To be fair, we found almost this to be true almost 10 years ago when we bought our Passat. A used model - when we could find one in our admittedly precise spec - cost about 10% less than a new one, and often had 30K miles or more on it. In other words, considering actual depreciation costs, it was more expensive.
I generally look for a car with 80-90k miles that is about 6 years old. As long as the owner has taken care of it, and has kept up with scheduled maintenance, the car should be good for at least another 100k. If you are patient, you can almost always find someone motivated to sell at a good price. We just got our last new/used car 2 months ago. Parts online are actually pretty cheap, and I'll do a fair amount of work myself. Much of it is easier than it sounds/looks. Actually, the bearing on the water-pump for the car we just got went about 1 week later. :/ That was a bummer, but the part cost $140, I replaced it and learned something new. The 1997 c320 we are selling has 170k and runs like when we bought it. I've always had used cars, and my father refused to take them to the shop unless there was no other option. As a result, I don't worry too much about occasional maintenance. However, once I started buying my own used cars, I switched from low end American ones to Mercedes. They are just built better and are more fun to drive. Also, door handles don't break, and windows always go up and down.