[jjav]

> makes me wonder why anyone would take a 5-10 year old car for not enough of a difference from new

Here is one reason: New cars are riddled with phone-home spyware. Cars from 10 to 15 years old today are the sweet spot of having everything as modern as you really need, but none of the bad things.

While I'd like to get a good deal on those used cars, I would pay more for them than for a new car if need be. Unless some manufacturer starts building simple cars again, I'm never buying a new car and will keep looking for cars from ~2000 to ~2015 forever.