The biggest problem is 1) owning a car doesn't mean you know what necessary maintenance even needs done to begin with and 2) almost everybody working paycheck to paycheck means nobody has money or energy to fix shit NOW so small problems get left until theres nothing but big gaping problems you still can't afford to fix

My fucking car has been sitting in the driveway since March because my registration expired and to renew it I needed an inspection done but I can't get an inspection done because "something chewed through the harness" holding my O2 sensor onto my engine or whatever and since the mechanic I usually use said I "had to take it to a dealership because they have the tools needed" I basically was like "well that's never getting done since that sounds expensive"

I could maybe still pay my registration if they'd let me switch it to the new county i live in because they don't require an emissions inspection but like, I still don't have money. And the battery is dead and who knows what else is wrong with it after 6+ months sitting in the driveway

I think the problem is you need expensive scan tools to diagnose modern cars and even just do basic maintenance.

It's mostly a mileage thing. You can buy a car that old so long as it doesn't have a ton of miles on it. Also, yeah, enshittification hit cars probably before anything else