One thing that might impact my experience is MA has always have very strict vehicle safety inspections and emissions.
The type of car you describe
@debianlinux would never have been street legal in MA. Owning a 10 year I pretty much failed the safety inspection every year and had to drop about $3,000 in repairs to get it pass inspection. The first car I owned failed for ball joints, emergency brake not holding at 3,000 RPM, suspension, several other things as well. The last straw when I bought a new vehicle for the first time was when my 2004 Ford Explorer failed for a rusty frame. Having a car payment would be less per year than all the repairs have been and would be to keep my Ford Explorer on the road.
Also, when I got the repairs done, the mechanic sometimes just shook his head saying there is nothing wrong with the suspension. Yes it has a little wear and tear but it would be safe for at least anther 50k to 75k miles before needing to be replaced.
I know someone who owns a Delorean. You know, the exact car from Back To The Future. When he lived in MA they would fair the car's inspection each year for the suspension. Even with a brand new suspension meant for the car. The state said it had to much "play in it". He had to go to a shop where he knew they would turn a blind eye and mark it as passed. Now that's impossible. The state video monitors all inspection centers to make sure things like that don't happen. Car inspections is the only thing he doesn't miss about Massachusetts since moving to a different state 5 years ago.
It's very expensive to keep older cars on the road here and most of the older used cars end up being sold for the Cash For Clunkers deals.
Also, get this. I just got my 2019 Honda HRV with 4632 miles on it inspected yesterday and failed the emissions test. They are telling me it's because I have not been driving it enough. Take it on a coupy 50+ mile drives and then take it back in to be inspected again.
Under MA state law I have 1 week to get it to pass an inspection. If I continue to drive it around longer than a week I can be fined, and the police can tow my car on sight if pulled over for not being street legal.