I would expect a car like the Golf to do easily more than 120,000 miles. Or are cars so much more badly built than they were in the 90's and 00's?
I’d not describe a few leaky oil seals as a car at the end of its life.
Engine oil seals can and always have had a chance of failing at any point. Some cars never develop (significant) oil leaks and others do. Very thin modern oils will creep through anywhere there’s a slight weakness developed. And DCC dampers are overly complicated and prone to leaks.
By 120k I’d expect dampers to be well past their optimum operating and springs will have had to deal with potholes, speed humps and road salt so are well worth replacing before one eventually fails if the dampers have to come off anyway. Same for top mounts and if you’re replacing suspension hardware on a sports hatch then doing the geometry it makes sense to replace bushes too to restore tautness. I’d have done (and indeed have done!) the same on a 1990’s or noughties car as much as a more complex modern car.
The biggest weakness of modern cars are the expensive to replace and in some cases legally required electronics. Manufacturing tolerances have vastly improved over the years, so engines and turbos can go on for big mileages, but there’s no doubt there have been a cheapening of other components over the years, things like plastic sumps and inlet manifolds on some cars as an example.
You could get away with replacing much less if you’re Mr Average but if you’re Mr Jollygood you want your car tip top not just “should get you through until the next MOT mate”.
Preventative maintenance is something car enthusiasts will pay attention to where affordable whereas your average drive won’t give a damn so long as the MOT tester is satisfied. Shame the NHS don’t work in the same way as it would save them a heap of money in the long run too.
