For certain obvious reasons, I trust very few Thai businesses. As a result, I would almost never buy from a second hand car lot in Thailand. In the US, I would have little problem trusting certified used cars from a reputable new car dealership. Can the same be said for reputable new car dealerships here? Can one put a reasonable amount of faith in the quality of second hand cars offered by the dealerships?

So the people selling they also certify them, that's convenient.

I've been doing business in Thailand for about twelve years and would not have any reason to trust a Thai business less than a US business.

I would not trust any second hand car dealer in any country unless I had successfully done business with them over a long period. In some countries the consumer protection laws are very useful if there are any problems after purchase, Thailand is not one of those countries.

The only thing you could be sure of is that the cars are certified as 'used'.

Caveat Emptor

Certified pre-owned cars go through an inspection process and the manufacturer sets the standard; whether you can trust the dealers or not you do get a 1-year warranty from the likes of Toyota Sure or Chevrolet which is considerably better than buying privately or from a typical second-hand dealer. There are plenty of jokes about the inspection process as they check fundamentally critical parts....four wheels, check.....two axles, check........one steering wheel, check......etc.

I think the real issue is the exorbitant prices; so many used-cars were purchased before Thai consumers had such great choices; five years ago, you could buy a new Vios, say, or a used Soluna-Vios - that was the choice. However, there have been many great cars released in the past two years alone that have really transformed the market and make used-cars look poor value.

I believe that Toyota has a second hand division ( just opened one at Toyota Phuket ) where they sell Toyota's cars which are inspected and i believe with an Toyota warranty.

Typically the "warranty" on a certified used car is nothing like a new car warranty. Generally they are a 50-50 warranty which is useless.