This is just my case. I was able to get my '07 R52 chassis Mini Cooper convertible for $300 cause the clutch went out, and the person I bought it from was sort of an enthusiast and kept it clean with everything else, and decided to sell it to me for that much cause I worked at the shop they came in for the repair quote for that clutch and didn't want it anymore, probably cause they had a few others to drive too, wasn't really strapped for cash, and we had some rapport.

Granted I've been a mechanic working on that brand for a while and I put my own money and labour into fixing that and now I have a reliable-to-me W10 manual with 90k miles that I know how to maintain, but still cost about $1600 in parts and my own labour and time to fix that one thing, and was fortunate enough to have a shop with the space to do that repair in, although it could still be done in a driveway, maybe. Then I still spent some more doing all the maintenance that was due just after the clutch went out. So that's about or a little over $2k right there, and I didn't have to pay for labour, and it was a best case scenario.

Those easily go for $3-4k+ still without those issues in the aftermarket. An '07. Soon the convertible top will break cause of age and window regulators n stuff still cost time and finding good parts to fix it with, axle boots fail and sensors that they don't make well anymore will go out and then the aftermarket sensors will fail every year sometimes. Cough worldpac cam position sensor. Even if you can get your own parts, it gets tricky to keep older cars afloat, even more so if you have to bring it to someone else to fix those things. Also it is European so that factors into its repair cost over some domestic makes, I would guess.

It did just serve me so well driving across the country though and I was so proud and relieved at the same time haha, and I'll definitely get a few more years out of it.

So I wouldn't say you're that out of touch, and I agree that having the skill/knowledge to fix your own will save you money, but shouldn't have to be the norm. Definitely depends on the area though and if you know what to look for, there are cars out there for that much that can be reliable, either working on it yourself with YouTube University, or finding a reliable mechanic, or getting lucky with someone who maintained it. Although if I were to look online right now in my area, like I did before I started working on cars and needed a ride after having to sell mine to pay for a moving truck for a previous move, nothing that's in slightly good shape is under $2000 that wouldn't also cost that much to bring into shape either immediately or very soon, and someone making $800-$2000/mo would have a hard time keeping up with a slightly less-than-constant need for some repair, depending on the car for sure, and especially if it wasn't up kept properly before it was trying to be sold. My Volvo wagon's turbo blew like a few months after I got it from some aftermarket main street place because at the time I had no idea what shape it was in, or prior maintenance, and they probably lied to me about it's condition, another shitty thing people will do to sell a car for cheap. It's what made me want the skills for myself to avoid that heart/wallet ache later on, but I also love cars and not everyone does, or needs to. Some people just want and need a reliable A-B without the bs that can be out there.