AUCTION vs DEALER vs PRIVATE OWNER - What's the BEST Used Car Deal?

private party is my Go To

My very first car was a used VW Fox that my grandmother bought for me, but as I drove it home across Wisconsin, the battery died while I was driving because the catalytic converter was busted. My first "buyer beware" experience.
~Trav

Buying cars from an auction has always intrigued me, but I always tend to find at least okay deals on cars from private sellers haha

Nice vid! I need to finally get to a government surplus auction! Not that I need any more cars though... 🤔

How about just Dumb Luck? I bought a 1984 Corvette w/18k on for less then 5K! Wepaaa
Its in mint condition (almost) lol
Targa top, Cherry Red, with a couple minor flaws...did I mention it has 18,000 miles on it?

Sorry for the random question, but what is the theme song that your videos use? I've heard it a few places

Very nice video.All american used cars beautiful.🇺🇸👍

"Prices across the board, are lower than they've been for a long time...."

COVID: "Hold my beer"

I heard stuff like carfax is completely worthless.

Great video Brad! A couple things I'd comment on, trade-in at dealerships is often times is less than private party prices, but the value of trading your car immediately (versus waiting weeks or months to sell privately) and sometimes getting a tax credit (depending on state law) can far outweigh the higher dollar value of a private sale.

As for protection, the warranty is a huge advantage to purchasing from a dealership, but it should be emphasized that with dealerships, once you sign you're committed. I know some higher end dealerships, like you mention in your video, do have return policies, but it's not common and should not be considered the gold standard.

Regarding financing, it also is an advantage to buying from a dealership especially if you don't have the cash. I'd love to see/film a video about prime financing vs subprime financing.

Regarding purchase price of private party sales, they want top dollar too and often times post their cars at unreasonable prices, but there are plenty of owners who prefer to sell their cars quickly like you mention.

You can get lucky at a dealership and they may know the history behinds a car, however they almost always destroy service records to protect the personal information of the previous owner (which does give private party sales an advantage here like you mention)

Chris is spot on with auctions, they're a mixed bag, and they can have nice rewards, but often requires effort, time, and mechanical acumen. For the overwhelming majority of car buyers, the financial reward isn't enough to justify buying from an auction.

Whew my fingers are tired from typing all that!