So you have arrived in Dubai and sorted out everything with your job & house. Now buying a car is one of your next tasks, which is on your mind thoroughly and car is a must have item in Dubai for everyone who wants to have a life full of pleasant times. First thing which you need in order to buy a car in Dubai is having a residence visa in Dubai. Which i assume you would have or going to have one and that’s why you are planning to buy a car. Now, there will be plenty of questions erupting in your mind like a volcano by this stage and some of you will be panicking & thinking what to do next, which is understandable because car is not something which you buy every day in your life. So you got to be careful about that. First of all, the good news is that cars in Dubai are not that expensive. You can even afford to buy those cars which you used to dream to have them anywhere else. But it does not even mean that i am trying to create any exaggeration here about the cars prices in Dubai. All i would say do your research online and you will get a bit of idea what i am talking about. Following are the tips, which might be helpful for you in the process of buying a new or used car in Dubai.
Obviously, the first two points are completely up to you
1. What type of car you are looking for OR if you have anything specific in your mind
2. What is your set budget?
Anywhere else you will definitely be concerned about the car's engine size because the engine size is directly proportionate to fuel and fuel is something which is hot and expensive entity in most parts of the world but don’t worry in Dubai. Here fuel is quite cheap. Look for cars which are specifically Gulf Specs and it will be useful in the long run in terms of finding the car parts. Adversely, other popular ones are American & Japanese Specs. Don’t just go for the words, if someone is selling you a car saying e.g. "you will not find better car than this". Once if you step forward there is no going back, so do your research and take your time. if you are looking to buy 4X4, make sure you go for a test drive, because local guys like going to the desert dunes in Dubai and the car could be in bad condition although it might look nice from outside.
Next, you have three options
a. Buying a new car from a local dealer
b. Buying a used car from a used car dealer
c. Buying a car from a private person
Now, in all those three cases, there are few precautions involved or at least having a bit of knowledge can save you from any problem later.
Buying a new car from a local dealer
If you are looking to buy a new car from a dealer, then keep in mind that price difference would not be that huge, on top of that the price difference varies from make to make and model to model. Also once if you drive away from that dealer's showroom in your new car, you will be leaving chunk of your cash behind, after few months or a year, where as you can find similar type of slightly used cars in best condition with the significant difference in price. So i guess that’s what the price you pay if you go for brand new cars. Most of the dealers offer some good deals on buying new cars in Dubai e.g. free insurance for a year, or free registration of car etc. but some of them don’t especially if the car make is quite popular. All the major offices for new car dealers in Dubai are mostly on Sheikh Zayed Road or in Mall of Emirates.
Buying a car from a used car dealer
Now, in this case obviously you will be saving good amount of cash comparing to buying a new car from a dealer, but the area where you have to emphasise is at the condition of the car and who you are buying the car from. Firstly do not transfer or hand over the money unless you have seen the car and satisfied yourself. Go for a test drive, ask relevant questions about the history of the car, if the dealer can provide the full service history of the car. Did the car have any accidents in the past? Is the car repainted? What is the mileage of the car? If the mileage is higher than usual then make sure the car has not been used for any commercial purposes. Now personally in my opinion this is one of the safe option compare to buying a car from private seller. Why is that? Because you get car in clean condition. You get some deals from dealer including a guarantee for short time. Also 99% it’s a peace of mind the car you are buying from a dealer is not stolen or if there is any problem you run back to the dealer. But obviously dealer will charge you some amount of commission or profit on top of the price you might be getting from a private seller. So i guess it’s worth it. There are plenty of used cars dealers in Dubai, you can find most of them at AutoFinderUAE.com to the find the best deals on used cars for sale in Dubai.
Buying a used car from a private person
In this case, the procedure is almost going to be the same. Do your checks & don’t hesitate to ask any relevant questions as many as you can think of. Again do not hand over the cash before seeing the car or do not give away your bank details and make sure you are dealing with the real owner of the car than some third party. Most of the private sellers do not like to accept any responsibility afterwards, so make sure you are stepping into the right deal.