that's partly because in Europe your insurance is through the roof so people throw away perfectly fine cars since they don't want to pay $6K/yr for a civic
Pretty much everything in Europe is more expensive when it comes to driving. Tax, fuel, insurance are all higher than the American equivalent. In Ireland insurance for young males is ludicrously expensive due to the heightened probability of a crash.
Where do you pay that much? I have lived in Germany and Switzerland and had various cars. Liability insurance never was more than 700 dollars per year.
English car insurance, especially for young men, is expensive. A 22 year old programmer driving a 1996 Honda Civic 15,000 miles a year for social and commuting to work would be paying about £950 if they shopped around but could be paying over £1,500 if they weren't careful. (That's fully comprehensive. And it's for a small town population 100,000)