I agree that a 21 year old might take more risks regarding a crappy car than an older person might, but here is where I have a problem with Maura's case:
According to Fred Murray, Maura's car needed to be completely replaced with an entirely different car. To me, a person would only do this if their current car was either not running at all, was in such bad shape that the headache of the repairs was not worth it anymore, or the owner was now living in better circumstances and decided to upgrade.
So here's what we do know: Maura was just a college student and not a rich one. She was not poor, but she was not rich. She went to school full time and still worked two part time jobs. Another point: her father said he had $4,000 to buy her a new (used) car. That sounds like a totally expected amount for a solidly middle class father with four children to come up with for one of his daughters. So far, this sounds reasonable. Fred Murray did not have $20,000 to blow on a new car for his college-aged daughter and Maura did not have that kind of money either. Keep this in mind because this is important to my overall point.
Now according to Fred, Maura needed a new car because her old car was not running well enough to get her to her clinicals. This is where his story gets odd to me. Again, keep in mind that Fred is not rich, and neither is Maura. Fred comes to Amherst 2 weeks after classes start (after a very long break) to buy Maura a completely different car in the tune of $4,000. This is what I find strange. I could see a person with a lot of money spending a lot of money on a new car and not thinking twice about it, but given the fact that Maura worked two jobs while in college, I am assuming that Fred did not have a lot of money to spread around to his kids. So why then would he buy a car for $4,000 instead of just paying to repair the one that Maura already had? It only had to last another 2 years. Why not shop for a car during her break? Unless of course it had just started acting up, in which case I ask, why not just repair it? Is there any evidence that the car had been in the shop at all?
Another thing that we do know: Maura's car made it on a three hour journey without breaking down. So it could not have been the case that the car was in such bad shape that it was not running at all. It clearly was.
Which brings me to: either Maura was lying or Fred is lying. Either Maura told Fred she needed a new car or Fred is telling us she needed a new car. But I find it hard to believe that anyone would completely replace a car that could make it more than 100 miles without breaking down. I makes absolutely no sense to me. In fact, it makes so little sense to me that I am inclined to believe that Fred's stated reason for going up there that weekend simply is not true.