You are correct about cars being money pits. After mine was "killed" in October 2008, I chose not to replace it. (I couldn't afford to either, as the book price for a written off car with 125k on the clock was negligible.) I had a Toyota, and it would have gone on and on and on...just as my previous one did. What I miss most is the really great sound system I had in the car!

Now to comment on the original question, in all the years I bought cars in the UK (Mark 3 Cortina, Mark 4 Cortina, (new) Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Astra, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, another Toyota Crolla (the one that was "killed")) the only one that I ever had issues with was the new Ford Fiesta bought from a main dealership. They (and it) were both utterly awful and led to my never buying anotrher Ford again (as you can see). All experiences of buying pre-owned cars were totally fine, and I always felt I got a good deal for a good car.

Paul

m.u.s.i.c. not music!