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Buying a used car in Dubai

0

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 May 2014 - 19:35

Hi there, does anyone have any tips on buying a used car on a limited budget in Dubai please?

Thanks,

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1097

Posts

EW OLDHAND

Latest post on 12 May 2014 - 09:09

If you can afford it, buy one with a service warranty from a garage. Service and repairs here cost an absolute fortune.

79

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 12 May 2014 - 08:36

They sound like horrible experiences! I've only had excellent experiences buying (and selling) secondhand. I think one thing that needs to be mentioned is about choosing a seller you trust. I don't know how to put it delicately, but we look for cultural similarities in the people we trade with. It isn't failsafe, but it does take some variables out of the equation when doing business with strangers in an economy with relatively few safeguards.

2383

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 12 May 2014 - 08:15

As written on your previous post: The best thing about buying secondhand in Dubai is that the RTA does a full vehicle check as part of the registration transfer process (at cost to the seller) so you won't be landed with a hidden defect. We recently sold my car and they found an oil leak we didn't know was there so they failed it, I got it repaired and the buyer wasn't left having to deal with it. I was mortified, but glad I had the chance to fix it. Dubizzle is fine for private sales this way. Follow your gut though, if someone sounds dodgy, or it doesn't feel legitimate then back out. I've always gone private. Sellers will reasonably want cash however, unless you have a bank cheque, but it sounds like you aren't getting a loan. Don't hand it over until you are at the RTA, they will guide you through the process. It's worth paying VIP at the RTA too, (I think it's about 100dh) the seller should pay this, though if they don't want to you could offer to split it. Do you mean the routine test that the RTA carry out? If so, this is very basic and fine if it is your own car but I wouldn't rely on it for a car you are considering buying that you know nothing about. Some friends of ours recently bought a car privately, RTA test carried out, ownership transferred, car driven for half an hour and a serious fault became apparent which could not have developed in that short time. Another instance, friends bought a vehicle privately and it turned out that it had been clocked by a huge amount, again something that did not show up at the RTA. This only became apparent when they put it in for service after having purchased it and they were presented with a 30,000 aed estimate for necessary repairs. <em>edited by amelia on 12/05/2014</em>

79

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 12 May 2014 - 07:55

As written on your previous post: The best thing about buying secondhand in Dubai is that the RTA does a full vehicle check as part of the registration transfer process (at cost to the seller) so you won't be landed with a hidden defect. We recently sold my car and they found an oil leak we didn't know was there so they failed it, I got it repaired and the buyer wasn't left having to deal with it. I was mortified, but glad I had the chance to fix it. Dubizzle is fine for private sales this way. Follow your gut though, if someone sounds dodgy, or it doesn't feel legitimate then back out. I've always gone private. Sellers will reasonably want cash however, unless you have a bank cheque, but it sounds like you aren't getting a loan. Don't hand it over until you are at the RTA, they will guide you through the process. It's worth paying VIP at the RTA too, (I think it's about 100dh) the seller should pay this, though if they don't want to you could offer to split it.

Madge_Gustard59558

841

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 May 2014 - 22:22

Carfax is US and Canada only. Many different countries have their own equivalent(s) of it, but there are *none* in the UAE. The only way you can find out about a car's history here is to give the VIN to the main dealer that originally sold it new, and even that won't be complete if it stopped being serviced at the dealership (which is common once the free servicing runs out, because the dealers are so eye-wateringly expensive). If the dealer doesn't have a record of the VIN, then the car is an import. If that's the case, *then* you can turn to Carfax (if it was originally sold in the US or Canada) or whatever the equivalent is in the country it was originally sold in. But the sad truth is that the majority of non-dealer imports are cars that were crash-damaged and written off in other countries. <em>edited by Madge_Gustard on 11/05/2014</em>

Hot Chocolate89348

110

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 May 2014 - 21:36

In the US there is a company called carfax and I'm pretty sure it's worldwide but not sure... You basically check the vehicle by its vin vehicle Id # and it gives u a full report of the vehicles full history from the day it was born:) u pay a small fee but I can't remember the details... Worth checking out. Good Luck.

Madge_Gustard59558

841

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 May 2014 - 21:23

Be aware that tampering with the mileage reading on used cars is rife in the UAE. Once you've found a car you like, note down the VIN, take it to the main dealer for that make of car and ask them to look it up on their system. That will tell you what mileage it had the last time the main dealer saw it, which can be somewhat higher than the current reading... Just last weekend, a friend of DH's who is currently looking for a car found a really nice American model with 69,000 km on it at a used car dealer here. It looked almost brand-new and drove the same. He was keen to buy it, but he ran the VIN past the main dealer just to check... and discovered that when it was last serviced by the dealer, back in 2012, it had 103,000 km on it... and who knew what had happened to it between 2012 and now? Needless to say, he didn't buy it... Also be aware that there is a thriving industry in the UAE of buying written-off cars from the USA and Europe, shipping them here, rebuilding them and then selling them into the used car market with no indication of past history. Sharjah is where that all happens, but the cars themselves end up throughout the country. Some are actually very well rebuilt and perfectly safe to buy (if overpriced for a rebuild), but many others are not. At best they will be money pits, at worst they will be death traps - but you won't be able to tell that anything is wrong without experience, which is why you also need to do what Amelia says and pay to get the car checked by a reputable garage. <em>edited by Madge_Gustard on 11/05/2014</em>

2383

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 11 May 2014 - 20:19

I would recommend always having the vehicle checked over by a garage, e.g. AAA in Al Quoz. They probably charge less than a thousand to check that it is roadworthy and mechanically sound, but to my mind money well spent. Have heard a few horror stories about people buying a used car without having it checked and ending up with hefty bills to put it right. If the seller has nothing to hide he/she will have no problem agreeing to this.

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