I've never bought new. My dad did several times (first in 1953 with an MGTF-cool car), but not since 1971 (Ford Maverick Grabber 302-also a cool car-Dad used to have some taste before he started buying Cadillacs). The closest I've had to "new" were a 2006 Kawasaki in near perfect condition that I bought for $2600 in 2011, and my '83 300D that I had major body and paint work done on this year. The '06 was run over by a truck while it was parked five months after I bought it, and the insurance settlement worked out well for me. The '83 got its first new door ding within two weeks of the repaint. Careless bastids! It still looks a lot better than it did before, but the rear suspension is asking for new bushings all around, and the steering box has a huge dead spot on center. Sometimes I want to give up and buy new/newish, but a quick check on the cost of fixing mine vs the cost of a newer vehicle tells me I'll be driving the W123 for a long time yet.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

I'm with Barry. I have bought a number of new cars back when I didn't have the current skill set. The new factor wears off and the cycle begins again. Just the way the manufacturers planned it.

If you can avoid the cycle at an early age and invest the savings in something tangible you will be way ahead of the power curve.

Twitch Kitty said it best. I am about at that point now. The $50K on new cars that I spent in the 80s and 90s, invested at the rates of return in those days would have gotten me done sooner.

__________________
80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

I think I've decided on trying to find a nice Mazdaspeed Miata. Or an LS at the very least.

Wagon will be going up for sale in about a month once I finish up a few things on it. Probably not the best time of year to sell, so I might be sitting on it for a while.

This also means I'll be able to keep Norm for the time being.

The answer is always, Miata.

You'll find a buyer for the E320 Wagon, someone will want it.