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I've had the chance to see one of the workshops in Ras Al Khor that prepares and cleans vehicles to be sold. They pull out the carpets, seats, and afterwards you won't find any traces behind that this car has been in the desert, so looking for traces of sand is in many cases not a fair reference. Personally i don't mind buying a car that has spent some time in the desert, but in this oversupplied market where you can find one that's used as a lady-driven school crawler for the same price, i'd rather go for that option. Selling a car that has been used as regular off-roader will affect your selling price, there is not mistake about that. And that's probably one of the reasons many of us are driving depreciated 20 year old vehicles in the club On a side note, what is "offroad use" ? * Taking the car for camping trips with family on sand trails ? * Dune bashing and flying on Faya ? both are considered offroad. The first one will not hurt your 4x4 as it should feel at home doing these things. The second one is another story that our senior members can reiterate too 😉

Very nice question asked @Keithryan, well done for putting this doubt in mind in writing. Totally agree with @Frederic and @Srikumar These are called detailing shops and they are in abundance these days. Back in 2008 it use to be rare and every detailing shop used to charge 1000+ now you can get full car detailing inside out in 300-500 dhs depending on your negotiation skill and size of the car. With such detailing you can only clean up the sand presence and not the offroad toll what Sri mentioned. Quick look around and under the car can still reveal its been regularly offroad or not. 1000000% YES No offroad 4x4 or SUV will ever fetch same resale value as opposed to on road use car. Short Answer: YES Long Answer: Depends on following criteria No: 1 point what Fred mention: Define your offroad - Camping vs dune bashing. 99% of buyer wouldn't mind camping vehicle, but definitely stay away from dune bashing vehicle. That's why Safari driven "White LC" has the lowest resale value. If buyer looking for offroad vehicle for dune bashing he/she will not buy previously offroad vehicle to have spare life for his next ownership. If buyer is buying 4x4 / SUV for road commute, then he may buy if you sweeten the deal little. You may find a dreamers on dubizzle advertising 100K wrangler with 50K mod as a 150K selling price, but they will never fetch anyway close to the unmoded vehicle price unless they wait for 3-6 month for a one in million right buyer. So heavily modded 4x4 do attract lot of buyers but minus the cost of all mods you have done, as no one pays a dime for aftermarket mods, unless buyer is a genuine enthusiast. Capable 4x4 looses very little value even with regular offroad use, if its well maintained - LC, Patrol, FJC, defender etc. as oppose to not very capable 4x4 or SUV when offroad use considered as an abuse. Lady driven is a curse these days, that people stay away from this overly used term that raises truck load of suspicion, unless lady answer the call and comes out during viewing.

However best you maintain, serious offroading does take a heavy toll on a car, be it the engine, gear, mounts bushing, etc. Its almost like 5 times the toll compared to onroad usage. Thats why the maintenance of an offroad vehicle is mugh higher compared to an onroad vehicle. While I do know some members who keep their offroad car in better shape than their onroad car, this is a rarity. Hence, the general assumption is that to stay away from a offroad vehicle as they have been reasonably abused and would have a limited life remaining. And what @Frederic mentioned hits the nail on the head, that when you can get plenty of onroad vehicles in good condition why take the risk of purchasing a vehicle which has been abused, especially when you intend to use it as a headache free daily driver.

Totally agree. The logo 4x4 does not mean much anymore these days, as many of these cars are AWD, but do not possess lockers or low gearing, making them almost useful for our deserts.

Based on my recent purchase which till date I am extremely happy, my experience is as follows: 1. Try to get a low mileage car even if its an older model 2. Check for the complete service history. This is very important. Service done at dealer is preferred and its worth paying the little extra premium. 3. Get a reliable mechanic to do a thorough inspection of the car. Better than the RTA comprehensive test 4. Not meaning to be biased, but some nationalities do tend to keep the car in better conditions than others. Even if there is a small work, they will get it fixed. 5. You can check the accident record on the MOI website (https://portal.moi.gov.ae/eservices/PublicServices/AccidentsInquiry.aspx?Culture=en), just enter the chasis number and you get the entire record for non-Dubai vehicles. For Dubai registered vehicles, the link is as follows: https://www.rta.ae/wps/portal/rta/ae/home/rta-services/service-details/?serviceId=5810003

Basic Pointers from my end Ensure to check the exterior of the vehicle in bright sun light. Avoid evening time as you may find it difficult to see the difference in paint else you shall have paint thickness check pen. When you turn on the engine check for any abnormal noises. Better to open bonnet to ensure no oil leaks. When you go for a test drive ensure to keep all window open to check for any noise during drive. Better to take a test drive on unpaved road to check suspension and jerks if any. Try reverse gear too just to check. Apply brakes and check if the vehicle deviate from its actual path. Inspect tires manually. Follow coin rule or even check with your finger for the tire thread. ensure tires are not very old. Check all electronics like all windows, lights, wipers, sunroof mechanism, if its open roof, check for roof mechanism. Ensure that vehicle is GCC specs. Check for service history and recent repairs. Check for cleanliness of interiors.

Not in today's world. It's more a style statement than for purpose. We see so many big American pickup trucks like Silverado, etc but do they carry any cargo?

Good question, like everything has a life or rather "USABLE" life. Same for 4x4, and there usable life depletes faster than on road use. Sri gave an example of 5 times the load / stress while offroad and I can confirm that he is spot on and may vary from 3-5 times depending on the driver. So if 4x4 supposed to have 300K kms onroad life, it may have 100K kms offroad life. Again this is very variable, but I am just trying to put in numbers to make it easy to understand.

Caffeine is only effective for first few hours Having a buddy with you is more effective and is plus if he can drive too Power naps always ends up me twisted up feet on passenger seat waking up after 4 to 5 hours later...

It’s possible it could be the original supra or a replica, but I’m looking at the rest picture. Totally agree someone might want to build a replica of the movie car. But why would someone want to build a replica of Paul walkers evo? And put his name on it? And the story goes that Paul walker owned the supra after the movie. So seeing both cars in one place at the same time seems like too much of a coincidence. You really never know what you’re going to spot when you’re out and about here. I see some super rare cars in the weirdest of places. And don’t forget this is Dubai, it’s a millionaires playground.

‘58 Chevy Del Ray Car was already hotrodded at some stage, bigger engine fitted, manual trans fitted, wide white walls, louvred bonnet fitted. Some guy even fitted a weird 1980s horn kit with a keyboard so you can program the horn to play your favourite song. Im going to Matt black it to give it that modern touch. Drop the suspension so low that speed bumps become the enemy. I’m planning to keep the musical horn because it’s just so cool and unique. In truth I’d love to cut the front end out, jack it up and build it into a gasser. Would be so cool but would make it unsaleable in Dubai.

I also think that this 'challenge' is more applicable to us in the lower income tier - those whose daily drive are also used in dune bashing as compared to most here who have a separate toy for dune bashing. I am not saying that I have used my car for dune bashing, just in case the future buyer of my car is reading this... Anyway, I noticed that the thread title/topic was slightly edited. I posed this topic more out of curiosity and as a point of discussion. Because at some point, we were a 4x4 used car buyer and later on a used 4x4 seller (or vice versa). And during the time we were wearing the buyer hat, we were as expected more critical if a vehicle was offroaded/dune bashed as compared to when we are the seller (with selling spiel such as: "I've only done a couple of desert drive more comparable to a Gulf News drive so car's definitely not abused"...)

Same here and that's why power nap is my super last option when everything else fails. I rem taking a nap for 30 min with two alarm set on my both phone and must have snooze 100 times to actually wake up after 2 hours, but I reached home safely after that.

Not only any skiming you have to get it done from someone who is really good at it...I have had the pleasure of getting it done right in few trys...

I received my car today. I drove it under mid day heat in Sharjah traffic. So far no over heat and no shifting issue between 1-2. I feel sometimes it is shifting bit harsh between 3-4 like small hitting but i have 90 days warranty i will see how it goes. They said they spend too much time to solve electrical issues.

The cat eats better than me! He will only eat the expensive stuff now. Try giving him carrefour food and he looks at me like, bro WTF is this shit? Spinneys only 😂

BUT we all are different mentally and physically, some brains get switch off easily and some don't

Feed your cat , it seems too weak 😁

So, i am going to be looking and then purchasing a car soon. i like to hear if you can provide any suggestions on reliable methods to check the car condition. i remember seeing a post of comprehensive test not worth it; any mechanic references or other places to go? any options in sharjah will be very useful as i seem to find in Sharjah only...

Welcome back

Rising RAV... welcome back @shadow79

More often than not, when seeking for advice when buying second hand cars (SUVs in particular) we are told to ensure that said vehicle is not used offroad. It is suggested that we check every nook and cranny for traces of sand, etc.. This is particularly a head scratcher if coming from someone who regularly goes for desert drives. Does this mean we don't find our cars worthy (perceived or real) of having equal value against the same model which was not used offroad? Or have we already accepted this fate, that our offroaded cars once we do decide to sell will not get a fair shake when compared to cars used as city dwellers only?

absolute truth

High Tempo Music is not effective , Power Naps are but it will take eternity to wake up

It will learn new shift patterns in few days...

Name is from Japanese version of Rx...

Go for the obvious first. vibes under braking 9.5 times out of 10 means warped discs. If they are thick enough you can have them skimmed, or of they are cheap enough get a set of new ones.

Looks ok for a school run mom car but when I think of Tata I think of crappy old pickups. That will be a hard image to shake off.

Was in Rashidiya today getting a custom exhaust built and spotted these. Original F&F Supra and Paul Walkers personal Evo. Anyone know who owns them? Have a grand tour employee who wants to do an interview.

Some ideas- Excessive disc run out caused by warped or deformed discs. In some cases, this can be caused by over tightening wheel nuts/bolts. Worn steering/suspension parts such as ball joints, tie rod ends, steering rack bushes, and control arm bushes.

love that cat Tax

Every workshop should have at least one resident cat.

For me @Gaurav bhai is my saviour. While driving back more than 70% of the way we are talking over the radio or phone, so keeping the mind engaged helps to drive back home safely. I try to talk to myself about cricket discussion or how I am going to tone my trip report to keep awake rest of the way.

My current project is going to be close April 2020 i will be leaving before that or max i will be there is april 2020. If my company gets new project or if i find any other opportunity. I am going to give it a sweet sweet love. Like nice lift kit, engine modifications, full sound system. I am not planing to change my car for sometime. Cherokee was very harsh and you were feeling it is old. This one is comfortable and more easy to live with. 4 inc lift and big tyres with spacer and black rims 😍

And for some other GLORIFIED experience.......!

I think I am one of the best qualified to answer this question as I have a big tendency to sleep while driving. This is what I do in the following order of preference: Nothing beats getting a power nap of 20 - 30 mins Talking on the phone is the next best thing Eating sunflower seeds as its an activity in addition to eating something Eating chips, chocolates, chewing gum have no effect to keep me awake

I saw the rims are different, and I would suppose the original ones would be sitting with a collector in his garage, and not in Rashidiya ? 😄

Matt black is a serious pain in the ass. I build what people ask me to build. I built a Matt black ‘50 Mercury Eight with mustang running gear a couple of months ago. When it’s clean it looks badass. But it collects dust so fast. If you try to wipe it, it just gets worse. But when it’s clean it is the dogs danglies. Heres a pic of my shop cat, because we all love a nice kitty. If you don’t think he’s cute, maybe you need to check your heart

I need to update that. I’m driving a crappy 2.0 Ford Fiesta now.