Bought 7 years old 120 Prado 3.4 TZ in 2010 with 72,000 km on odo. Drove for 5 years roughly on multiple off-road tracks including Deosai track, the track was so rough that it cracked brand new tire. In those 5 years, the only thing I replaced was air suspension balloons which costed 30,000 Rs. Sold it in 2015 as 12 years old SUV without a single problem.
On the other hand I bought brand new Audi A4 after booking in 2009 and its fuel pump failed after a year which costed me 50,000 Rs. to replace as Audi refused to honor warranty with reason "poor local fuel quality". I only used high-octane from PSO and Total.
So, the conclusion is buying a new car does not guarantee that you will be saved from maintenance. Though, I agree that finding a clean used car with proper maintenance is a very difficult task.
That said, I personally don't prefer buying over 10 year old cars as the materials start to degrade with age regardless of build quality.
