FriendlyExpat

Hi all,

Any idea on how much of a depreciation hit I'd take on selling a 1 year old SUV in Riyadh?

I ask because after ruling out second hand cars (too abused) and cheap new cars (too unsafe) I'm now planning on buying a new big safe SUV like a Toyota Prado or Sequoia or similar, and I'm curious how much I'd lose on reselling it after a year.

(By comparison I'm paying around 22k SAR per year to hire a small crappo car, which is my "baseline" cost.)

csdf

I just chatted about this very subject yesterday to a colleague who used to work in the motor industry. He said, rule of thumb, 15-20% each year for the first three years. You then have to correct by mileage bearing in mind that the average car (in the UAE) does 15k/year or so. Might be a bit more in Saudi given the larger size of the country?

mikewot

Why do people assume with these monster trucks that bigger = safer? Look online for the safety ratings, VW Golf does as well as an big 4x4. Better visibility for parking/seeing pedestrians as well.

lostinthedust

Maybe true in other countries, but in Saudi the monster truck always comes off better. Never seen a Golf here, ever. You need to choose the vehicle that will best serve you in battle against Hyundai Accents, Crown Vic's and Toyota pickups.
As for parking, who cares? Park wherever/however you want. And pedestrians should not be anywhere near the road anyway.

Millhouse

VW Golf is great if you (i) crash into a wall, (ii) crash into another saloon, (iii) roll it/ have a blow out, or (iv) crash into a person.

It is't so great when a double cab truck decides to drive over you and all of your safety equipment.

The safety ratings are developed in strict test environments. While a 4x4 is a disaster in the event of a blow out (something you can control by looking after the tyres), I would rather be in a 4x4 in the majority of car accidents involving a saloon. Does it not worry you when stop at lights and the wheels of the car next to you are above your head?

Millhouse

Dunno about Saudi, but in the UAE if you get a Toyota, I think depreciation is nearer 10-12% per annum. That is my experience from owning a couple.

mikewot

No because I often travel on the 311 and the articulated lorries frighten me, but not the 4x4's except when they're millimetres from my rear bumper. Arctic will even drive over a 4x4, so if it's your time it's your time.

Millhouse

So you didn't really answer the question... I would also rather be in a 4x4 when involved in an accident with a truck. More metal and airbags around me.

I was in a 4x4 that rear ended a saloon car here. Thankfully there was no one in the back as we mashed the back of their car. Our 4x4 wasn't that badly damaged as we effectively drove over the other car.

This is the problem: I'm not a huge 4x4 fan in the urban environment, but when 50% of the cars are 4x4s, and 80% of them are driven by morons, I would rather join the arms race than be a victim of it.

jam25mack

So really it seems the answer is to buy a trick. Doesn't need to be an artic but it would win in the my vehicles bigger than yours debate.

Truck > Landcruiser > Saloon > Yaris > Tuk tuk (am just back from my hols) > Moped > wheel chair > pedestrian

mikewot

Sorry, I wasn't avoiding it. No I'm not bothered. If I was I suspect I'd go for a hummer or landrover, something the military use. A lot of the monster trucks seem pretty flimsy looking, built for show.

jam25mack

Hummer maybe but definitely not a Landie. As much as I love em, you are looking at 1960/70's design for the most 'modern' ones. They're not designed in such a way as to dissipate the energy around the cabin.

I'd go for one of the big silly yankie jobs.

flares

Dunno what the Saudi obsession with Crown Vics and other barge like yank cars is.

Loads of them on the roads. You half expect them to start hopping and jumping Snoop Dog style at the lights.

csdf

Saudi is one of the last major market for the Crown Victoria - everywhere else they're too fuel inefficient to be attractive. Thus Ford heavily promotes them in KSA.

FriendlyExpat

Because in the last half decade SUVs have unarguably been much safer than small cars, see e.g.:

http://www.iihs.org/externaldata/srdata/docs/sr4605.pdf

SUVs had an average of 28 deaths per million vehicle years, while cars had double the death rate at 56 deaths per million vehicle years, (with small cars by far and away the worst at 82 deaths per million vehicle years). These are US figures obviously as I can't find equivalent figures for the GCC.

Also, this cheery piece of reading: http://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2013/05/026.html says that "When two vehicles are involved in a crash, the overwhelming majority of fatalities occur in the smaller and lighter of the two vehicles".

sicklyman

in Saudi the best car for resale is a Toyota hands down... a Lexus even better...