$2000 is a prohibitively expensive amount for a nontrivial number of people. Not to mention that doesn’t take into account price of gas, parking, maintenance (for which a $2000 car will most likely need more of than a brand new car), registration, insurance...
More than 10% of Americans live below the federal poverty line (individual income of <$12k, family of 4 income less than <$26k)
What exactly are you arguing against here? So a $2k car is not affordable by the 10% of the population below the federal poverty line... therefore it's an upper middle-class luxury?
You're arguing a car isn't a class line in the United States, and you've completely forgotten the ~8 of adult Americans who don't have a car at all for transportation.
> You're arguing a car isn't a class line in the United States, and you've completely forgotten the ~8 of adult Americans who don't have a car at all for transportation. Maybe it's a class thing.
Or maybe it isn't. No, I haven't "forgotten" them. When some 90% of American households have access to a car, that's a pretty darn clear signal cars aren't a class luxury. It just means those in the lowest economic classes can't afford them, just like they have trouble affording so many other things.
You do realize for comparison some 36 million people are on food stamps? Meaning they need assistance to even put food on the table? That doesn't make food a "class thing" in any meaningful way. And neither is a car. Especially not an "upper middle-class luxury".
That works great if you have solid mechanic skills and you get the type of car that can be easily worked on. Otherwise, it's kind of a sketchy dice-roll, which is why certified pre-owned cars are a thing.
The problem is often not the purchase price but the ongoing maintenance, insurance and parking fees. In a big city, the problem isn't to buy the car but to find a place for it; even if parking near your home is solved the car is still very much a burden when you go in the city centre as you now need to figure out where to park it.
Oh fun, my friend literally bought a $1500 car yesterday and it lasted 100 miles down the road before I had to rescue him. So I guess you're right, cars are cheap and I'm wrong.
