In my experience, unfortunately there's no 'magic bullet' when it comes to buying used cars. You can pay through the nose for an 'approved used' car and have problems. The hope is that by paying top whack you'll have a warranty worthy of the name or at the very least some goodwill from the dealer.
Once a car is a few years old things get trickier, more so if you're not mechanically or technically minded or are new to the marque - and I'm pretty new to Volvo myself. I was hoping to to lurk around the fringes of this forum and nab a car that had been cherished and cared for by a member. Unfortunately didn't happen, and I had a close call at one non-Volvo garage. The car was on Autotrader, reviews were good. It was the right spec, within budget, and ticked pretty much all the boxes. Communications by phone and email went well, the only complications were distance (about 100 miles each way, from memory) and we were just coming out of lockdown. It was just before Christmas and I was hoping for a deal. Then, while idly doing some Googling I came across a garage review website. The garage was absolutely slated by customers who'd bought and then had problems. All said the same - total refusal by the garage to resolve or refund. I backed off very quickly.
Circumstances meant that I needed a car and eventually bought our V70. Paid over the odds, good service history, but a 3 month warranty isn't worth much when you're 80 miles from the dealer - unless you have a total meltdown.
Not sure that helps you at. Just my most recent experience.
