There is a direct cost to avoid anxiety. It is the price of buying peace of mind. The higher the anxiety the easier it is to justify paying for peace of mind.

Consider this:

A new car is under warranty. You get free services for a while. Any mechanical issues are quickly fixed for free. There is a high level of peace of mind driving a new car. But it comes with car payments. 60 of them.

An odler car is probably paid-off car. No car payments. But old cars start to have mechanical problems. There is the anxiety of reliability.

The price of avoiding anxiety is the cost of a new car payment. The repair to an old car is a one-time expense. The price of not having that anxiety is a recurring payment schedule of 60 months.

To live with an older car, you must find trust and data. The more you trust your mechanic, the less anxiety you feel. Also, the more you know about your car, the less anxiety you feel.

This is the antidote to any anxiety producing idea.
Trust and data.

P.S.
I am writing this because the alternator in my car went bad. I was stranded briefly. Before I knew what was wrong, I thought it was time to get a new car. My car is ten years old and pushing 150,000 miles. Turns out that a new alternator is all it needs to function as good as new.
I also purchased a device that tells me how my car functions. I am excited to use it for the data it provides.