Welcome aboard Jeff8820!
What part of NC are you in? I am a bit west of Charlotte.
I moved here from WI five years ago. One of the main reasons that I loaded up my family and moved them 1,000 miles across the U.S. was because of what the road salt does to vehicles. It was maddening. I had a 97 Escort that I am convinced would go a million miles. I drove it for 16 years and did nothing to it. It ran and drove like the day that I bought it, but the floor, frame and body just rotted away.
As for Toyota, I am slowly transitioning to them. My grandparents had Fords, my parents had Fords, my in-laws even had Fords. It was all that I ever knew. As I worked in the industry more and studied more, I began to grow weary of their lower quality, compared to Toyota, Honda, etc.
We needed a car for our daughter to take to college. A friend is a regional sales guy. He and his wife do pretty well for themselves. They were very kind to my daughter with the price on a 13 Corolla, with 195k miles. He bought it new and literally did nothing to it other than Valvoline quick lube oil changes. I have changed spark plugs, front brakes, air and pollen filter, coolant, alternator and serpentine belt. I want to do the trans fluid next. It does burn a touch of oil, maybe a quart or quart and a half in 5k miles. Purrs like a kitten and drives great though.