Is it better to buy a used car from a dealer, private owner, or auction house?

Private owner: lots of risk for you, no recourse

Auction: you're buying "as seen" so if there are bullet holes in the seats too bad, you own it!

Dealer: if you play your cards right, it's your best option.

For one thing, you can have dealers compete because it's a market and each one wants your business. Use this to your advantage and call them before going in and ask them for their bottom line price for XYZ (which you've seen on their website). Tell them you'll call other dealers with similar cars too and only go forward with dealers who give you a real price on this. Mojo Motors does this, but isn't available outside New England.

I read that dealerships provide better financing than banks and I have to be honest, it's not true. Dealers make the most money from the small, window-less financing "department" (sometimes just a large storage closet!). If you're paying cash, don't tell until you've settled on the price. A low-ball price is more than made up for with crazy finance charges.

Private Owner Used Cars

You want to look for a private owner who has his car parked in his driveway or lawn with the for sale sign on it. You can also find ads in the newspaper , craigslist, etc. If the owner won't let you take it for a test drive than forget him. An owner who has nothing to hide will let you test drive his car. search the internet for some basic what to look fors like under the car(with a flashlight), under the hood, and so on. put your hand under the mats and feel the carpet. if its wet, its leaking water from above and/or rusting out on the bottom. just take your time. private owners often sell their cars because the new car they buy, the dealer won't give him much for a trade in. but the owner sells the car for cheaper than a dealer. dealers warranties are worth toilet paper. and some owners just don't need the extra car anymore. a good percentage of elderly people do this. some are assholes like at any age, but most i've known are good. And in their declining years you can bet they haven't driven the car that much. you are much better off with a car that might not have a shiny paint job, but is mechanically and the body is sound. Spend some time with the man or woman, talk about other things, and you will get an inkling if thier fellow decent human beings. I was looking for a used car back in the day. I saw an ad and went out to this young dairy farmers farm. talked to him and his wife about farming, took my camera and shoot some pictures of the farm and him working a reaper, and so on, gave him some poloroids and then told him i'd send him the other photos that had to be developed. He let me take a ride and said i can ride it out on the thruway and country roads. i bought a 1981 Impala in 1986 which lasted me 12 years. Put 80,000 miles on it long distance and in big cities. I paid only 1300 dollars for it. Used car dealers are the most notorious people i know. they'll take a car that's been in a wreck with a bent frame, don't repair the frame(very expensive if possible at all) and slap some flashy paint on it. keep researching and TAKE YOUR TIME BEFORE YOU PUT THE MONEY IN THE SELLERS HANDS.

Dealers and auction houses sell vehicles for what they can get for them. Most do not have any maintance records on what they are selling

Could be some underlying issues that they dont know about or even know where the vehicle came from. Private parties may be honest in telling you what they have had repaired and the history of the vehicle. Auction houses clearly state at time of sale, that the sale is final and in as in condition. Dealers if selling vehicle inspected may give you 30 or day used car warranty for major repairs. It could be a gamble either way. I would lean towards a private party, but take someone with you to look it over. Someone with a little knowledge of cars,a do _it yourself kind of person if possible. I have had good experiences with dealers and private parties, but you never know. Good inspection of condition of engine compartment for being clean and no signs of leaks along with the color of the vital fluids to see what they look like. If the engine is spotless that in it's self could be a sign someone is hiding something

too many ifs involved here/first you have to find what you like/auctions are out as they sell only as is/as you have no experience with cars its hard to tell in the little time you have to look and see what the condition is/private owners a lot of time try to scam you and they are getting rid of trouble/at least at a dealer you have a shot at warranty and recourse/hope this helps

a Dealer definitely

Here you are purchaseusedcar.info

That is not true