value to user of a premium car

It's time for me to replace my car and right-the-wrong I made in getting a hatchback 7 years ago.
My short-list mostly includes previous-generation used luxury compact cars. I don't care about
the badge itself, but these cars really seem to be nicer than the mainstream models - whether it's
the materials, the heft, the ride, the security features, or the design.

Here's what I can't get my head around - the amount of money they command just doesn't seem
to be worth it. I don't care about depreciation, but in the long term, so many premium models a)
seem to be prone to (expensive) failures and b) there even seems to be markup on parts. I do all
my own repairs and maintenance that I can, so that helps. But when I model the next 5-10 years
of ownership, I feel like there's a lot of risk, even more than buying a used mainstream car.

Sometimes it feels like the only brands for me are Acura & Mazda that try to straddle a middle
ground between mainstream and premium - and still have good long-term reliability. Anyone
have thoughts about this?