In the contest between buying new or used-and-nearly new, I’d suggest new. The deals are terrific, and I’ve heard of new car prices being less than some used car equivalent.
Besides, the hefty CA sales tax is tacked on to the used car, giving the state an inequitable windfall gain (that hurts the poor who must buy used). A car could theoretically change hands enough times that the sales tax collected by CA would exceed its price when new.
The way to beat this is to buy your car new and drive it into the ground.
