I can see many reasons why some buy new including wanting a specific spec and colour/trim combo. Aditionally its reassuring to know you have driven the car from new & thus the peace of mind the car hasnt been abused or ill treated.
Sourcing exceptions would include seeking something no longer produced or perhaps something currently manufactured but with a long waiting list.
I have only ever been fortunate enough to buy 2 new cars in the last 8 years.
Certainly being pampered by the dealer has never been a motivator for me & I have been treated far better when eating in reasonable restaraunts.
Number plate snobbery - Not for me as when I last bought new I put a private plate on within a few weeks.
Getting one up on neighbours - I've never been one to parade my car even when living on developments with neighbours overlooking.
I bought one car new simply as I could & because I had gone years of driving cars with multiple previous owners. The second new car bought, (my 2003 RX-8), was so purchaed simply because it was a launch model & not available used, (RX-8 not best car to buy used as easy to run low on oil with this undetected by buyer).
If I had my own business that was doing well, the business could cope with new car outlay without detriment to same then I'd happily buy new & particulary if desiring a specific colour/trim & spec.
A private buyer not owning a business might want to be satisfied that other more important outgoings were first covered,such as mortgage, pension provision & sufficent funds aside for other matters such as childrens education, holidays & healthcare if so desired. For some these matters are lower priorities than a new car.
Just as some with used prestige cars cant see the rationale in buying new, many with non prestige used cars can't see the logic in buying used prestige may citing high running costs as their reasoning plus.
The old favourite cliche used by folk who try to to justify running mundane stuff........." A car is merely to get from A to B."
Folk have said to me they would never spnd that much on a car, yet I know someone who just spent £5,500 on a used Seat Ibiza 1.4 whereas even if I was prone to the Seat badge I would have sought an unmolested Leon Cupra R.
Interstingly folk who buy more mundane stuff still talk fondly of handling and their cars being quiet nippy so I am not convinced they crave A-B transport.
Currently I cant justify buying new & niether do I expect to be able to justify buying new anytime soon. Similarly I cant justify buying anything that interests me near new so whilst I would love a 2008 or later E70 or a 1 yrs old X6 I simply cant presently justify the outlay. To me I could no easier justify buying a used car for £25k than I clould buying new for £35k.
Sure some rub hands together at saving buy purchasing a one owner, however, others see it illogical to buy this early and would rub hands together when buying a car from the 2nd 3rd or subesequent owners.
I guess ione cuts ones cloth accordingly albeit there will always be exceptions to this as can be clearly evidenced by the high number of low mileage cars frequently auctioned by BMW finance. There is more to success than being able to enter into a fiance or contract plan & many a person many thousands in debt with a shiny new car on the drive.
For many using finance to buy ( whether new, approved used or with a bank loan), car outlay merely represents a cost of £ X per month.
If sensible hard working or prior hard working folk can afford to buy new & it makes them happy............ then Good Luck to them
I would be very interested to see what CAP guides these vehicles at and compare to the above. A little surprised to see the Lexus in the low 40's. Not sure what source WhatCar gather their info from, has it a guess that maybe from contract hire/leasing companies. IMO there are still very few e70's around the early £20k mark, the ones that are have done some mileage and look a little sorry for themselves.
excluding fuel, tax, servicing and so on. While its clear some of you are private owners are any of you company drivers? if so was the monthy lease more competitive than other vehicles in this segment?
very rare in this day and age and is a lost art IMHO. 
but there are ways to reduce the impact.
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.
