> Is it possible that living in a city with functioning public transport has sheltered me to the point of naivety?

Yeah, I think so. Financing is pretty much standard in America when you make the decision to buy a new vehicle (and many times, when buying a used vehicle).

The median amount American citizens have in savings is just over $5k:

https://smartasset.com/checking-account/savings-account-aver...

Not awesome.