FriendlyExpat

Hi chaps,

Two random questions if I may (plus a request for general advice if you can be bothered to read the entire post):

(1) Has anyone here bought or sold a used car in Riyadh? If so, how did you do it, was it a hassle and how much did it depreciate during your ownership?

(2) Does anyone here know of anyone who is selling a used SUV in Riyadh?

I ask because I am deciding this week whether to buy a new or second hand SUV, with a primary aim of minimum loss when I come to resell in about 18 month's time.

If buying new, the sensible part of me thinks either a Hyundai Tucson or Kia Sportage (basically same car) and the insane part of me likes the Toyota Prado or Sequoia or similar (which may depreciate less in % terms but are way more expensive to buy in the first place). If buying second hand, I'd like something largeish to bash around in safely.

As for second hand cars, I've been to the Car Souq and the prices were silly (i.e. I was quoted 60,000 SAR for a 20 year old Suburban). Similarly, I've looked at the www.expatriates.com website but there are a lot of fake cars and the real sellers seem to ask silly prices (but I don't know if these get bargained down a lot)? There are some arabic-only websites but I can't read these...

If I could get reliable purchase price and "total cost of ownership" figures I would decide in a second but I don't, so I am resorting instead to asking random internet forum users for advice. So, what say you, interweb users? What should I buy?

flares

yes there's a guy on here in the last week or two selling a used Jeep Cherokee in Riyadh...he's called Chester Lee

http://britishexpats.com/classifieds...uct=6570&cat=5

RJB123

Seem to recall that there are restrictions on single expats owning larger SUV's in Saudi. Not sure whether you are on your own or with family but if you are on single status worth checking out before you commit yourself to buying a vehicle.

FriendlyExpat

Indeed this is an issue when buying a large SUV but I understand the rules are slightly relaxed for westerners (may not be true but this is what the toyta dealership told me, and of course I wouldn't pay anything until this was confirmed).

FriendlyExpat

What would really help is if anyone had experience of actually selling a used car in Riyadh, in particular the Toyota Prado (which appear to keep their value extraordinarily well). I am wary of being lured in with promises of good resale values only to find in fact that this is not so accurate...

Victor Meldrew

When I lived there I bought a 2 door Nissan Patrol for 45,000 SAR. It kept it's value really well and was easy to sell at a good price.

FriendlyExpat

Thanks! Very helpful. Would you mind saying what year model it was and how much did it depreciate?

Victor Meldrew

I lived there 2001 - 2004. I bought the car in 2001 for 45,000, it was 3 years old. I sold it about 18 months later for 41,000. I could have got more, but wanted to sell quickly at the time. I sold it to a local who did all of the paperwork.

MaserMan

Generally if you buy a Toyota SUV the depreciation is quite low. The one warning I would give is that if you do buy 2nd hand get one from a western expat as they really abuse the cars and service history is not always available.

As has been previously said make sure that you get the OK to buy a SUV if you are single.

holliday

Hi. As a Riyadh based expat, I bought a second hand LR3 around three years and no one ever mentioned any issue of a westerner owning a large SUV. I paid SR83k for it 2 years (SR250k new), and I quite often get people offering SR60k for it today, but as I need a car, it is not for sale. Toyota hold their value, but finding a decent one is difficult and the prices for me don't stack up, as a 3 year old one will cost around 90% of the new price. One thing to try might be to find a small local garage that is frequented by Westerners, and ask them if they know of anything. Again I would also confirm that it is far better to buy from an expat who has looked after the car, as wheelies and lack of servicing in this environment really does ruin cars quickly. Also big and bulky is good, preferably with off road ability as a safety device if nothing else.

MaserMan

Just read what I put up. What I meant was buy from western expats as the locals (they) don't look after their cars.