I joined this forum because a left turning auto smashed up my motorcycle and I returned to bicycling after several decades of hiatus. If you think the phenomenon you describe is bad with bicycles, count your blessings, and consider the world of motorcycles, where it seems a substantial percentage of riders commence the binning of factory parts even before their new machine has left the showroom. There are tens of thousands of essentially brand new factory silencers from Harleys in the garages of riders all over this country. Motorcycle parts, (except for Royal Enfield), are not cheap either.
A friend has this disease, I call it "Chromititis", very bad, on the order of several hundred dollars a week, continuously. Google "Garbage Wagon Motorcycle" to see what I'm talking about.
I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum, and known to wire brush and paint over rusty chrome to get another year or two of service, or decide that a failed safety or emissions control component isn't "really" needed.