New vs nearly new

[seabreeze]

Ok, newbie here, and again I find myself looking for opinions from this really good group. Learning before I jump in

My question is about new vs nearly new. I know the benefits of buying new and the price, but what about 1-5 yr old watches? I might call them "nearly new'. I assume that the warranty is not transferable but that 'papers' shows the provinence of the watch and that the original owner might be the one contacted in case of theft and could use any remaining warranty?

So my question is if buying a nearly new watch having bit hit with the new depreciation I'd a good idea if so why or why not and where to buy?

I am deathly afraid of all these frankenwatches and I don't have the experience to select a 20 yr old specimen.

Hope this makes sense.....any input is again appreciated