Hi PlasticMD,
Just to give you another opinion....
I completely understand and agree with anyone who wants only to deal with a private party - for numerous obvious reasons. However, just to state as others have, both shelbyelite and Bernie (BJ Motors) are outstanding individuals and are a respected part of our "family". Trust me, we put them through the initiation phase just to test them!
Anyway, my observation is that more often than not they DO take the time and energy to know the cars and the buyers they are purchasing from. You too seem to be very knowledgeable about the car as well as being connected to other Ford experts.
A few months ago, I too would have a strong bias to buy private party. Both Shelby and Bernie have earned their stripes with this shrewd tough group of perfectionists.
Do what feels best for you, but as jaxgt said, these guys are anything but typical of what you might find in high-end used cars dealers. Bony does a damn fine job of screening out those who don't deserve the opportunity to pull up a chair here.
$.02 from an oldtimer who has seen a lot.