some people treat their car like the Mona Lisa, or...

some people treat their car like the Mona Lisa, or will pay big $ for the perception of ultimate security. I don't think either are realistic, or healthy. As a senior mechanical engineer in a $30B company, I treat cars like machines. At the end of the day, ALL mechanical systems will eventually break down, including all cars. In other words, I look at cars like investments to be used. I just bought the 'luxury' model of a car at a very significant discount to a new one. To put it in perspective, with the savings I received, I could replace the entire engine on my new car. But the probability of me needing that new engine is very low (but cannot be eliminated for used cars - or even for new cars). Some people won't touch a branded car because of their extreme need for a perception of security. I'm more of a cost/benefit kind of guy. While it's very difficult to trust a car salesman, I do think they are fairly honest with you here. I do think, relatively speaking, that their buyers are good at filtering out cars that won't have major issues (frame, etc).They'll tell you exactly what you are getting and aim for pleasing the customer in an old fashioned business model of making sure they provide a product of equal or greater value that what you paid for.
I've put ~1000 miles on my car and it still drives like a new one.