This question obviously comes down purely to individual budget.

For me, I had a fixed amount of money I wanted to spend. For this amount I could've had
a) A 3-4 year old BMW 325i.
OR
b) A brand new car.

I very nearly went with option a). However wasn't able to find one that exactly fitted my requirements - black paint, black leather sports seats, sunroof, M-sport kit, black or silver interior and most importantly MANUAL only. These are evidently as rare as hen's teeth.

Being that I didn't wish to compromise on options when spending $50K, I decided to go for option b). Now I could've gone for a base model car with less options (say a standard Mazda 6 MPS), however for that price range I expect all the goodies.

So for me, the fact I could fully option an Accord Euro Luxury Sat-Nav and stay within my price range made the difference. My last car was a luxury car and I don't plan to downgrade car features.

I know the Mazda 6 MPS is much more fun to drive than the Euro, however optioned up it would cost at least $60K (leather and Bose pack, sunroof, on-roads).

I also considered the Subaru Liberty GT, however it too would cross into a different price range (that and the fact that I struggle with its exterior styling).

However, I'm sure this is different for those who only wish to spend $40K.

BTW, the next car is going to be a brand new BMW coupe.