The problem is getting worse. It used to be hard to get 5 year loans for new cars. 8 year loans are pretty common. With the vehicle failing to reach the loan's end of life these new loans roll in the old loan's deficiency until someone defaults.
Well if you do no maintenance whatsoever you can destroy any car in 8 years. With maintenance even a BMW will last 20 years though you may be better off getting something more rugged, like a Toyota.
I'm not sure how common it is. Thing is that the market for used cars is fundamentally messed up [0]. That 8 year loan on most new buggies will be underwater for all but the last year or so of its 96 month life.
Short answer: yes it is common for a building not to last long periods of time (unless properly maintained). I recall a civil engineer telling me once that most “tract” homes only are designed for a 35 year useful life. While I can’t find a reference for that, I did find this Quora article from a structural engineer:
Answer to What is the design life span of a building? by Vishnu Vijayakumar https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-design-life-span-of-a-buil...
Note: while he quotes 60-80 years, the concrete is still in that 30-40 year timespan.
I think you would be very lucky to get a few decades without the need for any major repairs or upgrades. It too know people who live in houses that have some features that are centuries old, but none of them are living in the exact house that was constructed centuries ago.
The distinction is meaningful as the comments earlier in the thread are talking about how long a new car will last before it needs work (beyond your basic oil changes, etc.). If you are willing to put money into major repairs and upgrades, there is no real reason why a vehicle cannot last centuries as well, as classic car enthusiasts can attest.
A still relevant earlier discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14476381