Have a friend who has purchased a couple Volvos, and got great deals on great cars. But there are plenty of scammers there too.

Buying a Carfax membership for a month or two might be worth the expense. Hopefully that will keep you clear of the "salvage title" cars. It's only so reliable...if an accident wasn't reported, it won't be in the Carfax.

Private owned vehicles are OK in my book if the owner has all of the maintenance records. It shows they kept up with the servicing. All records are usually thrown out by used car dealers, so you have no idea how well a car was maintained when buying through one of those guys. If it was dealer maintained, you may be able to get records through your local dealer.

It comes down to how much risk are you willing to take for a great deal.