I've had rims wear out - only one pair though -Mavic MA40's and they did 1000's of miles - well over 10k miles easily - daily use road bike. Spotted the cracks on the rear brake surface, and replaced the wheels at that point.
Still have the wheels in my garage's loft space !!! I don't know why I kept them, but one old rear cone kept my MTB wheels running for another 6 months until replaced recently.
Big point about wear etc - clean the rims and pads - that's why folk have worn them out very quickly - all the grit and rubbish. Just wash them off after a wet ride, that's it !