The rising costs have made that much more true, though. My step-dad had a gorgeous 1940s Luscombe that he paid ~35k for in the 90s. He lived in an airpark where he paid 280k for a nice 3br house with a hangar.
I mean, 85k ain't that much different from a "middle. Luxury" car these days. You can definitely customize a Tesla and come out over 85k easily. Cyber trucks *stsrt" at 80k.
Im sure that person could have paid out of pocket. But I doubt he did.
Good luck trying to replicate that now.