Buying used cars just got easier

Dubai Auto Auction launches operations with auctions of Japanese vehicle brands

Dubai Auto Auction (DAA), a joint venture between three companies, will officially start auctioning used vehicles of Japanese brands from today with prices ranging from $1,000 to $80,000, said a senior official.
Rehman Chaudhry, chief executive officer of Quetta Trading Co., said initially the company would start with 50 cars a day and then increase it to 100 in the next few months, holding auctions six days a week.
He said the company would also start online auctioning after three months time as part of its growth strategy.
"We started the process a year earlier and people were a bit sceptical about the success of this project. But now we are launching this successfully and I want to assure customers that we will deliver quality vehicles," Chaudhry said during an interview with Khaleej Times.
Chaudhry was speaking at the press conference to announce the launch of Dubai Auto Auction - a joint venture between Quetta Trading Co., Al Zohaib Motors and Nagoya Daihatsu.
Most of the vehicles to be put up for auction will be for re-exports but the company will tap the local markets also at a later stage.
"The prices of the vehicles will start from $1,000 and go up to $80,000. We have cars which are every old of 1990-91 models which will start from $1,000. And then we have latest models also which will go under the hammer," he noted.
The company will auction sports, sedan, four-wheelers and other family cars.
Mohammad Zohaib Khan, director of Al Zohaib Motors, said unlike many other companies, Dubai Auto Auction will have a proper air-conditioned auction hall where it will auction all the major Japanese brands such as Toyota, Nissan, Daihatsu, Suzuki and Mazda.
"We are expecting footfall of 100 people a day and then take it further up. As winter approaches, we expect 150 to 200 to a day will turn up daily to participate in the auctioning. We assure customers that they can come and experience the difference and compare our brand with others because we have proper set up and guaranteeing the vehicles, taking care of any fear of customers if they have about the vehicle. We give the customers the sense of comfort that the vehicles is absolute correct," Khan said during an interview yesterday.
The UAE-based used car online platform CarSwitch.com revealed last month from its data that the Japanese brands are the most in demand for retail in used automotive market. The market is led by Toyota with 11 per cent marketshare followed by Nissan at 10 per cent. While German brands BMW and Mercedes occupy the third and fourth places.
Replying to a query about why people should buy DAA cars, Khan said: "The main reason is quality; we will ensure that if there is any small engine problem, we will be there to help them. Most of the customers feel scared buying a used car when they are not sure about the quality - fearing the engine or gearbox might have a problem, so we want to guarantee to our customers that all these things will be taken care of. The difference between us and competitors will be quality and guarantee of the cars."
According to Khan, each vehicle comes after inspection in Japan and then the team checks it thoroughly again when they land here. "Only when we are satisfied, we put it up for auction."
-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai