Most used cars seem to be selling for just as much as a new car

Have a look at the classifieds here and on Thai visa forum, usually there you can find some reasonable priced cars. Also every two weeks on Saturdays or Sundays there is a car auction at Big C in Pattaya Tai, where the Thanachart Bank auctions off repossessed cars... If you are lucky you may get a deal there ...

Hope this helps

Paul Miller wrote:

Hi, I am new to Pattaya. If any other expats can help me to find a used car at a reasonable price, it would be fantastic. Most used cars seem to be selling for just as much as a new car, I don't understand this.
Any suggestions?

Dealers can not import used car ( 2nd hand cars ) in Thailand to sell them, the very old one are like collector pieces bring in Thailand prior to the change of law.

New cars if not manufactured in Thailand, that mean imported will have heavy import duty taxes.... and can cost 3 times the price in Thailand.

Buy a very cheap used car is risky as it will be 20 years old, many will have no more original parts, engine modified, mileage blocked, etc... you are taking serious risks if you are not expert in automotive ( and even that you can't read Thai, you can't check if documents are true, if services have been done, etc  ). Avoid auctions in all the cases...this is for Thai...you can get rusty car you can't even try or inspect seriously

More recent used cars in dealer shops will cost you a price close to new car, depreciation is very slow.

My advice is : buy a small brand new car for around 400,000 THB or not older than 4 years from people you know or dealers.

Classified section in Expat-Blog for cars are here : https://www.expat.com/en/classifieds/as … /cars.html

I did open a forum about that, but few feedbacks in the past : https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=500517

Hi Paul Miller,

I have created a new thread with your post on the Thailand forum for more visibility.

Thanks,

Priscilla

As stated 2nd hand cars hold their value much longer than they do in western countries.

What is your budget for a car?