I bought a car from a used car salesman a couple of years ago.

[lumberjack_jeff]

14. I've kind of developed a relationship with the local car dealer.

The dealer employs a few salesmen who are considered core personnel and cater to the local clientele and are sensitive to the dealer's reputation in the community. They are supplemented by what can best be described as carnies. These guys travel from place to place to help at "special events". The are high order scumbags as distinct as night and day from the regular employees.

That said, I prefer to buy from private parties because
a) they know the car's history and have to look you in the eye and decide to either lie or tell the truth. In my experience the vast majority of people choose the latter.
b) someone willing to dump a car at the low trade in value the dealer offers is either lazy, stupid... or motivated.

A car salesman probably simply doesn't know, or in fact want to know the car's history.