A couple months before my wife was due with our third child we decided to buy a minivan. We bought a one year old, used, Chrysler Town & Country from a dealer. Our thought process was that we’d buy a relatively new minivan so we’d avoid losing on the depreciation and would also reduce the purchase price. We figured a newer vehicle wouldn’t need any major maintenance or repairs for a while either.
Overall, the van was fine, it never left us stranded and we didn’t have any huge repairs. But I did have to replace the brakes earlier than I should’ve had to, and I had to do the rear calipers twice. I think I had to recharge the AC system every spring. The blindspot intervention system and rear backup sensors were great, until they weren’t. The rear sensor modules had suffered moisture intrusion and were completely corroded. I checked into pricing and they were something like $600 a piece; needed two of course. $1,200 for beeps and blinky lights, No way! I simply deactivated the systems via the onboard menu. (I checked on prices while typing this and it appears they come down significantly in price; too late). The van started showing rust at the seams of the doors and rear hatch within a couple years of ownership. Enough. I sold it.
The short of it is I spent a bunch of money for a 1-year old vehicle that I still had a fair number of issues with. Was this an isolated case? Could I have just gotten a bad one? I don’t know. But of all the used vehicles I’ve purchased and repaired I’ve never spent anywhere near the amount of money I spent on that minivan. I’d rather spend a moderate amount of money to buy a vehicle, knowing it has certain issues to fix, and then sort ‘em out and be good for a while. My experience is that I’m able to keep much more cash in my pocket that way.
The biggest risk of buying a used car from a dealer is, well, pretty much the same as with a private party. It comes down to the honesty and integrity of the seller. The benefit of purchasing through a dealer is that they are held to legal requirements within the state. For instance, the car has to be inspected, the tires have to possess a defined minimum amount of tread, the brake pads also must meet a minimum amount remaining, there cannot be any safety concerns, etc. There is also pretty much always some sort of warranty provided with the vehicle; something like 3,000 miles/3 months. When we bought our minivan that was the defined warranty period. So you have a bit of confidence that the car isn’t going to die on you as soon as you drive it off the lot and if it does, well, you have a warranty to cover the issues. On average, most Americans drive more than 1,000 miles per month, so that little warranty isn’t going to even last you the full 3 months.
Remember that friend of a friend? He purchased that 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5i with 72k miles from the dealer. Within a couple days of purchasing the car the check engine light came on, yay. He brought it back in and it turned out that rodents had left a nest in the engine compartment and chewed through the knock sensor wire. There was also a code stating that the catalytic converter was also functioning below its defined efficiency, could simply be a bad O2 sensor. The dealer agreed to fix both issues. Good. They backed the vehicle like they are supposed to.
There is no guarantee that any used vehicle purchased will function perfectly and be without issue. Private party? Auction? Dealer? I’ve purchased vehicles from all three; but only once from a formal dealer. You’ll have to decide for yourself if the extra money you spend at a dealership is worth it or not.