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Ask your friends who may have recently purchased a used car about where they got it and their evaluation of the dealership they bought it from. Also look up the car on carfax to get its report, that is what I did when I finally replaced my 2001 Saturn L200 Station Wagon last fall. As for buying one from a stranger, I have no comment.

As for buying one from a stranger, I have no comment.

I usually buy cars from strangers. When I do, I have three rules that I like to (but don't always) stick to. I always allow $1,000 for immediate repairs/maintanance, sometimes more. My cars are generally 10+ years old. I avoid the '80s for U.S. made.

1. It has to be someone who presently owns the car, and preferably has had it for a while. Make them look you in the eye and list all issues. If they say there are no issues, they are lying of oblivious.

2. I look for a car with a drive train with a good (or not horrible) track record. I prefer six cylinders as fewer RPMs means less wear on drive train. NO CVT. Good drivetrains: GM 350 ci, GM 3.8 Liter. Mopar Slant-six, Mopar 3.5 liter. Toyota V-6 across the board (i4 okay for Corolla). Ford 4.0 liter, 289ci. BAD drivetrains: GM Quad-4 and 3.1 (head gasket), Dodge/Mitsubishi 2.6, Whatever Ford put in the Windstar. Also, avoid drivetrains that weren't popular; parts may be hard to obtain.

3. Find out why the owner is getting rid of the car. Good: Owner too old, owner needs different kind of car, owner is being given a newer car. Middle of the road: Moving. Bad: I can't afford needed repairs (which means the car wasn't maintained, either).

3. Profile the owner. I like Buicks, as they are lightly driven by old people who maintain the vehicles. Don't sweat cosmetic damage.

4. If the price sounds really good, find out why. Purely cosmetic damage is a good reason. A needed but hard to perform repair is a bad one.