Interesting. I'm far from poor, but that's pretty much exactly how I buy cars, and I have never regretted it. The couple of times that I bought more expensive cars, I've regretted it. The only time I'd take out a loan to buy a car is in an emergency situation. That's happened once, and is one of the purchases I regretted.

The car I currently drive is a 2007 economy model I purchased for $2,000 with ~150,000 miles on it. I've had it for almost 10 years now, and it remains solid and reliable. I am meticulous about regular maintenance, though.