“They also probably bought new cars every few years.”
Yep.....For us, my wife drives a Saturn Vue she inherited from her folks and I drive a 2006 Cadillac SRX that I bought used in 2008. It still runs good and looks great.
We also take care of our stuff so it lasts a good long time.
Most of my real estate clients were about my age until their kids grew up and I started selling them houses. Those clients bought bigger houses than I live in and drove newer cars.
Then I retired at 60 and they couldn’t figure out how I could do it. My extra money went into mostly raw land, it typically appreciates faster than developed land.