[theflyingguy]

This is a description of my used car search in UAE and purchase experience of Nissan Altima.

We had the Audi Q7 as a primary car in the family. The car was fitting the needs and ticked all boxes. However, we were forced to sell the car out of compulsion due to certain mechanical issues https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ra-issues.html (Audi Q7: Coolant has mixed with engine oil & triggered a plethora of issues).

With the next installment of home purchase looming, the money was tight for the car and this car purchase was unplanned. Wifey was strongly against utilizing rainy days fund for a good car purchase. Hence the search started for a used car in decent condition.

We zeroed down our search to five cars in the same order of priority:
1. Toyota Rush (Cost effective 7 seater)
2. Hyundai SantaFe (Powerful 7 seater)
3. Ford Explorer (Practical 7 seater)
4. Honda Accord (since we owned one in India and were always fond of Honda)
5. Nissan Altima (since many of our friends had one and were happy with it)

The Toyota rush was commanding significant premium since this was a new launch and not many were available on the used car market. We test drove one car which looked decent and was immediately available.

The car has good looks for the price range it operates at. The accessories like reverse parking sensor, camera, rear AC vents, traction control, keyless entry and button start came as standard. with Toyota's reliability, the car would have been a good purchase.

The test drive experience was smooth with the seller meeting at defined time and place. The car was in good condition.

The rush certainly has a big car look


We liked the console which was not fancy but good looking nevertheless


Looks big even in side profile


The lines on the car are smooth and well contoured


The rear is bland


Driver side door controls for windows and side mirrors. It also has a window lock button but sorely misses on the child safety lock


The steering wheel has the controls for sound. The higher trims have phone call buttons on the right


This version comes with bare bones controller unlike the big screen in higher trims


The parking assist has camera as well as sensors which are pretty accurate


The lever is slightly taller than my preference. The parking brake is manual


Rear AC vents. These are pretty effective and out of bound for kids when belted. Wifey liked these a lot


All black interior and seats. Do not look impressive in person


Boot space when all seats are up. Last row is kids only


The alloys were good looking


What we liked about the car was:

1. 7 Seater configuration
2. AC was excellent (the AC from Audi although was good, it never matched the Japanese cars cooling level)
3. Cost at which it was available
4. The seats had good thigh support
5. Minimal body roll
6. The safety features were pretty good with dual front as well as side/curtain airbags

What we disliked about the car:
1. The engine lacked power. The 1.5 liter AT was visibly stressed when the car was taken beyond 120 kmph. This was a bummer for our weekly Dubai drives
2. The access to rear seat was difficult
3. The car was slightly cramped for space. So 3 adults in middle seats would be a challenge
4. Last row of seats is strictly for children due to it's size, access mechanism and the bouncy nature of the suspension
5. The car interior looked bland with lot of hard plastics masqueraded as leather and the all black interiors were not wifeys favorite
6. With all seats up, the boot space was almost not there. This would have been a problem with the prams that are our constant companion

After lots of thoughts about the long term reliability vs driving pleasure, we decided to let it pass and look for something else.

Next was the search for SantaFe and Explorers. We saw lot of SantaFe and Explorers. But most of them had either too many kilometers on them or had no service history. The ones which had low km and decent service history were very hard to find and were way beyond our reach. We were tempted by few American imports (there is a huge market in UAE for american imports) but most of them had salvage titles in US due to major accidents or floods as indicated by CarFax. So we decided to stick to gulf specification cars.

We zeroed down on one SantaFe which had a complete service history, no accidents and was in a good condition. This was a 2015 model. We drove the car and was an absolute pleasure. The car was maintained very well and was driving excellent.

The Santa Fe was certainly looking much better


Side profile was clean


This console had lot of information with ability to configure and toggle between the information


Integrated maps, dual climate control were certainly good and we liked the design of how this was shaped


Clean and short lever with electronic parking brakes. Never used the auto hold feature in any of my cars and don't really get the use of it when parking brake is electronic


Engine bay proudly displaying the V6 badge


The front looks clean and impressive


Single exhaust


What we liked about the car was:

1. 7 Seater configuration
2. The 3.3 L V6 was a pleasure to drive. It was never stressed even at 140 KMPH.
3. The seats were way more comfortable that the Rush that we drove
4. The boot space was not bad
5. The safety and drive assistance features were top spec
6. The ride was much smoother and comfortable

What we disliked about the car:
1. The steering lacked weight. This might have been good for city traffic but for the constant highway runs, this was not what I found comfortable
2. The all black interiors were not really appreciated by Wifey
3. The premium value the car commanded despite being almost 5 year old

We decided to go ahead with the purchase and initiated discussions. The car was commanding a significant premium compared to other available cars on the market since the owner had extended warranty and complete service history. He refused to budge from his initial quote and we were not ready to spend a significant chunk on car. So we had to let this car go although we had quite liked it.

After the Santa Fe was out of question, we sat together and finalized the it's the Altima that would fit our budget and most of the requirements. It would a compromise that we would have to live with for some time. So the search for Altima began. After a good amount of search and driving 20+ cars, we realized that Abu Dhabi commanded around 20% premium for no reason. Cars in Dubai and Sharjah were comparatively cheaper. So I camped with a friend in Dubai for few days and zeroed down on 1 Altima while Wifey found 1 in Abu Dhabi.

Not wanting to get into Hassle of de-registering car in Dubai and re-registering the same in Abu Dhabi, we decided to go ahead with Abu Dhabi based Altima which was slightly costly. This is how the car looked.

The car looked neat and clean with the sunroof


Side profile with simple alloys


The rear is bland and bulky


A quick check with car report website showed no accidents. So we paid the token amount and waited for Saturday to buy the car since this was only day when the owner and us had a common time.

What we liked about the car was:

1. The car decently maintained and was ok to drive. It never appeared to be stressed at 140
3. Cost at which it was available
4. The seats had good thigh support
5. The boot space was good enough for two prams
6. The car was roomier and had a good entertainment system which supported USB, Bluetooth and AUX
7. The basic features like Rear camera, sensors, TPMS were present
8. Fuel efficiency was to notch (although this is rarely a concern in UAE)
9. The cabin is quiet even at decent speeds. So good work on NVH levels by Nissan
10. It was a 2016 car

What we disliked about the car:
1. The CVT by no means was an exciting drive option. The car lacked punch and the drive was borderline boring
2. Lack of sunroof. Although this was missed by kids more that us
3. The concerns around Nissan CVT reliability
4. The steering is too light. I am used to heavy steering with good feedback so this will get some time to get used to

Meanwhile, the owner kept pushing for transfer of remainder amount which was slightly suspicious but we brushed it aside as an anxiety from the owner. We told him that we would pay the rest only after the car purchase.

On the day of purchase, owner went to the Abu Dhabi vehicle inspection center and got the car test done along with a fitness certificate. This is a mandatory step in UAE. I wanted to be present while test was being done but the owner did it without my presence. We had doubt about this rushed certification and told him that I want to repeat the test and I am willing to pay the money for repeat test. He refused sighting time unavailability.

So I rang few of the contractors whom I knew and one of the them stays near to my house. He was very helpful and came to my place in 15 minutes with his testing van which had a battery tester, pressure gauge, paint meter and lot of other equipment. When the owner arrived with the car, his facial expression was a give-away after seeing the elaborate setup.

A quick test revealed that the car had a bonnet replaced, entire right side repainted, original struts replaced and few other minor issues. None of these were reported to either insurer or Abu Dhabi police. This may have been a result of possible hit and run. What followed were some heated arguments and the owner drove away with the car. I was absolutely against buying this car for the fear of authorities catching up at latter point in time for accident checks and the car may end up being seized with no way for me to prove that the repairs were done before my purchase date.

So the focus was onto the Dubai based Altima. Bitten by this experience, I got the Dubai car inspected once from government authorities and once from private workshop. The car was clean 2016 registered car and had been driven around 97000 with a full service till 80000 km. We decided to buy this car which was a massive downgrade from the Q7 but we needed wheels for a daily office run as taxis were burning a hole in pocket. The long drives would be managed by Wifeys Cadenza while the routine will be managed by Altima.

Rest of the process was straight forward. Got the car de-registered in Dubai, put in on a flat bed and registered it in Abu Dhabi.

A quick service with all lubes changed and a car detailing ensured car is ready for the daily run.

The car looks decent in grey with minimal chrome


Engine bay (sorely missing the V6 badge)


Side profile


Short lever with 2 cup holders. The screen does a decent job


Car getting cleaned and polished


Hoping for this car to serve at least for 2 more years before we look for a 7 seater again.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the International Scene. Thanks for sharing!

[ecenandu]

Originally Posted by theflyingguy

This is a description of my used car search in UAE and purchase experience of Nissan Altima.

Congrats brother. A little late though, how is the car holding up?

[Amrik Singh]

Good experience with used Car purchase and the Cheats in White Garb. Good luck with the purchase and happy driving.
Another problem with US / German import vehicles is Warranty of the Vehicle that may not be honoured locally.

A clue that I can give for next requirement - Contact Saud Bahwaan Group in Dubai (hope the system still operates). They bring in Toyota and Nissan from Oman and sell it. There is a huge difference of cost as Dubai Toyota dealership looks for a hefty profit margin (probably due to high overheads) whereas SBG are themself the dealers in Oman. Earlier there was an issue with Warranty of Oman purchased vehicle not honoured in Dubai, but SBG opened up their own Service Centres in Dubai.
I remember daily haul of a few Cars (year 2010) and hope this loophole still exists. Maybe, this opportunity was to insiders only then. I know of it as I was involved with SBG works in Dubai and Oman.

Hope this info is useful for you

[theflyingguy]

Originally Posted by ecenandu

Congrats brother. A little late though, how is the car holding up?

Thank you brother. The car was a beauty. Clean, silent and fuss free. We really enjoyed few months with the Altima.

But the car felt little crammed with two child seats including a booster. The kids pram gobbled up almost entire boot space.

Since this car was always brought from the perspective of selling it later, once the finances allowed, I sold this car and brought the Ford Explorer.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by theflyingguy

Since this car was always brought from the perspective of selling it later, once the finances allowed, I sold this car and brought the Ford Explorer.

Explorer - has consistently been one of the best in the segment.

Having driven both the Explorer and Durango a lot, the Dodge just feels a tad better to drive but the Explorer shines as an overall package.

No offense, but I cringe when I see people buying the overpriced Prado even without test driving the American SUVs just because of the Toyota brand name and the apparent fondness towards the LC in the UAE.

The dealership of Ford is also one of the best in our market - both in terms of service quality and reasonable pricing.

Hopefully we can see your buying experience and review soon.

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

Explorer - has consistently been one of the best in the segment.

Having driven both the Explorer and Durango a lot, the Dodge just feels a tad better to drive but the Explorer shines as an overall package.

No offense, but I cringe when I see people buying the overpriced Prado even without test driving the American SUVs just because of the Toyota brand name and the apparent fondness towards the LC in the UAE.

The dealership of Ford is also one of the best in our market - both in terms of service quality and reasonable pricing.

Hopefully we can see your buying experience and review soon.

Sorry to disagree

Ford Dealership (Year 2000)- Maybe they have improved on their policies now. Earlier they were selling the Cars cheap and capitalizing on Spares and Service. I had Ford Topaz sedan for which I always found Spares costly. Even the public and Mechanics opinion was the same. Finally I thought it better to put it in the Scrap with only around 180,000 Kms. There I found other same model cars with average odo readings around 280,000. Never regretted scrapping it though I had many requests from my Juniors for the same. My plea was that, if I cannot afford it, how would others be able to afford with lesser salaries.

[raj_5004]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

Sorry to disagree

Ford Dealership (Year 2000)- Maybe they have improved on their policies now. Earlier they were selling the Cars cheap and capitalizing on Spares and Service. I had Ford Topaz sedan for which I always found Spares costly. Even the public and Mechanics opinion was the same.

Why sorry! We have just had different experiences.

Anyways, my experience was with my Mustang and Fusion, which I sold recently.

Their service has always been excellent, diagnosis of minor issues were spot on and the whole experience was very customer friendly.

I cannot comment on the long term reliability of their cars as I sold the Mustang at 60K and Fusion at 120K.

Coming to costs, the normal service of a V6 Mustang was 500 AED and I4 Fusion was 425 AED. I believe this is very economical. The AC blower motor of the Mustang costed me 280 AED.

Service contract (4 services/40,000 kms) for the Fusion was 2,800 AED, roughly 700 AED per service, which includes two major service - 60K and 100K.

In comparison, Mazda & Honda charges more. Also, in both these brands, only consumables are free and you will still have to pay for labor charges and other additional but "recommended services", whereas Ford used to cover everything and bill was zero for every service.

And to top it all, I have not spent a single dirham on the Fusion except for the battery and tyres. At 100K (last free service as I chose not to continue their service contract), they even replaced all brake pads for free as a goodwill gesture.

Anyways, the general tendency in the market is that FORDs are expensive to maintain and there may be exceptions to my experiences.

[bharatbits]

This thread has some participants with direct UAE experience so I thought I'll get answers to few of my queries.

I am moving to Sharjah, UAE soon. Looking to buy a used car. Want to get a cheap but safe entry level car initially to get the work done. Once I find my way around UAE I plan to upgrade. What options should I be looking at?

1. Is Dubi Cars a reliable place to start?

2. Having been used to diesel cars in India for the last 12 years, what would be a sensible choice?

3. Is Indian Driving license valid there or should get a new one?

How easy or difficult is it to adapt to the LHD cars given that I never drove LHD. I will be stepping into UAE for the first time.

4. Slightly OT How should I be looking out for accommodation?

Appreciate any help in this regard.