People cannot forgo having a car for the time it would take to save up the cash.
Once you have that beater, you can start saving for something nicer. Find a make and model with decent reliability history that has hail damage or minor collision damage. It’s not hard to do.
If you can’t scrape together $2k to buy that beater then you have no business owning a car, period.
The problem is that people can't save. It'd be prudent to buy the car for $2k and save the remaining $3k somewhere to cover repairs instead of the 5k down payment.
Also, to be fair, what used to be a $2k Toyota was probably more like $5+k lately.
If you get a piece of junk for $2k and then have to put $1k into it again periodically, during that whole period you have either a pretty lousy car, or a non-working car.
And, as noted by the GP, that will often mean you need to call out from work. Which, for many of the kind of people who would be doing this in the first place, means a) they absolutely don't get paid for that day (all hourly work, no/very little PTO), and b) they will probably get fired if it happens more than once or twice.
Also:
> The problem is that people can't save. It'd be prudent to buy the car for $2k and save the remaining $3k somewhere to cover repairs instead of the 5k down payment.
You.....really don't see the problem with this?
People can't save. Not just "people are bad at it", "people can't manage money", "people don't know what's good for them". People literally do not have enough money to both live, and save. It's nothing to do with "prudence".
I'd estimate about 75% of the US population would have access to an Uber when the car needs to go to the shop (and $650 would buy a few rides). I wouldn't buy a 15 y/o Fiat/Chrysler but a Toyota or Honda should be decent enough not to need repairs every month, maybe every 6?
And (another thing most people skip) that can help a lot is preventative maintenance and regular checkups that you can schedule at your own convenience that would catch a lot of problems proactively. And you'll have to bring in your leased car too lest you want to get dinged even more at the end.
A cheap car isn't just something you buy and forget, it needs some planning and care that i honestly think most people can't handle. Probably because they're so overworked as you said. But is paying be nearly $30k over 3 years really going to get you ahead, just so you to get you reliably to your job every day to pay for that car? Or is it worth the effort to plan and manage a shitty car for 3 years to save 15k?
You know you need this car for 10+ years, you want it to suit you and your family, so you get a 20k loan and get the one you that will be best now. Why waste your time and money with the beater? You would spend morein the long run than the cost of the interest on the loan (essentially the cost of purchasing now not later)
Debt is a calculated risk, with a clear cost, and plenty of people are fully capable of doing the math.
Anymore though, many engines just aren't end user serviceable. I'm running a 2007 that requires partially dropping the engine to change the spark plugs, forget replacing a head gasket or alternator.
Yeah don't buy that 70k Lexus, probably don't buy any new car, but that beater you describe is probably $2k for a reason, and the average buyer doesn't have the skill set to evaluate what that reason is, and could easily find themselves needing another $2k beater in a couple years.
Best to go upmarket a bit and get a somewhat more expensive used car, and have it inspected by a mechanic (preferably one you know and trust) before buying. Don't trust the dealer inspection!
I have yet to see a vehicle that isn’t serviceable by an end-user. Sure some require more skill but the average Civic or Corolla isn’t hard to work on at all. If your intention is to work on your own vehicle don’t buy something more complex than your skills will allow.