[BillD]

JeffH:

Don't ever worry about ruffling my feathers. You make some good points. Since I consider myself to be in the average joe category, I can add a comment about financing. If you don't have the cash and feel you must use a dealer because you need finance help that's not entirely true. There are some on line loan people who have very competitive rates, and some who will even give you a blank check loan to go shopping with. So you can buy a car privately and get a loan.

And to Charlie, here's another reason to sell directly to a dealer. A dealer doesn't hire a third party to appraise and evaluate the car prior to purchasing it. If I ever sell another car, I can honestly say I don't know if I would be willing to subject myself and the car to this type of review. It's probably easier just to take a few dollars less from a dealer and be done with it.

Have I learned anything from this? Yeah probably. I think prior to this discussion I would have thought that you should just stay away from dealers. I now think that I was wrong in that assumption. I guess you could find a good car anyplace, and since they are so hard to find, I guess you should consider every source.