I bought an '02 Chevy Cavalier new in early '03. Changed brakes and tires, but no other major work until April '16. By then the rust on the rear fenders was getting pretty bad, and it needed brakes again.

Picked up an '05 Ford Taurus with a salvage title. It had been in an accident and repaired. I went really cheap because I knew that ... November '16 I needed a car for the oldest daughter. Got her an '04 Dodge Neon that had been really well maintained.

Daughter went to college end of August last year and I sold the Ford, which still ran fine but the floorboards had rusted out.

I've been driving the Dodge, which is starting to show rust on the fenders.

tl;dr
I went from strategy a straight to a hard c.

This spring when we sell the house I'll be going strategy b for either a Honda Fit or a Ford Transit Connect.