You take the biggest hit on a new car.
But you still take a hit on a late model used car because of the wholesale to retail spread.
Lots of cars easily go 150k miles with no major issues.
So buying a car with 50-80k miles is not a crapshoot if you have a mechanic check it first
8 years ago I bought a car for about $1900 that only had 62,000 miles. I still have it. I guess it has 86,000 now. I need to fix something about once a year but its no big deal compared to the thousands I save compared to most people.
I can afford any car I want...with cash. I choose not to waste my money, rather to have it work for me.
Rather than me work for it.
http://www.daveramsey.com/article/drive-free/lifeandmoney_automobiles/