# Buy a used car



## Magdik (Oct 3, 2013)

Can any one tell me how to find a clean used car? and what do I need to register?


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## travertine (Aug 10, 2010)

Hi. Having bought a second hand car myself a few months ago I think there are basically 3 options.
1) go to the dealers that sell new cars who also sell used vehicles. You should be able to get a recent model that has been reasonably well inspected, may even have service records and may come with some sort of conditional warranty. This option may not be the cheapest option but might provide the most peace of mind and may in the long run prove to be the most cost effective.
2) go to any of the seemingly hundreds of used car yards and take a gamble. Many of them are clustered in one area of Dubai. See if you can get a private inspection of the car. You might find you have more time to reach a deal with these guys.
3) find a car for private sale through Dubizzle (or other sources e.g. Notice boards, word of mouth etc). And have the vehicle checked thoroughly by a reputable garage. This is not so easy. The seller has to be willing, you have to find the garage, and you will spend a lot of time perhaps using public transport getting to sellers only to find that the car details were not quite what had been advertised. Bear in mind that Dubai is very spread out so a suitable garage in one area of the city may not be convenient for a car located 15 Kms away. And the inspection will not be free but certainly worth it when you find a car that has good potential. In my view don't accept the mandatory government inspection as evidence that the car is in good condition (but it is needed for the transfer). They really only provide a basic assessment - better than nothing I guess. In my case they failed to note a leaking shock absorber in both inspections. And unfortunately after 1000 klms I've now had to rebuild the auto transmission for nearly AED11000. Whether or not a good garage would have spotted the problem I don't know. And if the major service is due for the timing belt etc (e.g. 100K klms) you can add upwards of several thousand AED to the purchase price. So finding a car with reliable service records in which the key maintenance jobs have been done and on time is critical but will prove a real challenge. Most owners I dealt with were happy to save their AED and simply have the oil changed at the local garage. They were also looking for a quick sale, weren't flexible and exerted a lot of pressure. In some cases it wasn't clear who I was dealing with (it's my wife's car, I'm selling it for a friend etc).

In hindsight I think I would go for option 1 and just accept that I am going to pay a premium price for the used car and hope that the dealer is honourable. You will read many replies that contain less than favourable experiences with the dealers.

Hope this helps.


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## Jumeirah Jim (Jan 24, 2011)

Please learn to use paragraphs Trav

That is interesting but extremely hard reading


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## vildadalen (Jan 12, 2013)

Thank you for sharing. and sorry if I hijack the post. I am soon to consider buying a car and I am researching whether to buy a new or used, where and what to buy. 

I am not so fan of buying used stuff. It is not really my thing cause I don't trust any used stuff that someone other than me has been using it. This applies for any device. 

However, I appreciate if you have any good inputs where and what model to buy a family car with a budget of 70000, any idea? 



travertine said:


> Hi. Having bought a second hand car myself a few months ago I think there are basically 3 options.
> 1) go to the dealers that sell new cars who also sell used vehicles. You should be able to get a recent model that has been reasonably well inspected, may even have service records and may come with some sort of conditional warranty. This option may not be the cheapest option but might provide the most peace of mind and may in the long run prove to be the most cost effective.
> 2) go to any of the seemingly hundreds of used car yards and take a gamble. Many of them are clustered in one area of Dubai. See if you can get a private inspection of the car. You might find you have more time to reach a deal with these guys.
> 3) find a car for private sale through Dubizzle (or other sources e.g. Notice boards, word of mouth etc). And have the vehicle checked thoroughly by a reputable garage. This is not so easy. The seller has to be willing, you have to find the garage, and you will spend a lot of time perhaps using public transport getting to sellers only to find that the car details were not quite what had been advertised. Bear in mind that Dubai is very spread out so a suitable garage in one area of the city may not be convenient for a car located 15 Kms away. And the inspection will not be free but certainly worth it when you find a car that has good potential. In my view don't accept the mandatory government inspection as evidence that the car is in good condition (but it is needed for the transfer). They really only provide a basic assessment - better than nothing I guess. In my case they failed to note a leaking shock absorber in both inspections. And unfortunately after 1000 klms I've now had to rebuild the auto transmission for nearly AED11000. Whether or not a good garage would have spotted the problem I don't know. And if the major service is due for the timing belt etc (e.g. 100K klms) you can add upwards of several thousand AED to the purchase price. So finding a car with reliable service records in which the key maintenance jobs have been done and on time is critical but will prove a real challenge. Most owners I dealt with were happy to save their AED and simply have the oil changed at the local garage. They were also looking for a quick sale, weren't flexible and exerted a lot of pressure. In some cases it wasn't clear who I was dealing with (it's my wife's car, I'm selling it for a friend etc).
> ...


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## Magdik (Oct 3, 2013)

Thanks my dear, I will go for option 1 as other friends suggested the same.

Thanks again


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## pinkzebra (May 31, 2012)

Great advice as I am looking to buy a car too


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## Budw (Oct 14, 2013)

Magdik said:


> Thanks my dear, I will go for option 1 as other friends suggested the same.
> 
> Thanks again


if a dealer makes you feel better, go for it, but do not trust them blindly. They buy and sell for a living, in high volume, the quality of cars is not better than from the private seller.

When buying used, considering these items could help you getting a good car:

- Low mileage (below 50.000km) is your safest way to a sound car. When a car reaches over 100.000km, wear and tear may kick in, especially if it had a hard life. You can be lucky, but the climate and type of driving here is hard on the car, there is a lot more risk risk on failure above 100.000km, than a car that did less that 50.000km. 

- Service History - Low mileage cars have an advantage here too because they typically have a short record. Agent maintained cars have the preference because they keep the records. If brake pad where replaced at 10.000km, it can indicate the car had a hard life; but if it has still the brake pads from new, you have another safeguard

- Warranty: Only the manufacturer warranty counts. Careful, some dealers provide warranty after the manufacturer warranty has expired; stay away from that, its a warranty provided by an insurance company... the process of claiming is time consuming and many items are not covered. Most of the time, you end up paying some or all, and your car is out of service for extended time.

- Accident repair: A car is not necessarily bad if it had an accident; it depends on the repair quality. Check all panel gaps; they should be even. Scratches or minor surface damage on the body are no problem, and could help you to get a little of the price.


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## omar92 (Oct 8, 2013)

There are some excellent bargains to be found in Dubai, definitely. Very high turnover of cars, so you might find some great deals (20,000km or less) for premium cars. Also, depends on what time of year it is. Car dealers usually have sales during Ramadan (next summer) or just before a new model comes in. I know that Toyota is going to start selling the 2014 Corolla soon, so they're clearing out the 2013 model at lower prices.


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