I bought two $50 cars in my youth.
First one was a 1968 VW Beetle. It was a little beat up but not bad. It ran fine (although it had that VW semiautomatic transmission). I did some bodywork and had a neighbor spray the paint. Then I got seat covers and a few other things from the mighty JC Whitney catalog. It looked pretty good and I sold it for a bit of profit.
The first car I put on the road was a 1975 Saab 99. Good for a few years until the transmission shaft broke. So I drove around the back roads and spotted another 99 in someone’s yard. I got that for $50 as well. It wouldn’t go into reverse, but I just needed to solder an end on the cable that let you put it in reverse. I drove that car for several years. Then I did a dumb thing. I did bodywork and then painted it. Soon after that 2nd gear went out. Not a big problem for a cheap kid. Then 3rd gear went out. Well, the jump from first to fourth was too much so it was done. If you know how the old Saab transmissions were below the engine, you would understand why I didn’t fix either Saab.