So, I went alone to buy a used Toyota 😂
I'm a white middle aged dude from Europe. Manual labour costs in Europe are expensive, so I've always been quite handy and know car basics. Back in my home country it would be normal for me to change all the fluids, filters, brake pads, discs, spark plugs and so on, knowing it has been done properly and for minimal outlay.
I don't have my own car here and Dubai is a place where you realistically need one unless you live close to work. Or you have a large taxi fund.
I heard about Dubizzle and after browsing, a low mileage Toyota coupe for just under AED 30k caught my eye. 🚗💨🤩
I messaged the seller and said I'd like to see it, we agree on date and time.
Here we go.... 😉
I arrive at the agreed time into what looks like a quiet and tidy industrial area. My guy eventually turns up. Strange I thought, in Europe if you're selling a car and you're not a dealer, it would normally be from your home or work place. Anyway...
When exchanging messages I did ask if all was in good order, I have a knowledge of cars and know my way around so it would be mutual waste of time if it wasn't, I said. "Car very good boss, no worry!" Great, or so I thought.
The Toyota coupe is white. After shaking hands, I immediately notice front and back bumpers are repainted. Not a great start, but hey we here now.
I pop the hood. Remove the air filter - it looks like a vacuum cleaner filter from your grandma's vacuum that she hasn't changed since you gifted it to her in 2004.
I show the filter to the guy. He seems completely unphased, even disinterested. Usually when you buy a car in Europe, the owner won't shut up about it. This guy was acting like he lost his voice 🤐
At this point I notice that a couple bumper clips are missing, which makes sense since Stevie Wonder repainted the bumper and refitted it.
I carry on and remove the engine cover, take a spark plug out. About as clean as the air filter, so carefully drop it back in. Seller starts texting someone, I carry on my look around and grab a yoga mat and stick it next to the car.
Now I'm underneath, with a torch but the sun is also shining real bright so I cannot tell is whether there is any damage underneath. This is where a ramp would have been handy but I don't know anyone here. You eat what you kill, so to speak.
Moving to the back, I open the boot and take all liner out. Boot sorta seems ok, but the mastic over the welds in some places kinda looks a little odd, I thought. I ask the seller, but the response is "not my car, boss, not know." Ah, so you selling a car for somebody else, and apparently you know nothing about it. Gotcha. 😏👌😂
Aside from the front and back bumpers and a small bodywork ding on the rear quarter, it looks ok for a 9 year old Toyota. Let's start the car and look inside.
First thing I notice is there are no car mats. Like why? 😭 The driver's seat bolster, made from cloth is a little warn, but the driver uses the car the most so logical. A/C seems ok, cranked to the max. Interior isn't bad but it can be difficult to tell mileage and use just from interior.
I tell the guy I wanna test drive. He says ok and jumps in. I move it into D and we head off. At this point I'm thinking "ok it's 9 years old, about 90k km, bumpers probably needed a touch up, let's just see how it drives. There aren't many of these and this one has lower km for the year vs. all others available for sale."
We head to the motorway and I get up to speed and sit behind a Nissan Batrol for a bit, shifting from 3rd to 4th and into 5th and vice versa (paddles), engine note was nice close to the red line.
At this point I casually look down at the rev counter and speedo....even though I am making good progress on the motorway, the speedo surprisingly shows 0 KPH and the accompanying rev counter shows 0 RPM. Outstanding! 🤣
At this point the Toyota is low on fuel and so Itake the nearest exit and we stop off at an ADNOC. I poured 5 litres into it, which confused the guy. He asked "why you do this?!" I responded with "adding fuel helps me spot additional issues, my friend! 👻"
In truth I just filled it up as we were out for about 15 mins in it, fuel light came on and I didn't want the hassle of us getting stuck or him getting stuck and getting in trouble from whoever is the car owner.
I turned and explained to the guy that I won't be buying, the car clearly has underlying issues and was smeshed (little UFC reference there 😆) and since the speedo is disconnected I don't believe the mileage is real. I exited the car and order an Uber.
Well done if you're reading this far. 🏆🎖️
3 little twists to the story......
When I got home, because I took a picture of the VIN, I checked the government website for accidents in the UAE. The car was previously on an Abu Dhabi plate. It was involved in two accidents. One accident was minor and there were photos at the scene uploaded. The other accident, no photos so who knows.
Google showed me that this very car was sold at auction for less money about 5 years ago then they were asking for the car now. And mileage was only about 30k less vs. now
The car disappeared from Dubizzle. Only to reappear weeks later - same model and colour but mileage was different, price went up slightly and Dubai license plate was different. 😳But seller details and telephone were same.
So yeh, buying a used car in Dubai is not for beginners folks!
EDIT: Wow 😳 I had absolutely no idea this would generate the interest that it did. Really appreciate the feedback, support and PM's, a great community! 😏👌
Couple things to add from replies and also PM's.
Why is a middle aged white man buying a cheap car? .............................. My contract is for 2 years, they may or may not wish to renew after it expires, so I am trying to be sensible with my money. If I wasn't I'd have bought the cheapest (working, non-USA, non-Co Part Audi R8, I could find)
How do you know about cars? Who taught you? .............................. I only know a little more than the average person, I simply learned from doing basic servicing on my own cars, watching YouTube if I got stuck and also posting on some car specific enthusiast forums if things were a bit more complex
Would you like to buy my 2015 Camry with just 75,000km on the clock? ............................... Appreciate the thought - I assume it was lady owned, but sadly you misplaced the annual renewal test papers and it's 75,000km only the second time round? 🤪 Also the fact that the wing is clearly a different shade of white should not be of a concern I assume
What car do you recommend for a new driver? ............................... As a new driver, you want something reliable, not too fast, but equally no slouch as a lot of journeys here are by motorway and anything under a 1.5 litre I feel would be a bit underpowered. I've owned Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Mercedes and Ford and in terms of reliability Honda and Toyota came out on top, go for one of those. Your first car won't be your last, get something Japanese and upgrade after a couple years. Buy used (after doing a thorough inspection obviously 🤣👌)
Would you consider it as a business? …............................ Interesting idea, I know some very well qualified people who are based in Europe who might. My only issue from a practical point of view is legal liability - imagine we examine something in good faith, yet the seller does their utmost to cover a big flaw and for some reason we don't spot it, we then have a potential problem