In my experience non stainless steel's life is directly related to the amount of heat generated by the length of time the engine is running and generating heat. My neighbour and I bought new Accord's at the same time. He drove approx. 4 miles to work five days a week. My trips were usually 50 miles or longer and maybe a 6 mile trip once a week. After three years and 65000 miles the exhaust system on my car was still OK, whereas my neighbour had to change his after 10000 miles.