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.

Car consumes 3/4 Quart of Oil for first 1000 miles and basically stays at a 1/4 for another 4000 miles?

I have been noticing this for sometime, no visible leaks underneath, no drips either and I have been looking and checking pretty routinely, what would cause after a oil change for the car to consume 3/4 of a quart for the first 1000 miles and then basically stay at a 1.4 for another 4000 miles? Vehicle is 2006 Ford Taurus SE OHV 3.0

Added (1). note. When I say a quarter. I'm talking about the 1/4 line (amount) on the dipstick from full to re-fill

Why does my 2007 Ford Taurus overheat when AC is turned on?

Recently bought a 2007 Ford Taurus from my parents and while my husband was driving to where we live (4 states away) he had to pull over multiple times because the temperature gauge said the engine was too hot. My dad topped off the coolant before my husband picked up the car. When my husband looked under the hood, the coolant was low, so he refilled it and kept going after the engine cooled down. Same thing happened, he again refilled coolant, but this time turned off the AC. No problems, no leaks. When I drove the car to work today, AC was off and I had no problems. What could be causing this issue?