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Listen, I have never heard of someone being happy with the price they got for their car when they sold it, used or new. After owning so many cars over the years I realized that the international brand name means only the level of quality that you will be purchasing. With warranties these days reliability is not an issue. And even after buying a Toyota you will feel great pain at the market when someone drives off with your car after gutting you. What matters is really (1) Your need/ purpose (2) The dealer. Buying a car these days is mostly down to (1) whether it does everything you need it to do and (2) it will do it for you with minimal troubles and that is where the dealer plays a big role. I remember when I bought a ford focus back in 2005, great cheap and convenient car, and every time I brought it down for service I felt like the workshop was reminding me that I baught one of their cheaper products, almost felt like it was my fault. On the other hand a Toyota service felt like a true social service where everyone was equal. So the dealer is a deal breaker for me personally simply because it is a long term relationship! due to warranty of course. The other thing is some brands are stronger here then they are abroad - point in hand NISSAN. I think they are strongest in the middle east and specifically here. Unlike their competitors you feel like their products are made for the UAE. Their cars are cruisers, fuel efficient (Sedans and compacts), and their A/C is outstanding, better than Toyota in my opinion. Just the fact that the steering is beige tells you a lot. They are firmer than a Toyota and they offer you that power that you need to navigate UAE traffic. this is not to say that the other out there are worse. They definitely are not. Just a matter of taste and value for money. Should you buy used? sure. But if you are here for the long-term go for a new car it will end up giving you less trouble through out. If your only here for a year or two then do not buy new. And that's my 2 cents.

i remembered first used car auction i have visited 11 years ago, the vehicles for sale were circulating in view of all interested buyers what i have noticed that when toyota specially and other japanese brands come to the show many pepole go and check the car while when europe or american brand take its turn and came to the show i found myself and few persons were interested in buying that remarkable brands like me so the point is this is the market condition here actually i am happy with that as i can own the dream car at affordable price, sure not japanese car may be lexus or infiniti. (i am not reach).

Where to get the time belt replaced??? That is the question faced by most Pajero Owners when they hear of the exorbitant quote by the dealership. Here’s my story. I own a 2009, 3.8 L, LWB Pajero. Until 90k,I regularly got all my service done at the dealership, this was because I has a service contract with them . But after that every 5000 -7000, Km I just got Oil and Filter change done at any Adnoc Lube. When I Reached 120K, I sought a quotation from the dealership for Timing Belt replacement along with 100/120K service. The price they quoted was shocking. AED 4,000 for Timing Belt Replacement, and AED 2,000 for the Service. Total AED 6,000. And this was a discounted promotional offer, according to the sales person. Since I felt this was exorbitant I kept searching for an alternative solution, by now the mileage had run up to 133k, Last week during a casual conversation , I was referred to Al Azrag Garage in Quassis, Dubai. This Is Owned by Mr Zaffar , a hardcore off-road enthusiast , and Crew and Marshal of Emarat 4X4. I am extremely happy with their work, at a fraction of what the stealership charges , and would recommend them to any Pajero owner. They kept the car overnight, and I could supervise the work most of the time. Before I went there, I did a little home work and made out a list of things which I wanted replaced, this I got from the service manual, table for things to replace at 100K and 120K. Also the specification of the Parts/Fluids to replace from the User manual. For the 3.8 liter 2006 model LWB Pajero ITEM SPECS 1 ENGINE TIMING BELT MD 358549 1 X 190= 190AED 2 SPARK PLUGS IRRIDIUM TIPPED IFR6B-K 6 X 50 = 300AED 3 AIR CLEANER ELEMENT/FILTER Was inspected and did not need replacement 4 ENGINE COOLANT SUPER LONG LIFE 10.5 LITERS 5 BRAKE FLUID DOT 3 OR DOT 4 Was Not Replaced 6 CLUTCH FLUID DOT 3 OR DOT 4 Was Not Replaced 7 FUEL FILTER MR 529135 1 X 95 = 95 AED 8 TRANSFER GEAR OIL Hypoid GL-3 SAE 75W-85 2.8 LITERS 9 DIFFERENTIAL GEAR OIL FRONT / REAR Hypoid GL-5 SAE 90 1.15 FRONT / 1.64 REAR 10 AIR PURIFIER FILTER IN CABIN Was Not replaced 11 AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FLUID ATF SPIII 9.7 LITERS (5 LX 2) 230 AED 12 ENGINE OIL ADNOC Voyager Silver 10W 40 , 5 Liters 13 ENGINE OIL FILTER MZ 690150 1 X 20 = 20 AED All Parts and Fluids were bought from Authorised Original Parts shops, like (DIVYA in Sharjah or Dubai), but not from the dealership. DIFFERENTIAL GEAR OIL Hypoid GL-5 SAE 90 was brought from Eppco Petrol Pump. Enoc makes this gear oil in the brand name “zenon”. 4 liter can for AED 72. Note I couldn’t find “ TRANSFER GEAR OIL Hypoid GL-3 SAE 75W-85 as specified in the manual ” so I replaced it with DIFFERENTIAL GEAR OIL Hypoid GL-5 SAE 90. This is your call, You could try to get this from the dealership. Anyway car works fine, Gears shift well , No problems. Little research as to what these numbers and Letters refer to. Example :Hypoid GL-3 SAE 75W-85 Hypoid is an abbreviation of hypocycloidal gears and relates to the geometry of the crown wheel and pinion arrangement usually on rear wheel drive cars and vans. The pinion is usually highly off-set to reduce propshaft intrusion into the passenger compartment. API stands for American Petroleum Industry and GL stands for Gear Lubricant, see below for their definitions: • API GL-1 Straight mineral oil. • API GL-2 Mild EP for worm gear oils. • API GL-3 Mild EP for spur and spiral bevel gears in axles and transmissions. Contain up to 2.7% anti-wear additives • API GL-4 Medium EP, moderate severity hypoid gears, manual gearboxes. Contain up to 4.0% effective anti-scuffing additives • API GL-5 High EP, all hypoid axles, some manual gearboxes. contain up to 6.5% effective anti-scuffing additives • API GL-6 Extra high EP, now obsolete. EP means extreme pressure and refers to the additive used in gear oils. This additive is designed to stop metal-to-metal contact taking place between transmission components. SAE stands for the Society of Automotive Engineers.The SAE Viscosity grade are only a measure for the viscosity of the lubricant oils and do not give any statement about the quality and compounds of the motor and gear oilSingle Grade oils are designed for only one SAE field, Multigrade Oils contain several SAE fields. Summery. Its time we moved away from dealerships and their cutthroat pricing. Garages Like Al Azrag ( GPS Coordinates N 25.28902, E055.40527 )are a ray of hope for those of you who want quality work but do not want to get robbed in the bargain. Definitely recommended.

Some very nice point made by @Yont and I totally agree that owning a car is lot more than the need, brand loyalty or resale. It's actually a marriage between the dealer and owner that keeps this relation sailing for years to come. Slight mistake and your whole car owning experience is doomed. Many years ago I had Honda Accord and after couple of robotic service from some dumbest human existing on this planet I sold that car. That was the time when honda used to be Trading enterprise and not al futtaim. They were literally heartless, mind-less, merciless robotic service adviser that use to piss me off on every service and I used to ask, what wrong in my life I have done to get this stupid behavior when I am paying double the market price for normal oil change (5K) service. I also have owned many brands in UAE, but service standard and user-friendliness of Al Futtaim is "THE BEST"

I agree to each word Hawx have said.. It's a matter of taste, not a matter of resale value, & depends why you want to use the car for, is it for highway, or a car for personal use.. At the end of the day all cars lose their value, but usually Land Cruisers & Lexus four wheels hold up a little bit with their prices..

Buying a new car vs getting a used car is a big difference now.. talking about how fortunate i am lol no. My japan import e55 amg only cost me 35k. For the same price range i can get a tiida,yaris,corilla,sunny etc in good condition.. its really a matter of personal preference now you see how these cars holds up their value! Used car market is very large now! Buy any new car and you can see the same car with low mileage for a very less price used.... as these cars are very reliable you dont have to worry about the maintainace costs... just maintain it regulary. You dont know how heart broken i was when i valued my 2012 nissan qashqai.... bought for 101k and it was valued at 30k last year. So yeah toyota or nissan.

Japanese are the best resale holder in UAE. Refer to below list in order from best to worst based on my experience: Toyota Nissan Lexus Honda Mitsubishi Infiniti Mazda Audi Mercedes Land Rover

Go for Taqir advise, Toyota and Nissan don't loose as much on depreciation specially on a long term basis. However right now the market is not so good and more people want to sell than buy a car.

Really nice find and this tells me that a car is left with a little over 2 gallons, As per my observation with most of the cars I have owned I would believe that there was little over a gallon as I could drive upto 50 Kms after the petrol light came on. However recently I just don't take a chance and fill in sometimes even before the light comes on, but recently I have to go to Baniyas Island in Abu Dhabi and with more than quarter tank remaining I passed a petrol station thinking I will get it filled in on the next pump. The next pump was not visible as my petrol light came on and I tried to drive at a constant speed lower than the road limit just to conserve fuel as I had no clue when I would get to see a petrol station again. Over 300 Kms to drive, petrol light on and not a petrol station in sight, to add to it the road was all dug up and a huge project going on. 10 Kms done after the petrol light had come on, 20 Km, 30 Kms, 40 Kms, 50 Kms and now my wife was like looking at me and cursing me for not filling up earlier. 60 Kms since the petrol light had come on and now I was getting worried as the car felt like it was going to cough up at any time, further more the challenge was to reach on time for the boat to depart in just under 2 hours with another 240 + Kms to go. Finally, it was in sight, a board that said the next petrol station was available in 2 Kms, but I could not see anything as far as my eyes could go, and due to the roads being all dug up a doubt started to set if the petrol station would still be there. Relief at last as the petrol station shone through just as the sun was setting. After filling the tank to the brim, i wiped my sweat and looked at my wife and exclaimed, It was all part of the plan, I know what I am doing, you should trust me more. I am sure my wife knew how I was thanking God deep inside for managing to survive and getting the petrol station when all hopes had diminished, but with a smile she just commented, can we move now, we need to reach there in less than 2 hours and I know its still a long way to go. How I wish I had this information earlier, but i am sure in the situation we were in, we would be sweating it out all the same.

Thanks Derick for your kind words. Its worth every minute spent on writing the report.

Toyota and Nissan cars are the best resale value cars in UAE, second best is Honda and Mitsubishi.