Can anyone recommend a used car dealer in Dublin

Google reviews is probably your best bet.
My go-to for advice is the thread below. Old but all still relevant. Make sure the car you buy has at least 6 months NCT, ideally a year. You don’t need the hassle of the test so soon after buying.
Best of luck! And ask any other questions you have here

Last time I tried to deal with user car dealers, I was tearing my hair out with rage at the BS they gave me when I asked about the status of the NCT on a car they had for sale. The typical response was 'we will guarantee the NCT' - the theory being that you buy the car, then submit it for the NCT and if it fails, the dealer wil pay to put the fault(s) right.

You would need your head examined to fall into that trap. The fact that the dealer won't submit it for the test before offering it for sale tells you all you need to know. In all probability, the car was bought at an auction or they bought it for cash from someone who never had it serviced and knows full well that it could never pass the NCT. Worst case, it's a write-off which was patched up to (just about) get it back on the road.

So if you get the 'we guarantee the NCT' line from a dealer, run a mile. Any dealer worth his salt and who has a reputation worth caring about will not sell a car with no NCT.

Usually what I do is have range of cars or a budget in mind, then input that into carzone and search for cars. If you findsuitable cars then research the dealer that's selling the car. I think looking for a dealer is kind of like putting the car(t) before the horse.

Use the sites like carzone.ie and cars ireland and add your criteria to the search, looking at the minute myself

It is possible to buy a decent car from a shady dealer. The problem is that you have to treat the deal as if it was a private sale i.e. you will have zero comeback if you buy a turkey. So, before you buy a car from an independent dealer, you would be well advised to spend money to get a mechanic to take the car to his own premises and give it a through inspection. Which you probably would not need to do if you were buying from a main dealer.

How much are you looking to spend?

Look at the car then ask about the dealer here

I’m always wary of google reviews, particularly where there’s a load of reviewers who’ve only given 1 review of anything- in their whole life - and it happens to be a glowing review of the very place in question.

In the past I have bought a 7 year old BMW e60 from Rockfield motors, a 4 year old Audi a6 from Leinster motor group and a 3 year old BMW g30 from sarsfield motors

I never had any problems with any of the cars so was never back to any of them so can't comment on them in that regard as to standing over problems with their cars

All I can say is I gave them money and they gave me cars, no idea if any of them are good or bad dealerships

I always found the car, got it checked out and bought it .....the seller is secondary really