I bought new and second-hand cars in 5 countries, and it all comes down to the garage / individual you are working with.

My experiences have generally speaking been very good. In Switzerland, I had 5 cars (1 new) and only 1 second-hand car gave me headache. I bought all the other ones from the same guy, and never had a problem.

In South Africa, I got a good second-hand car but it was a company car.

In Cyprus, I bought a second-hand car and it was really good. I gave it to a friend and he is still using it. The second-hand market in Cyprus is rather good.

In Lebanon, I would not touch second-hand car. I bought new only.

In Bahrain, the second-hand market is really good. I bought a Jaguar X type (8 years old) for a really good price (ca. EUR 6,000) and was really happy with it. There is a big turnover of expats here, so cars are generally in good condition and rather new (2-5 years). I recently bought a new VW Tiguan new. My wife also drives a VW which we bought almost new (18 months).