I kept a $700 car going for 3 years and nearly 200,000 miles on less than $1500 worth of maintenance and repairs. I see people take on a $40k+ debt all the time because they need something "reliable," ignoring that their down payment would have bought two solid used cars, giving them a spare in case something does go wrong.

As for big box bikes, IMO, part of the problem is that the stores that carry them don't carry most of the things needed to maintain them. Wally World will happily sell you a Kent Road Tech 700C that they don't sell the tires for. Good luck finding a cone wrench, crank remover or BB tool outside of a good bike shop. I had to raise a stink with a manager at WM to get them to go back to carrying a cheap chain breaker by pointing out that the Bell chains they carry say right on the package "chain tool needed." (Snapped the pin off my favorite chain tool trying to fix a broken chain a mile from WM during a commute. Ended up borrowing a hammer and nail from a construction worker in their parking lot to shorten the new chain.) Especially if someone is dependent on the bike, $150 to just replace it and not miss 2-3 days of work waiting for parts to be shipped in is a good deal, especially if the parts are going to be $50 or more.