I drive a 2003 Civic that I bought new (sorry!). It's been over 13 years and has been repair free other than routine maintenance (timing belt, brakes, etc.). Leaving aside fuel and insurance, my monthly cost of use (including the amortization of the car price), is about $130, and declining. I expect to get another 10 years out of it, and to teach the offspring how to drive stick when the time comes, as is just, true and proper.
Since first being exposed to MMM a couple years back, from time to time I've searched Craigslist and Kelley BB for a newer manual Civic in my area, testing this idea that I should only buy used in the future. I've been stunned at how nominal the off-the-lot markdown is on Civics. I prefer the idea of a car that still is under 50,000 miles so I have a better appreciation of what's been done to it by another driver. And in that space, I'm just not seeing prices that are a steep enough discount off of retail. I get that part of the answer is "find the grandmother who loved but never drove the car." But that's not me. Here's what I'm getting at: (1) there is a discrete number of cars (Civics historically) that retain value over time -- I read about a discount off the lot, but don't a substantial markdown; (2) I have no mechanical aptitude, and while my mechanic might say "this 50,000k used car looks fine" he's not fixing to drive the thing or make any guaranties about what shape it will be in five/ten years from now; (3) what's the evidence on the downside of buying one of those cars new if you know you're one of those folks who will buy and hold, and you want to have confidence that you know exactly what has been done to the car mechanically since it rolled off the lot, on the theory that the car is more likely to last a long time?
The question is more philosophical than practical (I plan on it being practical in another 10 years when my glorious Civic makes its final drive into the sunset). The point is, I come from a long line of folks who bought new and then drove the car into the ground. The last car was a family M626 that was bought new and had 302K on it when the engine died (for good). With anecdotal support and no real data, my preference is to have a car that I know through and through, and that no one has done the rental car shuffle with. Now, feel free to punch me in the face.