Japanese used car

EDDAH, 3 September 2006 — Businessmen in the secondhand car market estimate that the business will grow 32 percent (SR600 million) by the end of this year. It is expected that more than 30,000 used cars will hit the used car market and that Japanese cars are said to take the largest share of the market.

Secondhand car dealers say that there are many factors behind the growth. One of the reasons is the general condition of used cars that can be bought at cheap prices and which attract a lot of young Saudis. Another reason quoted is that there are nearly six million non-Saudis living in the kingdom and they, along with limited-income people, prefer used cars to new ones. Secondhand car dealers have ruled out the possibility of used cars from the gulf market hitting the local markets as in previous years. Local used cars tend to be cheaper than imported ones.

Economic Analyst Khaled Ali Al-Fadel said that the used car market is considered the biggest in the area with huge financial returns that reflect positively on the national economy. He said that if new mechanisms are introduced in the buying and selling operation in the used car market then the market would increase in coming years.

As many as 1,300 secondhand showrooms in Jeddah and Riyadh share the biggest market for the used car market in the kingdom. Car sales agents, known as “Shereteya” get commission that could reach SR1,500 per sale. They usually locate themselves in roads leading to the used market place to hunt for customers and lead them to the used market shop. Hunting for a customer could get them SR500 in commission.

Saudis of different ages and levels work in the secondhand car market. Most of them are people that have not completed their school education and are middle-income people. According to experts, Asians with income that ranges between SR2,000 to SR3,000 come to the used car market. They tend to buy more old Japanese cars that are cheaper in price. Experts say that Filipino customers prefer cars with two doors and Arab customers tend to buy the four-wheel jeep cars.

The general traffic department is conducting regular inspection to the used car market to make sure there are no illegal operations are going on and that all used car showroom are not violating procedures.

Source: ArabNews.com