Yes, it is worse. Because if you get a new or newish used car and have to pay $650/month, each month you still have a decently working car.
If you get a piece of junk for $2k and then have to put $1k into it again periodically, during that whole period you have either a pretty lousy car, or a non-working car.
And, as noted by the GP, that will often mean you need to call out from work. Which, for many of the kind of people who would be doing this in the first place, means a) they absolutely don't get paid for that day (all hourly work, no/very little PTO), and b) they will probably get fired if it happens more than once or twice.
Also:
> The problem is that people can't save. It'd be prudent to buy the car for $2k and save the remaining $3k somewhere to cover repairs instead of the 5k down payment.
You.....really don't see the problem with this?
People can't save. Not just "people are bad at it", "people can't manage money", "people don't know what's good for them". People literally do not have enough money to both live, and save. It's nothing to do with "prudence".
I'd estimate about 75% of the US population would have access to an Uber when the car needs to go to the shop (and $650 would buy a few rides). I wouldn't buy a 15 y/o Fiat/Chrysler but a Toyota or Honda should be decent enough not to need repairs every month, maybe every 6?
And (another thing most people skip) that can help a lot is preventative maintenance and regular checkups that you can schedule at your own convenience that would catch a lot of problems proactively. And you'll have to bring in your leased car too lest you want to get dinged even more at the end.
A cheap car isn't just something you buy and forget, it needs some planning and care that i honestly think most people can't handle. Probably because they're so overworked as you said. But is paying be nearly $30k over 3 years really going to get you ahead, just so you to get you reliably to your job every day to pay for that car? Or is it worth the effort to plan and manage a shitty car for 3 years to save 15k?
If you get a piece of junk for $2k and then have to put $1k into it again periodically, during that whole period you have either a pretty lousy car, or a non-working car.
And, as noted by the GP, that will often mean you need to call out from work. Which, for many of the kind of people who would be doing this in the first place, means a) they absolutely don't get paid for that day (all hourly work, no/very little PTO), and b) they will probably get fired if it happens more than once or twice.
Also:
> The problem is that people can't save. It'd be prudent to buy the car for $2k and save the remaining $3k somewhere to cover repairs instead of the 5k down payment.
You.....really don't see the problem with this?
People can't save. Not just "people are bad at it", "people can't manage money", "people don't know what's good for them". People literally do not have enough money to both live, and save. It's nothing to do with "prudence".