I always buy used cars, always with low mileage but I am very very picky about what car I purchase. I will typically search for a car for a couple of months, checking the on-line used car websites every day. Eventually, I figure out exactly what I want, right down to the year, color, options, etc, and have a good feel for where the price should be. Then I set my search for nationwide, and just wait for a good buy. When one pops up, I run the Carfax, and then negotiate by telephone. When the deal is done, I fly out, sometimes across the country, buy the car and drive it home. I have always gotten a good car, and it is primarily the Carfax background check that gives me the confidence to fly across the country on a one-way airline ticket, buy a car for cash and drive it several thousand miles home. I have bought cars in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland, Texas, and San Diego and driven them back to the San Francisco Bay Area using this approach. I wouldn't be doing it without the confidence that comes from CarFax.