Polar, at least you were out enjoying your car. I admire you for that! Pads, rotors, tyres - they're all disposable items that are designed to wear out but that doesn't wear out the car itself. Lugging it around in too tall a gear, poor maintenance and being out of tune with the nuances with your car which means you don't notice when something's not quite right - those are the things that shorten the life of a car.