Buying a second hand car or used car

It's impossible to find one in Dubai now - they're all "pre-owned" instead. Makes them sound better than new right?

One thing (of many) to bear in mind is whether or not a car is built to "Middle East or Gulf specifications". A number of older cars have arrived in Dubai from other countries (used Mercedes from Europe for example) and have different specifications to new cars supplied to Gulf dealers. The main concern is the air conditioning and engine cooling system. Avoid if it's not Gulf specification, or at least find out how much it will cost you to upgrade it. This is less of a worry with newer cars. Keep reading for more useful tips...

Warning: Do not accept personal cheques as payment for selling your second hand car. There are a number of cases reported where the cheque has bounced and the cheque-writer could not be traced. For example ...

• Gulf News 26 August 2010: A couple agreed to sell their 2007 Mercedes for AED 125,000 in August 2010. The purchaser met the couple at the Dubai Traffic Department to transfer registration, and then gave them a personal cheque which subsequently bounced. The couple were quoted saying that "He asked us to sit down and would not allow us to do anything as he went about getting the car passed, doing the Arabic paperwork for the car transfer and getting an export number plate," The report also said They filed a complaint with the Bur Dubai Police Station who told them that the Emirati had nine similar cases against him.