Selling Your Car In The UAE

If it’s time to upgrade to a new car or you’re heading back home after spending time living in the UAE, you’ll need to sell your car. You have two options: to sell privately or through a dealership. To make it easier, we explain the pros and cons of each.

Selling your car privately

There are lots of different ways of selling your car privately. You could use an online sales site like dubizzle.com. You could put an advert up in your local supermarket or sports club noticeboard. Or you could use an online expat forum.

Remember, it is illegal to put a sign in the car window advertising it is for sale.

Pros:

• You could get lucky and get a slightly higher price for your car compared to selling it to a dealer.

Cons:

• In many cases, you have to pay a fee even if your car doesn’t sell. For example, to advertise a second-hand car on Dubizzle costs AED 199.
• Some buyers prefer the peace of mind from buying a car from a dealer.
• Not every buyer has cash or finance in place to buy a car privately.
• You’ll have to wait for a buyer who wants the exact spec of your car to come along. That can sometimes mean waiting many weeks or longer.
• Private buyers often haggle hard, and you’ll sometimes have to accept a lower offer than you wanted or lose a sale. Expect opening offers to be around 50% less than the advertised price of the vehicle.
• Once you’ve found a buyer, you’ll need proof from your bank that any car loan has been paid off. You’ll need this even if the car loan was paid off over a year before. This it can take up to 48 hours depending on your bank.
• You’ll need your RTA certificate of roadworthiness from Tasjeel to sell the vehicle. This lasts for 30 days from issue, so you have two options. Do it in advance and hope you sell the car within the 30 days or do it on the day of sale, which can be more inconvenient. Remember, you have to be present during the RTA test.
• The registered owner also has to be present at the point the car is transferred to a new owner. You’ll need your UAE driving licence and original Emirates ID as well as the valid RTA certificate too.

Selling your car to a dealership

There are two ways of selling your car to a dealer. If you are upgrading to a newer or better car, you can trade-in your old car in part exchange. Dealers like Automall also want to buy good quality pre-owned cars for cash.

Pros:

• It’s quick. You can sell your car for cash in as little as 30 minutes.
• There’s no hassle. You simply agree on the price and that’s it.
• You can get a great trade-in price for your old car if you are part exchanging it for a new car at the same dealer.
• You can be confident you’re getting the best price for your car. Automall promise to beat any quotes that are better.
• It’s convenient. You can arrange the time and place of sale to suit you.
• You can sell any make, model, or age of vehicle.

Cons:

• Dealer location may be far away, so you’ll need to arrange your own way to arrive at the dealer location.

Find out more about selling your car quickly and with no hassle.