Ask lots of questions, and never feel like you are asking too many. If they shy away from the deal because you are too “nosy”, stay away from the car. Buying outright from another car owner has it’s advantages. Dealerships often take cars of questionable history, fix them up, and sell them as used. This is scary, because you could have a car that has been in an accident at some point or another. For that same reason, you want to buy a car that has only had one owner. Ask these questions: - Do you have the maintenance history on this car? [if no, say no to the deal. you want a car that has been well maintained.] – How long have you owned the car? – How many miles? [Don’t be scared of high miles if the car has been well-maintained.] There are other questions that aren’t coming to my mind just yet, but I’m sure someone else will chip in.