Used Cars Shopping

So I am out there shopping for cars again. I am thinking of buying a good used car. New cars are way over priced and when you drive outside the lot, they lose a lot of value.  Currently living in OC, naturally I am looking for Orange County Used Cars.  Also since LA is close by, I could be looking at used cars Los Angeles.

 I think I am looking for a good economy Japanse car, perhaps something like Honda Civic or Honda Accord, or Toyota Camry. I want to stay away from Nissans I haven't had good experience with them. Perhaps even Mazda.

If used car buying doesn't work, I will probably get into leasing a car. Leasing works too because I can do tax write off since I do consulting work so that could work too. Anyway, we'll see how it all goes.