A car that is worth less than $5,000 is unlikely to be a reliable vehicle. For elderly, disabled, or working poor people, a car is often their only way to look for a job, get to work, or get to the doctor.

is this actually true in the US? Most folks I know own cars valued around €1000-€3000 ish (okay, that *is* a bunch of students, so not representative at all!) at most, and hardly anything ever breaks down.
Seems your market for reliable second hand cars sucks, compared to ours?

$2000 in savings is ridiculous though. Heck, even if you have proper insurance (and in the US, have fun, with healthcare etc.) one incident can wipe that out several times over.