Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
Mar 16th 2014, 2:52 pm
#16
Soupy twist
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,271
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
You can rely on the dealership service departments here to bring every tiny little thing to your attention if they think you'll bite for parts and labour, so if they haven't found anything, it's almost certainly fine 
So it was definitely bought in the States and then privately shipped over here? If it was me I'd pay to run the VIN through a site like Carfax for sure, if only to know its true original history. And if it *was* involved in any accidents before it came here, I'd rather know than not, even if it's been properly repaired.
So it was definitely bought in the States and then privately shipped over here? If it was me I'd pay to run the VIN through a site like Carfax for sure, if only to know its true original history. And if it *was* involved in any accidents before it came here, I'd rather know than not, even if it's been properly repaired.
Last edited by Eeyore; Mar 16th 2014 at 2:55 pm.
Mar 16th 2014, 3:37 pm
#17
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
You can rely on the dealership service departments here to bring every tiny little thing to your attention if they think you'll bite for parts and labour, so if they haven't found anything, it's almost certainly fine
So it was definitely bought in the States and then privately shipped over here? If it was me I'd pay to run the VIN through a site like Carfax for sure, if only to know its true original history. And if it *was* involved in any accidents before it came here, I'd rather know than not, even if it's been properly repaired.
So it was definitely bought in the States and then privately shipped over here? If it was me I'd pay to run the VIN through a site like Carfax for sure, if only to know its true original history. And if it *was* involved in any accidents before it came here, I'd rather know than not, even if it's been properly repaired.
Mar 16th 2014, 3:43 pm
#18
banned
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 7,611
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
Don't forget that Ras Al Khor has plenty of nice-looking cars that were actually written off in other countries, then shipped here and rebuilt (most often in Sharjah) - America is a big source of these.
At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, always make a note of the VIN of any car you're seriously interested in, and get the relevant dealership here to look it up on their system. If they can't find it, clearly that should ring alarm bells. If you determine that it's an import rather than something originally bought from a UAE dealership, pay to use one of the online services that look up the VIN in the country of origin so you can find out what its real accident history is.
At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, always make a note of the VIN of any car you're seriously interested in, and get the relevant dealership here to look it up on their system. If they can't find it, clearly that should ring alarm bells. If you determine that it's an import rather than something originally bought from a UAE dealership, pay to use one of the online services that look up the VIN in the country of origin so you can find out what its real accident history is.
Mar 16th 2014, 4:02 pm
#19
Soupy twist
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 2,271
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
It says that even if it was originally sold through the dealer here. Check with the Ford dealership first, find out what they say about its history. It could easily be a genuine UAE-market car; if it is, Carfax won't have anything to say about it.
Mar 16th 2014, 4:33 pm
#21
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
Interesting, assume I just ring ford and ask them to check? Thanks pal.
Mar 16th 2014, 4:57 pm
#22
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2011
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 300
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
One of the technicians that work for me bought a Honda in Doha through private sale as US import....
Found out a few weeks later that the car had bee damaged during a big flood in the US (New York I believe ) and had been effectively written off in the US, and shipped to Doha as a good import. Big problems with wiring etc. It was bought from a local, so had no comeback.
Found out a few weeks later that the car had bee damaged during a big flood in the US (New York I believe ) and had been effectively written off in the US, and shipped to Doha as a good import. Big problems with wiring etc. It was bought from a local, so had no comeback.
Mar 17th 2014, 4:23 am
#24
**** it we'll do it live
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Dubai
Posts: 7,892
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
As said a ton of cars here are US write offs.
Not always bad news but definately can be.
Insurance companies will usually write off anything beyond economical repair regardless of the problem, flood damage is the most common here as that's a whole load of labour to put right as are hail damaged cars from the tornado states, here though labour is close to zero cost so makes for economical repair, add in the fact that Sharjah collects broken car parts from here and around the globe and it's pretty easy to buy a damaged car for outside the UAE and have it fixed for cheap then resold at a profit that wouldn't be possible anywhere else.
There is a huge trade in selling these to Africa etc out of Sharjah.
The real issue is writes off due to structural deformation, there are no shortage of people here happy to straighten out crumple zones and resell a car. These are death traps to be avoided at all costs. Spotting them however is not always easy so check the vin etc
Not always bad news but definately can be.
Insurance companies will usually write off anything beyond economical repair regardless of the problem, flood damage is the most common here as that's a whole load of labour to put right as are hail damaged cars from the tornado states, here though labour is close to zero cost so makes for economical repair, add in the fact that Sharjah collects broken car parts from here and around the globe and it's pretty easy to buy a damaged car for outside the UAE and have it fixed for cheap then resold at a profit that wouldn't be possible anywhere else.
There is a huge trade in selling these to Africa etc out of Sharjah.
The real issue is writes off due to structural deformation, there are no shortage of people here happy to straighten out crumple zones and resell a car. These are death traps to be avoided at all costs. Spotting them however is not always easy so check the vin etc
Mar 17th 2014, 7:38 am
#25
Shark Fisherman
Joined: Feb 2012
Location: Doha
Posts: 4,568
Re: Best Places to Buy a Used Car - Dubai
I spent a day in Al Aweer last week buying for here in Doha and was amazed at the size and variety. Scamp found the right guy willing to help - As I did, again I have his mobile and he can help out especially when dealing with the Arabic speakers. I pretty much know what most things should sell for so if you want a heads up message me.
