Okay. Everyone is different.
If they can point, click and type they can open a terminal and type something simple.
I have to say your car analogy is more difficult.
It's just a matter of explaining a different process than what they are familiar with to install something. It's not hard at all after you show/explain. Just different and in my opinion easier than an exe.
If you can open an app you can open the terminal. It's not a daunting task.
If you want something cheap check out RackNerd yearly deals. Last I checked they still have listings for black Friday and other old deals once you've made an account. I got a server for like $12 a year with 5tb monthly bandwidth. I have 3 servers total with them and haven't had a problem for the 3 years I've been using them.