Renad Ghanem

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — When people buy used cars, they exercise a lot of caution to avoid being swindled.

Most people who buy second-hand cars usually opt to buy from private owners rather than car dealers. Private sellers are usually considered genuine.



However, many second-hand car dealers do not tell customers they are dealers and pretend they are genuine private owners.



In fact, some of them buy damaged cars on the cheap, which they repair and then resell for a huge profit.



Second-hand car dealers usually advertise their cars on the Internet or in weekly advertisement magazines. They also keep several mobile phones and are often from South Asian countries. Saudi Gazette randomly contacted a number of second-hand car sellers whose numbers were found on websites.

 

While the majority seemed genuine, one particular seller, though advertised as a private owner, had two cars for sale, which were advertised separately via two different mobile numbers.



The man, who refused to give his name, said selling cars is profitable. “I’m not deceiving anyone. I am the official owner of the cars I sell,” he said.



“To me, the only deception is that I tell the costumer that I’m the second owner when I could be the third or the fourth. I also don’t tell them that I’m a second-hand car dealer,” he said.



“I have to convince them that I’m just a person who wants to sell his car. Some people believe me and others don’t as they have come across similar people like me and know the game,” he added.



With regard to damaged cars, the man said he usually gets cars fixed at a low cost. “I end up making a profit of SR4,000 to SR5,000 on each car. This is pretty good,” he said.



The man also keeps four mobile phones with him. “I keep four phones as I advertise on websites and sell numerous cars. I, therefore, need separate numbers for different cars.



Sometimes, I might send a friend to deal with customers and try to ensure they do not realize that we’re not private sellers but dealers,” he said.



The car dealer mentioned that trading in second-hand cars like this is not illegal. “This kind of trade is not official.



However, there is no law banning it because all transactions are carried out legally. As far as the law is concerned I am the registered owner of the cars I sell.



The only thing is that I give customers the impression that I’m a private owner,” he said. He also said that selling cars on websites is very useful.



“Those websites have helped me a lot. I used to sell cars at the second-hand car market. However, selling online is better. You get more customers,” he added.



He also said he usually gets his damaged cars fixed on the cheap with a mechanic who is his relative.



Muhammad Zahrani, 43, is a Saudi private sector employee who bought a car from a second-hand car dealer thinking he was a private seller.



“I have two expensive cars, one for me and one for the family. I wanted a third car for the maids to go shopping as I didn’t want them to use my other cars,” he said.



“I looked online and found a car that was up for sale for SR13,000. I thought it would be in good condition, especially since it was a 2009 model,” he said.

       

“The man told me that he is the genuine owner and that the car had only one previous owner. I bought the car in good faith and then took it to my mechanic who said I had been cheated.



He said the car was damaged. I then paid a further SR4,000 to have it repaired,” he said.



“I was left in the lurch. There was nothing to prove this man was a second-hand car dealer or that he had swindled me.



To top it off, my mechanic estimated the value of the car to be around SR8,000 or SR9,000,” he added.



Shadi Saber, a Palestinian sales representative, said people should be careful when buying second-hand cars as many of the sellers are not always genuine private sellers.



“I was looking for a car on the Internet and called three of the numbers of cars I was interested in. They seemed genuine. I then called a fourth and he turned out to be a dealer,” he said.



Saber said he did not initially realize that the man was a dealer. “I went to the agreed place to view the car and found it to be in a very bad state. I didn’t buy it.



After three days I found another car and rang to view it. The telephone number was different. When I got to the place, I was surprised as the seller was the man I had met three days earlier,” he said.



“He then lied to me. He said he had two cars and that he wasn’t a dealer. The car wasn’t in good nick and so I left it and came home,” he added.