Letting emotions rule over logic you could end up like this    stuck in a lease ? your only escape is  " swap a lease "  Exit your car lease early - no penalties!

 I Only Want To Buy Imports

In the 80's and early 90's, the imports revolutionized everything like Toyota and Honda would outlast most Domestic cars and the race to catch up went into high gear
In 2000 the North American Manufacturers have much product equal to imports…You will pay more for a used Import vs. Domestic…Only you can decide if the extra cash is worth it.

Some European cars your neighbor buys to impress everyone else has fallen behind with the quality they once produced, Mercedes led the industry in the 80's  but now along with Audi and Land Rover are showing way to many incidents per 100 vehicles

Every car is better today
All cars last longer than they used to 20 - 30 years ago the average was 100 to 125,000 miles , today 200 to 250,000 miles or more if you give it TLC, and thats true weather its an entry level car or a luxury.

Korean Cars ... Have come a long way with quality, I will never forget dealer auctions in the 90's every bidder would scatter when one of these came up for bids, But today I consider Hyundai an excellent value for bucks along with a great warranty.

Resale Value ... Yes your import will have a higher re-sale value than domestic but then again not much gained as you most likely will have paid more for an import compared to domestic.
As for buying a used import consider for same money you most likely can buy a domestic newer model with less miles and in some cases with a balance Mfg warranty, its really an area where you need to look at the overall picture as for getting valid value.