> you visit the private seller, you look at the vehicle, you check for the things one needs to check for, and you know if it has problems or not. And if you can

> you visit the private seller, you look at the vehicle, you check for the things one needs to check for, and you know if it has problems or not. And if you can't do this, you've got a cousin or uncle who can. I had good luck with taking a used car for a test drive, and (with the knowledge of the seller) dropping it off at a garage and asking a mechanic to spend half an hour checking it over.