I bought my Stagea through a dealer at a much higher cost than they were going for, mainly because mine had a butt load of mods and was in very, very, very good condition.
Honestly I would prefer buying from a dealer and getting a warrantee, but that is just me.
But just because you buy from a dealer with a warrantee doesnt mean you wont be buying a heap of crap.
Try talking to others who have bought from the dealer before. Take the car to a trusted mechanic to do an once over and a compression test. Do your homework on the car, meaning grab the VIN number and run it through FAST, (ask AlexCim to here ).
Other than that, it is really up to you wether you want to import through companies like JSpec/vrfour/etc, buy privatly or buy through a dealer. Each have the pro's and cons. Each could save you thousands. Each could land you a bargain. Each could land you a lemon.