adamNokia

Well after seeing how awful the 2nd hand car market is in KSA and as an expat not wanting to invest years of hard work in a metal box in a country where I may not be too long,

thought of buying a cheap left-hand-drive in UK

and bringing it over

Please can you advise on a smooth but low cost way to have the car delivered here in Riyadh?

TIA, Adam

lionheart

Forget that option. A UK car would not suit the oppressive heat and humidity over here. If you do a thorough search on here you will find that this query has been discussed many times before.

Tockalosh

buy a cheap one in AD or DXB

norsk

There's nothing wrong with the second hand market in Saudi. Of course you need to be a bit careful (as you would in most countries) or you may end up with something other than you wanted. Buy through one of the dealerships and you will at least have some traction if things get ugly. They act as agents for used cars by the way so you are effectively buying directly from the current owner, but since they are in the middle you deal only with them.

Check the car thoroughly (take it to a trusted mechanic if you want)
Ask for proof of service history.
Try to find a car which has a service package included
Buy extended warranty (it's remarkably cheap and they have to give the car an extensive checkup to get it from the insurer)

Finally, look for cars that are GCC spec. They have been modified from the factory to suit the conditions in the region.

adamNokia

Thanks lionheart, Im new to this area so its all learning.

Appreciate the reply norsk, although some of the this can be difficult when you dont know arabic and if your company guy isnt too cooperative

adamNokia

How easy is it to import from DXB/AD? How much will I lose of free dealer KSA warranties?

coffindodger

Ok i bought my car a small 4x4 here in riyadh. Apart from a couple of minor things wrong with it well i am doing about 550 kms a week .
I have had no major problems at all.
I have in the past posted on here a couple of web sites that deal in second hand cars here in saudi.
If i get time in the morning Saturday i will repost them again.
They are updated every couple of hours as well.

norsk

So why don't you do what I did and get someone else from the office to help you out. The PRO is always a Saudi and hence more than likely very lazy and barely willing to even do the things he has to for his job, much less help out random people buying cars....

Sorry for stereotyping Saudis by the way, but after a few months you'll realise the stories you hear are true...Of course there are exceptions, I've met a couple of them but they are few and far between I'm afraid..

coffindodger

As promised here are a couple of web sites for used cars.
http://sa-motor.com/index.php?option...tpage&Itemid=1
http://www.expatriates.com/classifieds/saudi/vehicles/

The second one is updated a couple of times a day.

adamNokia

Thankyou coffindodger for those useful links.

norsk, why are they like that? I wonder if its that some of them are nice chaps but lazy. But for others they are averse to foreigners.

What is the best way to deal with the latter kind I wonder?

AS

norsk

Not sure mate, but it is a fact here that unless you push every day even for simple things it is unlikely you will ever get what you need. It can be very stressful!

There is a bums on seats mentality in many companies here due to Saudization laws, so many Saudi employees just aren't interested at all in doing any work. They know they won't be fired...

To be honest you wouldn't necessarily know that someone is averse to foreigners as they wouldn't admit to it. It's a very complex situation in most gulf countries as they simply cannot survive without the expat workers. It's more that the bitterness comes out if they are pushed into a corner..for example if they hit your car because they are driving like idiots then they might tell you it is your fault as you shouldn't even be in the country in the first place...

Be open-minded and understand that you are never part of the long-term plans of a company and you'll be fine. Basically you are only there because they need you (and this might even sometimes mean they don't particularly like you).

adamNokia

Appreciate your advice, its very useful.

How do Saudi locals react when you praise their culture? Do they see it like an invasion of their territory or do they like it?

You might praise for example Dates and talk about it as a nutritious fruit or you might praise the good security.

What about the strategy of mentioning problems such as some of the under-developed aspects of the country, the poor driving etc. Are they touchy about people mentioning weaknesses?

AS

norsk

To be honest I'm not sure you'll be doing much praising of their culture. Any positive aspects of it are hidden away (at least I haven't seen anything I would feel obliged to praise). That is unless you count shopping, eating fast food, driving like lunatics and generally being difficult to approach as culture, but if you do then they need a lot of praise.

However, Arabs in general are a very friendly and generous people, and you will most certainly meet people who would be willing to walk through fire for you after only knowing you a short time. You could quite easily end up with friends for life in the region (if you want to that is).

You can praise dates if you want, but to be honest most people would probably wonder if you have lost the plot. Dates are of course an important foodstuff in the region and you will have plenty of opportunity to try different types. Good security is fair enough, but it is more a necessary evil considering what has happened in KSA on a couple of occasions in recent history. Personally I find it slightly disturbing that I guy is pointing a huge cannon at my car when all I'm doing is trying to get into the Le Meridien....

I have found that all topics are acceptable amongst friends, perhaps with the exception of religion. Don't ever question their faith basically. It will not go down well...

flares

such as my 3 year old Jeep Commander 4.7L 50,000km, 7 seater for sale in Abu Dhabi at 58,000 Dh

muchcheapnessthankyouplease

Shawlands

also been looking at cars over here, however I am finding the opposite is true - are all the ads posted in used car listings a load of bull - as I cant believe the cars are so cheap here?

second hand, 2 /3 year old audis, bmw ( 6/7 series) and porsches for less than £20k?

in my last visits I have never been here for more than a few weeks at a time so buying was never an option as rentals / taxis were arranged for me - but will be here for a longer spell soon and looking to buy.

anybody more familiar with the market here?

thanks