There ARE times when buying new beats buying used, and thats when new models are being steeply discounted while resale prices remain strong. Example: My wife & I wanted to buy a used new-gen Odyssey last year, but there were precious few 2005s available with the DVD system (which my wife HAD to have), and the few available were selling well into the upper $20s. We were able to get a brand-new 2006 model for basically $2k more than the used ones because we negotiated a deal in the $29s (MSRP was $32,945). I think buying new in that situation was appropriate. Guess what? Theres a similar situation with Accords right now: new 07s are being steeply discounted while resale value remains strong (AND you plan to keep the vehicle a LONG time). If Id have more money AND if the 07 V6 automatic was available in Sapphire Blue (like my 06), I think Id have bought a new 2007 EX-L V6 non-Nav for maybe $25k or even a little less, whereas I paid 22,600 for my 14k-mile like-new car (I could maybe have done a little better, but after 4 hours of negotiating over multiple trips to the dealer I felt it was a decent deal). So I saved maybe only $2500 off buying new, but I really didnt have that additional dough.Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) The clincher (in addition to color) in my case was that my car was Honda Certified. CPO means different things for different manufacturers. For Honda, it means the car passed a 150-point inspection (the dealer certifies this to Honda corporate as well as you) and so Honda corporate extends the B2B warranty to 4 yr/48k and drive-train warranty is extended to 7 yr/100k. For Acura CPO, you get that PLUS a free roadside assistance and maybe even an Acura rental car for each service visit (not sure about that last part). Other manufacturers offer their own mix of CPO bennies, but I think the long and short of it is that being Certified adds maybe $1500 - $2000 or so the value of the car. Also, Honda certified used cars can only be purchased from Honda dealerships.Sorry I wasnt Succinct but I had a lot to say!
