Gas cars don't need a lot of maintenance. The oil is $40 every few months. Everything else is 100,000 miles if you even bother, or is the same with electric. Cars have improved a lot.
Note that there are a lot of myths drving up costs for no reason. A 3000 mile oil change isn't a treat for your engine. In some tests the least engine wear was 8000 miles on the oil. Changing the oil early lets a bit of dust in so is not a good thing if the oil is good. (Synthetic oil is a treat, but the car will be fine without)
That’s really only true for new cars. As an ICE car ages, the standard deviation for maintenance costs starts to go up quite quickly. Some cars will only need oil and gasoline until they fail, but some will suffer extremely expensive failures.
Get a used toyota corolla. It'll last for hundreds of thousands of miles with minimal issues if you maintain it (oil change, brakes, etc.) At the cost you'll pay, even if it does break down, it'll still be far, far less than the cheapest electric vehicles.
My car is currently 8 years and 150k miles with no issues. There was some leaks to fix, but nothing significant, only $300 for the entire work. I have a truck that is now 22 years old and also 150k miles, but it is a diesel and so you will probably say it doesn't count. My last car (sold only because my job let me take the bus) was at 260k miles and no issues (though I did change the timing belt on schedule).
Modern cars will generally last at least 300k miles today with few problems. When the finally die it is because the body is shot - something that has nothing to do with the power train. (I live in an area where winter means a lot of salt on the roads, my friends in warmer areas report cars lasting even longer).
Of course I probably shouldn't say this. People like you who trade in their almost new cars all the time because they are afraid they are a money pit keep people like me in nice cars for not much money.
> Modern cars will generally last at least 300k miles today with few problems.
That's not been my experience. I was a Honda loyalist and my first 4 cars were all Hondas and the reliability steadily decreased over the years. My first car, an 88, only ever needed regular maintenance and an alternator at 250k miles. My last Honda, an 07, was costing $2500 a year in maintenance when I got rid of it with 127k miles in 2015.
The three most reliable automobile manufacturers according to Consumer Reports Reliability Indexes, by a large margin, are Toyota, Honda, and Subaru.
A more fair comparison would be a higher end Camry, Avalon, or L Series Lexus.
The Corolla is a very simple car in every respect and inexpensive. Reliability goes down when systems get more complicated and expensive. That's why the Acura and Lexus equivalents of there Honda and Toyota counterparts are much less reliable.
Lexus was the most reliable automaker according to consumer reports for awhile. Mazda I think recently dethroned them but they are I think still above regular Toyota. Not sure what your source on this claim about Lexus being less reliable than Toyota...
My source is Consumer Reports. CR lists Lexus as a brand of the Toyota Motor Company, and yes Toyota is the most reliable automaker. But if you look at Brands, Toyota, Honda, and Subaru beat Lexus.
Mazda was never in the running. Mitsubishi has better ratings than them.
Note that there are a lot of myths drving up costs for no reason. A 3000 mile oil change isn't a treat for your engine. In some tests the least engine wear was 8000 miles on the oil. Changing the oil early lets a bit of dust in so is not a good thing if the oil is good. (Synthetic oil is a treat, but the car will be fine without)