This is exactly what I thought. Of course one can purchase a beater car for a small amount of money, but the cheapest car I ever bought was $3000 and I recall spending $500-1000 a year on 1-2 breakdowns a year. The inconvenience of the breakdowns was actually worse for me than the cost of repairs, as (at that time and living in that place) I couldn't get to work when the car was broken down, so I lost income in addition to losing cash for maintenance.