UAE is home to a large migrant population, particularly in Emirates like Dubai. They are often in need of buying a used car as most of them don’t end up settling there.
Buying a used car in the UAE is quite popular, especially in the last few years. The pandemic has contributed immensely to the growth of the used car industry the world over. Increased demand for personal mobility in the last couple of years has made people head to the used car market. Now, it becomes critical to practice basic tips to ensure that you get the best value-for-money proposition. However, you could easily fall into the trap of a cheap car as well. Therefore, these tips will come in handy to avoid such blunders.
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Buying Used Car in the UAE
Consider Overall Cost of Ownership
Most people make the mistake of not considering the entire cost of ownership of the vehicle. They just think about the initial cost. But there are a lot of expenses that go with owning a car. This includes things like maintenance, parking, fuel consumption, periodic services and repair. If the vehicle is too old, you could have more expenses on the services itself dislodging your budget.
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Using Car Loan to Pay Deposit
Typically, the banks in the UAE ask the car buyer to pay 20% of the amount of the car. But some people end up using this amount to pay for the down payment itself. Now, this puts them in a terrible position where if they need to get out of the country, they will have a huge amount of loan standing with the bank. You must avoid this at all costs and pay for the deposit yourself.
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Do Proper Research
Most people just decide to buy a car based on the looks of the car. However, you must also know that old cars typically have reduced fuel economy, and worn-out parts and lose a lot of their value if you wish to resell them for any reason. That will incur a lot of financial pressure on you. Therefore, the best practice is to go for newer used cars and brands that have higher resale value like Toyota or Nissan.
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Do Pre-Purchase Inspection
There are innumerable cases where car buyers end up getting cheated by getting a car that has been involved in an accident by fixing it temporarily. Hence, it is of utmost importance that you do your due diligence to research about the history of the car before purchasing it. Using the VIN number, it is possible to get the history of the car in its entirety. Make sure to do that before making a purchase decision or following the seller blindly.
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Consider Market Conditions
Finally, it is important to consider the market conditions at the time of planning to buy a used car. For instance, at the moment, there is a large global supply chain issue and a shortage of semiconductors chips that have slowed the production of new cars. That has caused the prices of used cars up because of high demand in the space. Hence, it is not a good idea to buy a used car at this point in time as you would end up spending more compared to a couple of months earlier or later.
