My Dad bought for me both of the used cars I owned, paid in cash.
A good used car can be affordable if you know where to look and can pay it off it in full before you roll out of the dealer’s lot with it.
Subprime car loans are financial robbery.
I had a couple of years between high school and college, working different jobs. I bought a six year-old Japanese car that had around 50k miles on it. I paid $1,500 for it - cash. That was in the 1980s. I kept that car about 10 years, when I sold it, it had about 210k miles on it and it still ran okay and it looked okay - not a rust bucket. I got a lot of use out of that car without spending much. Yes, it was a “practical” car and not a fancy sports car or whatever.