UAE | Traffic and Transport
Used car dealers see boost to business in tough times
The owners of used car dealerships on Monday praised the decision to postpone the implementation of the ban on 20-year-old cars.
- By Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:41 December 2, 2008
- Cars belonging to dealers are seen parked in Abu Shagara. Some dealers have already stopped selling 20-year-old cars.
- Image Credit: Vazhisojan/Gulf News
Sharjah: The owners of used car dealerships on Monday praised the decision to postpone the implementation of the ban on 20-year-old cars.
"The way the cost of living keeps rising, people do not have the means anymore to buy new cars," said Ebrahim Ebrahimi of Sa'ad Motors Showroom.
"I heard about the news the day before, and immediately thought that this will be very good for business around here. I get around 50 customers a month asking for old cars, and now I will possibly get more," he said.
The decision was issued by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday.
The ban had been due to take effect from on Monday.
Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior, said that the ban was postponed in order to give low-income people time to adjust. Nevertheless, several used car dealers said they would no longer sell cars that were more than 20 years old.
"For the past month, customers from the Gulf and Russia have been buying the old cars because they thought they would soon be taken off the market. Now that I have got rid of all of them, I do not want the hassle of dealing with old cars again," said George Awad of Al Bashiq Used Cars, which owns more than 650 cars.
A 20-year-old car costs between Dh2,000 and Dh3,000 and, according to dealership owners, the majority of customers interested in such vehicles are either from other Gulf countries or Eastern Europe.
Share this article
Related Articles
-
Rule on 20-year-old vehicles postponed
Vehicles older than 20 years allowed on UAE roads for now
More from UAE Traffic and Transport
More from UAE
Popular in UAE
-
Have your say
Living in untidy homes
Do you think that people who live in untidy homes have bad character?
Latest news
- Shaikh Mohammad tells Dubai doubters to shut up
- Global crisis won't deter Dubai's ambition: Mohammad
- Reinforce the positive to fight the negative
- UAE-Pakistan Friendship Festival in Abu Dhabi
- Khalifa congratulates Karzai on re-election
- Khalifa receives congratulatory call from Talabani
- Camel in RAK gives birth to twins
- Saif is appointed Emiratisation chief
- Pavement parking irks pedestrians
- Man jailed 3 years in fatal assault of colleague
- Murder: Mother gets stiffer sentence
- Traffic Prosecution adopts humanitarian step
- UAE starts administering H1N1 vaccines
- 'All-green' project to ease traffic flow
- Complaints against cab drivers decline
Community Reports
-
Pavement parking irks pedestrians
Gulf News reader calls on authorities to step in and stop car owners from invading pathways meant for safe walking
-
Faded parking lines pose a problem
Motorists could be fined for parking incorrectly even though they can hardly see the boundaries in the designated areas
-
School buses block residential parking
Commercial vehicles taking up free parking facilities in Al Wuheida, inconveniencing residents in surrounding villas
-
Community report: Doing their bit for poor children
A group of students takes concrete action to raise funds for Dubai Cares
