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Buying cars; Are we at an advantage?

I’m currently compiling an article on car loans where I’m comparing buying a car in and around October 2008 and buying a car now (Jan 2009).
Now car prices are dropping, but loans are harder to come by. The interest rate and minimum salary is up and there are a lot more restrictions.
Before (October 2008) car prices were normal yet getting a car loan was much easier.

I want to hear stories from people who’ve benefitted from the current market and who’ve lost out. I also wanted to hear from people who’ve benefitted by buying a car before the financial crisis hit Dubai and who’ve lost out.

If you have any other issues you’d like to bring up please feel free to voice them.

Yes, having a car in UAE is a good thing. and having a license is a must. If I will buy a car at this time of crisis, I might buy a second hand with no help of bank (or might also be).

nothing is dropping, not in AD at least, just checked with benz and toyota dealers, prices still high, I guess they are still bluffing.

they might give you a good deal in 2008 model.

uaekid wrote:nothing is dropping, not in AD at least, just checked with benz and toyota dealers, prices still high, I guess they are still bluffing.

they might give you a good deal in 2008 model.

agreed

didnt u guys hear about saudi ppl boycotting all the deals ..also here in uae we are boycotting ..the prices increased 20% ..

How about in auctions and with second hand car dealers? can bargains be found there?

Xpress wrote:How about in auctions and with second hand car dealers? can bargains be found there?

yes, the used car market is dead somhow so they'll cut you a good deal but mostly for the economic cars and as they call them here imported cars

How about new cars imported from Oman? Is there any drop in prices?

uaekid wrote:

Xpress wrote:How about in auctions and with second hand car dealers? can bargains be found there?

yes, the used car market is dead somhow so they'll cut you a good deal but mostly for the economic cars and as they call them here imported cars

I believe the banks are auctioning off some good bargains.


And my mechanic showed me a crisp Mercedes Sports he bought for Dhs 10,000. He said he bought it from a British lady who was leaving the country in a hurry and she just wanted some cash.

He said he'd sell it to me for 25,000!

What are the biggest second hand dealers in Dubai? Anyone know of any good bargains going around?

spirophonix wrote:Yes, having a car in UAE is a good thing. and having a license is a must. If I will buy a car at this time of crisis, I might buy a second hand with no help of bank (or might also be).

and u can trust to take a second hand car even if it s looking in a good condition ???!

and my car is in very good condition!!!!

sharfraz wrote:and my car is in very good condition!!!!

i m not buying :p

loool

Miss_lolly wrote:

sharfraz wrote:and my car is in very good condition!!!!

i m not buying :p

loool

oh were you looking to sell your car?

Anyone who bagged a bargain and wants to share? Anyone who lost out and wants to share? please tell!

Bought my car in 2006 and now i am finding it difficult to sell
incase anyone is interested the Specifications of the car are as follows

Mistubishi Pajero 3.8l, 2006 model, Done 68500 km,
4 door, Silver color with grey leather interiors,New Brake pads & tyres
No 1 specs which include
Xenon lights, power mirrors and windows, sunroof, 6 CD changer, tiptronic gear, rear spoiler, side airbags etc
Full Service History with Al Habtoor


.

Is anybody has 2000-2001 second hand cars, as I am interested to buy on installment basis, if you agree then i will buy the car

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world ... artner=rss

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai’s fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage.

“I’m really scared of what could happen, because I bought property here,” said Sofia, who asked that her last name be withheld because she is still hunting for a new job. “If I can’t pay it off, I was told I could end up in debtors’ prison.”

With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.

The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.

No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai’s major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.

Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country’s reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000). Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis.

Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai’s Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher.

“At the moment there is a readiness to believe the worst,” said Simon Williams, HSBC bank’s chief economist in Dubai. “And the limits on data make it difficult to counter the rumors.”

Some things are clear: real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai’s six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. Last week, Moody’s Investor’s Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of Dubai’s most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale , they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say. Dubai’s roads, usually thick with traffic at this time of year, are now mostly clear.

Some analysts say the crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on the seven-member emirates federation, where Dubai has long played rebellious younger brother to oil-rich and more conservative Abu Dhabi. Dubai officials, swallowing their pride, have made clear that they would be open to a bailout, but so far Abu Dhabi has offered assistance only to its own banks.

“Why is Abu Dhabi allowing its neighbor to have its international reputation trashed, when it could bail out Dubai’s banks and restore confidence?” said Christopher M. Davidson, who predicted the current crisis in “Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success,” a book published last year. “Perhaps the plan is to centralize the U.A.E.” under Abu Dhabi’s control, he mused, in a move that would sharply curtail Dubai’s independence and perhaps change its signature freewheeling style.

(Page 2 of 2)

For many foreigners, Dubai had seemed at first to be a refuge, relatively insulated from the panic that began hitting the rest of the world last autumn. The Persian Gulf is cushioned by vast oil and gas wealth, and some who lost jobs in New York and London began applying here.

But Dubai, unlike Abu Dhabi or nearby Qatar and Saudi Arabia, does not have its own oil, and had built its reputation on real estate, finance and tourism. Now, many expatriates here talk about Dubai as though it were a con game all along. Lurid rumors spread quickly: the Palm Jumeira, an artificial island that is one of this city’s trademark developments, is said to be sinking, and when you turn the faucets in the hotels built atop it, only cockroaches come out.

“Is it going to get better? They tell you that, but I don’t know what to believe anymore,” said Sofia, who still hopes to find a job before her time runs out. “People are really panicking quickly.”

Hamza Thiab, a 27-year-old Iraqi who moved here from Baghdad in 2005, lost his job with an engineering firm six weeks ago. He has until the end of February to find a job, or he must leave. “I’ve been looking for a new job for three months, and I’ve only had two interviews,” he said. “Before, you used to open up the papers here and see dozens of jobs. The minimum for a civil engineer with four years’ experience used to be 15,000 dirhams a month. Now, the maximum you’ll get is 8,000,” or about $2,000.

Mr. Thiab was sitting in a Costa Coffee Shop in the Ibn Battuta mall, where most of the customers seemed to be single men sitting alone, dolefully drinking coffee at midday. If he fails to find a job, he will have to go to Jordan, where he has family members — Iraq is still too dangerous, he says — though the situation is no better there. Before that, he will have to borrow money from his father to pay off the more than $12,000 he still owes on a bank loan for his Honda Civic. Iraqi friends bought fancier cars and are now, with no job, struggling to sell them.

“Before, so many of us were living a good life here,” Mr. Thiab said. “Now we cannot pay our loans. We are all just sleeping, smoking, drinking coffee and having headaches because of the situation.”

RobbyG wrote:Mr. Thiab was sitting in a Costa Coffee Shop in the Ibn Battuta mall, where most of the customers seemed to be single men sitting alone, dolefully drinking coffee at midday. If he fails to find a job, he will have to go to Jordan, where he has family members — Iraq is still too dangerous, he says — though the situation is no better there. Before that, he will have to borrow money from his father to pay off the more than $12,000 he still owes on a bank loan for his Honda Civic. Iraqi friends bought fancier cars and are now, with no job, struggling to sell them.

“Before, so many of us were living a good life here,” Mr. Thiab said. “Now we cannot pay our loans. We are all just sleeping, smoking, drinking coffee and having headaches because of the situation.”

Keep drinking Costa coffee, Mr. Thiab. Your money will save itself.

the used car market in Al Awir is fine..
So is the one in Abu Shagara,
Prices have come down for used cars like Lexus Ls430 , Landcruiser , Nissan Patrol

Merc n Bmw prices stay constant.

Honda Prices have increased

Try checking out the auction house for the Government,
They have confiscated cars and sell them really cheap.