Depends on operating conditions. Any experience or data to back that up? Is “destroyed pretty quickly” 10K miles? 30K miles? When i say the vehicle will operate “OK”, i meant : “mediocre, but still operational”. I think we’re in agreement for the most part.
Anecdote 1: My daughter bought her ‘08 XC70 used and the air filter was not properly installed by previous owner, leaving a significant gap thru which unfiltered air was being pulled. This vehicle was clearly operated on New England dirt roads for part of its life and i would guess it was run that way for 20K miles at a minimum. Car runs fine (with well over 210K miles), no leaks, no oil consumption.
Anecdote 2: I bought an ‘89 Mustang GT with a bit over 100K miles that had a K&N installed by the previous owner. Impeccably cared for otherwise. One look at the “see thru” K&N, and i determined quickly that it had to go in the trash. Vehicle was operated in Chesapeake VA area, so a relatively clean area for operating a vehicle (no significant road salting/sanding)/clean roads. Fantastic power, so i doubt the compression was impacted, but the car drank oil pretty quick, probably past the valve seals.