Dabbler, one of the best suggestions I can make is to find a vehicle that was a rental car. These are sold to local dealerships through regional auctions and have lower miles than an off-lease model will. Also, if someone was abusive to the vehicle with their driving, it was only for a few days compared to months or years. And, since any damage to a rental car has to be fixed immediately, you're more likely to get a vehicle with only a couple minor things damaged. If it's got some small dents, you can negotiate with them to get those fixed, and it only takes a few minutes for them to do it, but it's usually done by an outside vendor, so you'd probably either have to wait until the day they usually come or make an appointment to come back on that day.
I'm loving my vehicle. Everyone at work says the more they see me in it the more "me" it is. Evidently the gentleman who traded it in loved it so much he bought another one exactly like it, and just upgraded from a 2010 to a 2013 version. He's bought from us 4 times in a row now.