Ive bough allot of used cars in my life and have always found that paying more for a low mileage vehicle was cheaper in the long run. It's much cheaper and easier to maintain than fix and repair not to mention all the time you spend on problems with high mileage. With that said, you still have to pick it up at a reasonable price I would say the best deal would be around 12k for 30,000mi or less or around 9k for 50,000mi or less, then you still have lots of years of low hassle fun. If you put it into prospective any thing is better than paying 40K+ for a new vehicle that deprecates at lightning speed. As far as the wife's reaction this to I have many years of experience but can offer NO help.