re: $100,000 income: No big deal anymore

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That's what I've always figured, but when I was looking for a new Civic last year, there wasn't really that big of a difference in the cost between new and 1 or 2 year old models. I guess that's one of the downsides of a vehicle with a high resale value

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It's because that line of thinking is bullshite, which it looks like you found out. You have it backwards though, the high resale will always be there, every year it depreciates it will be worth more relative to the same class of vehicles. The upside is that it is always worth more.

Now, there are some vehicles that "depreciate" a ton when you drive them off the lot new, but hose vehicles were likely sold wig heavy incentives that make them effectively cheaper than the well selling brands.

If you have the means, and are looking for a vehicle that is a class leader in resale, it is not a bad decision to look at buying new. There is always value in knowing you are the only one who has ever driven that vehicle.

Bottom line is it depends entirely on the vehicle.

When buying a vehicle, decision tree should be class>brand/model> new/used (expected life)>everything else like color, options etc.