Used car scam..Pls HELP!

You are right chic09 - didn't even look at the date this time; so it was an old post. Thanks for pointing out. Wonder how Binkie's situation ended

You are right chic09 - didn't even look at the date this time; so it was an old post. Thanks for pointing out. Wonder how Binkie's situation ended

Hi Binkie, really sorry to hear about your car situation. If I were in your position, I would do the following: 1. talk to consumer protection people at the economic department. I am not sure if they handle this sort of thing ( I suspect they don't but its easy to call them and see). If they don't handle and tell you to report to the police I would ask them whether you have to go to a specific police station to file a case , if they have contact numbers for relevant police people etc. Basically you want to do what you can to avoid having to do a lot of running around and as much as possible get to the right place the first time. 3. (note would talk to police first before you do this thats why numbers changed around- see below) Take the car to a reputable repair shop (I am not sure where I would go and whether it is worth going to the dealer who would may charge quite a bit more) and see if they can confirm whether it has been in an accident and what work has been done since then. I would also want to know if the damage was visible when you lifted up the hood ie was it a case that the damage was visible if you looked or did the seller take steps to actively hide. 2.. I would talk to the police and see if you can find out what your options are, whats involved in filing a case ,the cost, likelihood of success and whether there is any merit in filing a case even if there is no possibility of success ie. would the police watch seller more closely etc. If the car has been in an accident and the police were involved I would think they would have a record on their system. I think it may make sense to talk to police first before going to repair shop because maybe the police would tell you what they would be looking for in a report, if it makes a difference where you get the report etc. I note that you may end up having to talk to several different policemen & depts to get the necessary information. Good luck and sorry this happened to you. I know there are lots of things you can do to prevent things like this from happening and that you have to be extremely careful in Dubai, but I know if it was me the last thing I would want to know at this point is what I should have done differently. Dear, She posted this in 2011.....i think

Hi Binkie, really sorry to hear about your car situation. If I were in your position, I would do the following: 1. talk to consumer protection people at the economic department. I am not sure if they handle this sort of thing ( I suspect they don't but its easy to call them and see). If they don't handle and tell you to report to the police I would ask them whether you have to go to a specific police station to file a case , if they have contact numbers for relevant police people etc. Basically you want to do what you can to avoid having to do a lot of running around and as much as possible get to the right place the first time. 3. (note would talk to police first before you do this thats why numbers changed around- see below) Take the car to a reputable repair shop (I am not sure where I would go and whether it is worth going to the dealer who would may charge quite a bit more) and see if they can confirm whether it has been in an accident and what work has been done since then. I would also want to know if the damage was visible when you lifted up the hood ie was it a case that the damage was visible if you looked or did the seller take steps to actively hide. 2.. I would talk to the police and see if you can find out what your options are, whats involved in filing a case ,the cost, likelihood of success and whether there is any merit in filing a case even if there is no possibility of success ie. would the police watch seller more closely etc. If the car has been in an accident and the police were involved I would think they would have a record on their system. I think it may make sense to talk to police first before going to repair shop because maybe the police would tell you what they would be looking for in a report, if it makes a difference where you get the report etc. I note that you may end up having to talk to several different policemen & depts to get the necessary information. Good luck and sorry this happened to you. I know there are lots of things you can do to prevent things like this from happening and that you have to be extremely careful in Dubai, but I know if it was me the last thing I would want to know at this point is what I should have done differently.

Did you reported the matter to Dubai police? Did you contacted consumer rights, as you did buy the car throw agency? Hiding info is scamming too, I hope that you did report the agency and the seller to the police

I bought a car 7 months ago from a classified ad on dubizzle. The car seemed to be a fair buy: a 2014 Mercedes Benz. I knew from the beginning that the car went through a minor crash that required some painting works. Chassis was intact. Buyer showed the last dealership service report claiming that it was still under warranty. So everything was fine until I recently got a signal on the car’s board display indicating a failure in the airbag system. When I visited the dealership he confirmed that the car is a “total loss” (so it is not under the manufacturer warranty). Apparently, the car was fixed in a local garage. It passed the RTA check without any problems, but faults appeared in the airbag and now they are not ready to deploy in case of a crash. I had a meeting with the previous owner and he was confident that I cannot prove anything and that the best he can “offer” to me is “fixing” the airbag (in a Sharjah garage) and contact a scrap cars dealer who can buy it back from me! My issue now is that my car is not under the dealership warranty anymore (with an airbag fault); also the car is only worth half the price I bought it for. Everybody is advising me to let go because a legal pursuit will be a waste of time and money. I am in a situation close to yours and seeking your advice. Regards

Many cars which were submerged in Katrina, ended up in Sharjah. Many Sharjah garages specialize in taking written off cars, painting them and making some small changes to fool gullible customers, and then selling them off. This is one reason why i too would never got o Aweer. As for specs being lower , i agree. Unfortunately the GCC Consumer in many areas is seen as gullible, unsophisticated but with cash. That is why many cars are sold here without options which are basic in other places. This is not the case for high end cars, think Masrati, Porsche etc. But definitely for Toyotas and Fords. Even in electronics, at any point in time, whats sold here is lesser than whats sold in the US at the same time.

That's what I was trying to imply mpp - guess I didn't do a very good job!;) :D but someone need to tell them and push them in the right direction :) I guess I didn't do a very good job too :)

Some one drove ingot eh back of our 4 WD and their insurance was rubbish as soon as it happened DH took thencar to our garage who said the chassis was damaged. The insurance got the car fixed is some place for 1500 dhs and the garage got us a certificate from the RTA that it passed. We ended up fighting the insurance company and got it fixed by the agency. The whole process took 4 month. So yes if you know someone in the testing bay I am sure it can be done

That's what I was trying to imply mpp - guess I didn't do a very good job!;)

The RTA inspection isn't necessarily as thorough as it should be. DH took our older car early in the morning when it was quiet, and the tester took his time examining it and failed it on various points which we knew needed fixing. We got it repaired and DH took it for its retest in the afternoon when it was busy. All the testers looked really harrassed and DH was told to wait at the entrance to the testing bay while the car went through, so he was able to see exactly what happened. They were obviously trying to get the cars through as fast as possible, so they didn't bother doing the exhaust test. They just did the brake test, then put the car up on the ramp and the tester spent perhaps 15 seconds - literally - looking underneath it, and that was that. DH was asked to drive the car out of the test bay and into the parking area, and then he went to collect the certificate, which was a pass. It said that it had passed the exhaust test, which hadn't even been carried out. So maybe the OP's car went through the RTA test at a busy time of day? :(

Even so, it has to pass the RTA inspection, and if such a practice is brought to their attention - guess who the police/relevant govt. dept. is going to go after.....???? true, but deceiving RTA is also a crime punishable by prison time and this will be followed :)

Hi, so sorry that this has happened to you :( If the car is from a dealer than the first step is to talk to them, but in most cases will be to no avail :/ Next step is to file a complaint against the dealer with the Customer protection department at the municipality (not sure about the exact name, but they are there for such things and are good). You are the customer and you are deceived about what you are purchasing so this will be under their jurisdiction. They can tell you if police report needs to be filed too. I had a case with spoiled food and it turned out good :) I know it's not the same, but according to the law here everything about your car needs to disclosed, so since it was not, you have the right. good luck :D

My understanding is, if the airbag goes out, then this automatically brings the car value to next to nothing. 1 Really? is that true? i guess so, cause it means that the car had a serious accident. The car doesn't have to be totalled for the airbags to deploy, it depends various factors/angles/speeds for it deploy. I had a friend who's Merc deployed the airbags because he went over the centre of a roundabout at 60km/hr... the only damage to the car was because the airbags deployed... there was no other damage done.

Even so, it has to pass the RTA inspection, and if such a practice is brought to their attention - guess who the police/relevant govt. dept. is going to go after.....????

Try taking the car's VIN and doing an online search. It could be that he bought a trashed car from overseas, fixed it here, and then reselling it. My husband refuses to even consider buying a used car here because this is a wide practice here. We brought our cars to the shipper in the US to load in container and we saw a bunch of junkers being containered as well. The shipper told us he ships tons of these cars for a couple of clients heading here and to a few other middle eastern countries as well.

No matter the speed, a bent chassis is a major accident as it is a major repair and a major safety issue.

exactly or get an independent report!

Who amongst us is really able to spot a good or bad car? They can do a very good cover up! Which is why you take it to the dealer for a thorough check before you buy it....

I don't know about deployed airbags meaning the car is written off There isn't a solid rule that says airbags deployed = major accident = writeoff. The real issue is the cost of replacing the airbags; they are very expensive, and dependent on the value of the car, the cost of replacing the bags can push the total repair cost over the threshold the insurance companies set for declaring a writeoff. In other words, a car can have a completely repairable accident, but if the airbags deploy then it may become a writeoff simply on the basis of the cost of the repair, not on the basis of the severity of the damage.

Sometimes you need to invest a bit of money in things - not sure if you have a written report by a reputable dealer on this vehicle? If not then you are going to need one to pursue this- of course it may not get you your money back but may get you the satisfaction of getting this guy pulled up. There are all kinds of " written off" vehicles driving about out there - a reputable garage and a reputable insurance company will declare a car a write off if that is the case. The car should then go to the knackers yard but often ends up being welding to something else and then being sold on. This happened to a relative of ours in the UK and he was an experienced rally driver - ended up buying a cheap car that had been a welded together job. Who amongst us is really able to spot a good or bad car? They can do a very good cover up!

I'm assuming you have a written report from the dealer that the car was in a major accident (I don't know about deployed airbags meaning the car is written off - I have heard that it can be problematic to get the airbags to function properly if they have to be replaced, but that's annecdotal - maybe something to look up on line). If the dealer says the chassis is bent that definitely is a major accident, (and I've been hit head on by a bus so I know THAT at least first hand). Depends what the car is and the extent of the damage... none of us have seen this 'ere car and I'm guessing none of us are mechanics. Our old car (a Vectra) got the front part of the chassis bent by our then next door neighbour driving into it at very low speed because s/he couldn't park for toffee. The car wasn't totalled at all and it wasn't noticeable nor make-or-break for the safety aspect... just 5000aed of damage that we chose not to repair (and neighbours denied any knowledge). Anyhow, this guy is sounding dodgier by the minute... if nothing else, he hasn't given you all the documentation relating to the car and has been generally dishonest. Go on, do a bit of digging with the RTA (and ask them why they passed the car!) and then nail him! Even if you don't get anything from the process, at least it'll give him the willies for a bit.

I'm assuming you have a written report from the dealer that the car was in a major accident (I don't know about deployed airbags meaning the car is written off - I have heard that it can be problematic to get the airbags to function properly if they have to be replaced, but that's annecdotal - maybe something to look up on line). If the dealer says the chassis is bent that definitely is a major accident, (and I've been hit head on by a bus so I know THAT at least first hand). If he managed to get it repaired WITHOUT a police report - and I would assume you could ask the police for a copy of said report based on the vehicle VIN number in order to determine this, you now have some leverage. ANY CAR REPAIR HAS TO HAVE A POLICE REPORT FILED - (have we all heard of someone who didn't have one and got a repair done? Yes but it is the law) If the police have no record of one or if seller can't produce one for you to check with the police - tell the seller you will be filing a formal complaint with the police on THIS issue. If he is running a scam, he might give you your money back. If so - get it in cash, THEN file a complaint with the police anyway - sc um bags deserve to be treated like sc um bags. Good luck. Do not file the complaint until you have the cash in hand (no cheques, no deposits etc. non-negotiable)

Sorry about your situation. It doesn't look good from where you are. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. I would never ever buy a second-hand vehicle here, unless I personally knew the owners (and had an idea of the car's history). Al Aweer market (and classified ads) have had so many rumours for years of selling cars that have had serious accidents overseas, imported here and fixed up for resale as the specifications here aren't as strict as other countries. Too many dodgy deals going on and the market is flooded with fake parts. And that's another reason why the new car market is quite a bit cheaper here than in other countries; the specifications aren't as high.

My understanding is, if the airbag goes out, then this automatically brings the car value to next to nothing. 1 Really? is that true?

Absolutely you must report it to the police and frankly, I'd go to 7days too. If air bags deploy, it means the car is totalled - you are right. Is there any idea where the car was "repaired?" What a scheme - you buy cars that are totaled and pay for them as 'scrap metal' - basically nothing. Then you take them to your friend who "fixes them up" enough to sell as if they are legitimate cars and you sell them! It would be a brilliant plan - except you are putting cars on the road that are serious hazards both to the occupants and the cars around them. Definitely report this - there maybe others who have gotten sucked in as well.