[soundman98]

my experience is the older the vehicle, the longer time span that leaves for the previous owners to neglect big maintenance items, or make poor fixes that can much more easily leave one stranded, or regretting the initial purchase.

as such, i'm not convinced that comparing 2 identical vehicles, one new, and one 5-10 years old, over a 10 year ownership span has any significant cost difference. the new vehicle will have almost no maintenance costs, but depreciation. the used vehicle will have increased maintenance costs, but much less depreciation.

personally, i prefer to buy new or nearly-new simply for the fact that i can better track maintenance records, and keep the vehicle up to my quality standards.