A car might be necessity, but spending more than say $15-20k max on a (second hand) car is a discretionary expenses for the vast majority of people doing so.

10 grand it seems? That's pretty rough, especially with that mileage

10 grand feels steep, but for a solid car that'll easily last another ten years with minimal maintenance, good fuel economy, I don't know that you can do much better these days, and it doesn't feel unreasonable.

It's pretty unreasonable as a class of "starter car" though

I can't imagine many teens working a min wage job for a summer and having a car afterwards if they cost like this

I had to get my own job and save to buy my own first car. It was 2k

If it had been 10k it would have taken forever to afford on part time minimum wage

My parents definitely did not have a spare 10k laying around to buy me a car. And if a family has more than one child, then what?

Cash For Clunkers took a ton of used vehicles off the market

Stricter environmental standards have also taken otherwise working cars off the market, by preventing used dealerships from selling them in general, and making it more difficult/more expensive to insure them

The days of buying a used car for 2 grand are long gone

Before C4C garbage cars that ran but probably needed something were "I want it gone, $500". After C4C the same vehicles sold at the C4C price and the price point has more or less stuck. It completely turned the beater car market upside down.

So everyone has to have a car. So your social mobility is limited by the fact that you need to have the money for the expenses that go with it in the first place.

3-4 cities with decent to good transit are the exception, but the fact that they're so desirable and with such high housing prices means that they aren't really accessible either.