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Revealed: Most important factor when buying a second-hand car in UAE

Dubai - The number of road deaths has increased by 7.4 percent from 2015 to 2016.

Following a poll conducted on dubizzle, the platform has revealed that 81.5 per cent of respondents who had an unpleasant experience when purchasing a second-hand car attributed this to underlying issues the owner did not tell them about, despite 73.5 per cent of total respondents requesting the vehicle history ahead of purchase.
With 4,788 road accidents in the UAE in 2016, and the number of road deaths increasing by 7.4 per cent from 2015 to 2016 per the Ministry of Interior, road safety awareness is increasingly becoming a key topic. In light of the recent dubizzle survey findings, the biggest second-hand motors marketplace in the UAE has partnered with RoadSafetyUAE.
Together, the respective market leaders will drive awareness around the topic in relation to used car safety, empowering the community with knowledge and tools to make well-informed purchasing decisions.
The poll showed that 19.1 per cent of respondents did not request the vehicle history, and a further 7.4 per cent were unaware of what it is. Surprisingly, a quarter (24.9 per cent) of respondents stated that they would purchase a car without seeing the vehicle history.
"Buying a second-hand car boils down to trust. Sellers must be transparent about the condition of a car, and buyers need to be more aware of what to look out for. Platforms like dubizzle driving transparency in the UAE market have a range of tools and services to help with the decision-making process ahead of purchasing. Having a car physically checked is very important to identify potential problems and eliminate them to ensure a car is safe before taking it onto the roads," commented Thomas Edelmann, Founder & Managing Director, RoadSafetyUAE.
Out of the survey respondents, 78.1 per cent claimed that they would consider buying a second-hand car; however, 23.7 per cent stated that they do not know what to look for to establish if it is in a good condition.
Dubizzle encourages users to ensure that a physical check is conducted ahead of purchasing, to ensure the safety of the vehicle. 28.6 per cent of respondents do not know how to check the tires of a car to ensure that they are in a safe condition, which according to dubizzle's partner Expat Wheels, is a common reason for failing the Tasjeel test when registering the car. In addition to this, over a third (34.3 per cent) stated that they would not ask the owner of the car about the red triangle in the boot of the car if it is missing, although this is also a requirement when registering the car.