hello... i'm not being ignorant... just practical... you might as well pay for a new car that can last a bit longer than a second hand that you don't know anything about it's history... you can't really rely on everything the dealer tells you... ofcourse they're gonna say it's in good condition... THEY'RE SELLING IT!!!! if you want to sell your car... will you tell them that it's got problem?
and correct me if I'm wrong... you said ALL your cars have been second hand and none Japanese? how many have you had anyway? then maybe you're getting bad cars that's why you're getting another one...so better spend one time than spend a lot of money fixing everytime you get car problems.

HappY and In Love!