[clyde]

Something missing from the criteria list is use case. Is it a car that only gets a couple thousand miles a year? Or is something that needs to go 20k/year?

From a strictly dollars sensitive position, the 2008 Accord EX-L V6 w/Nav (eighth gen) I just bought for my kids makes a very strong case for itself. I've liked the 9th gen cars I've driven in practical terms. They're bland appliances, but just do their thing very, very well without inspiring rage in car people like the other appliancemobiles.

The new vs very recent used car market is still really weird. Not sure if my current Camaro experience is the best barometer, but I'm not sure the cost difference on a used current or last year's model is worth it for the time and miles you lose from the original warranty. This is a $46k MSRP car that will go new with a substantial discount, but identical used ones with 3-12 months of warranty used and 1-12k miles can only be had for about $1-2k less than a brand new one.