fluid and end up ruining the car and that might make the higher mileage car (assuming it doesn't develop leaks, big IF) might be a better choice. One thing I'd definitely have closely inspected by a competent mechanic or transmission shop would be the Taurus's transmission prior to purchase if that Taurus is a 2007 or older model. Taurus transmissions of that age are the weak point in the car's design.

I wouldn't consider a Hyundai no matter what vintage

Age and mileage is not nearly as important as the actual mechanical condition of the car. Get a mechanic to inspect the cars and buy the one that is in the best condition with the fewest problems. Every used car is different.

Maintenance is the biggest determining factor in the longevity of a vehicle.