Dave would remind you that when you left the dealers curb the value went down at about 20% and if you took a loan on the full price - you would be upside down (unable to pay off the loan by selling off the new car).
Dealers know this and try to sell you "Gap" insurance, but this is not to help you sell the car. It is to cover the Gap that would be on a full loan and what the value of the car would be after you drove it off the dealer's curb. Because with a totaled car, right off the curb, your insurance would not cover that Gap.
The third reason, I never buy a new car is Taxes. Our state, Georgia, charges a tax every year on the value of a car. New cars are taxed out the whazoo.
And the fourth reason is Insurance. For a new car, you have to have Comprehensive and Collision else you have no hope of covering your loan after a total loss. And, guess what, New cars cost a lot of insurance.
That's why I buy a low mileage used car usually from a private owner: No Gap insurance, Low Taxes, Low or no Comp or Collision and No Loan.
When the price of a new car is not much more than a used one (this only applies to a few models) it is usually best to just go new. If I had it to do over again with the Scion, I’d definitely do it. Some benefits are convenience, risk mitigation (risk of getting a lemon someone is trying to dump) and warranty.
Also, in my case it was extremely difficult to find a used one with a stick. Then there was the high trade-in on my “used up” 91 LeBaron Convertible.
My Scion is now four years old and looks and drives like it just came off the lot, but I’ve used it to get to a LOT of band gigs.