i'm looking to buy a 96 or 97 se with 5 speed. my question is to buy from a private party, or a dealer, or a car buying service. each one has advantages. private party probably get the best price, dealer usually preps car before putting it on the lot, car buying service, adds 3 month warranty, 7day return, and probably finding the features i want but at a much higher price but selling at lower than blue book. Has anyone bought their car at a dealer or used a car buying service. I live in the SF bay area and are prices tend to be a little higher from what i seen people purchase the cars for. i need opinions good or bad let me know. thanks

It all depends on how comfortable you are with the situation. If you can look at a car in someone's driveway and size up the deal, more power to you and you'll get a better price. I wasn't so comfortable doing that, so I bought from a dealer. Ended up paying a little more, but for that I got a fresh set of brakes, new battery, and the peace of mind of knowing the car had been checked out after whatever the previous owner might have done to it.

There are some good used car search sites on the web; I'd start there to get an idea of what they're selling for in your area.