All things being equal I'd rather have a new car for $15000 than a used one.

But all is not equal - the used car will have a lot more features.

Like what? They all have AC and a stereo of some sort. Like WTH else really matters? TBH most of the feature upsells make so little sense to me (floor mats and real spare tires excepted I guess) that I don't get how they're successful.

I like the auto dim mirrors, but not enough to add a grand to my price.

and a lot more shit to break. nice thing about a cheap car is it has manual seat adjustment, an AC and a radio.

My friend just bought a 20 year old volvo and the locking gas cap malfunctioned while we were being shown the vehicle and testing all the buttons out. The dealer just took a screwdriver and popped the lid with a screwdriver - now the gas cap doesn't latch at all.

Nissan Versa with manual transmission

Nissan Versa is like my one and only example of a new car that feels so cheap I'd only ever buy new or used as a last resort. It used to be one of the cars that would help make things like the Kia Soul seem amazing in comparison . (And I saw with my current car being too cheap for cruise control.)

Apples to oranges as safety standards are different. We are for safety, no?

Are you sure that new car meets safety standards?

Buying a used car instead of new is essentially theft from the manufacturers. Won't someone think of these poor helpless mega-corporations?!

No it isn't. If everyone bought new they would have to sell cars for much less money and in turn make less. Most new car buyers can only afford it because of the trade in value, and this falls down the line.