By Abdullah Amir
If you’re new to Doha and you’re trying to save up quickly, or if you’re on a tight budget, buying a used car to get around is probably your best option! Buying a used car is ideal especially now since they’re cheaper and since there are a lot more options! Below are our top 7 things that you should do before and after buying a used car.
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Before searching for a used car, you should come up with a set budget so that you know exactly what price range you’re looking for. After you’ve come up with your budget you can begin your search on different classified sites, such as qmotor.com. Compile a list of cars that fall under your budget and try to see which one is the best among them, which one has best resale value, and which one can be easily repaired at any garage. Also, searching on Google for common problems of that particular car model is a good idea as that will help you identify common problems in that car and will guide your final decision. For example, the Toyota Corolla 2013 model has some issues with air conditioning.
There are a number of different inspection centers here in Qatar. From my personal experience, I recommend the one on Salwa road called Blue Bird and the one in the Old Airport area called Car Maxx. Comparing both, Car Maxx is a bit more expensive but they have the proper equipment, for example, if you want to check the car paint thickness they have the gear for it.
Let’s say, after the inspection, you find out that there are some minor faults in the car. You should try to negotiate the price for that part of the car, including labor charges. For example: The car that you got inspected has a problem with its axle (assuming the axle of that car costs QR 500 and labor charges are QR 200), you can try and negotiate around QR 700 - 800 from the total cost of the car so that you can repair the car without paying anything extra out of your pocket.
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The last thing you want to do after buying your used car is to get it inspected again. Make sure that the car you’re planning to purchase still has plenty of time left for inspection. If the car you want does not have valid Istemara (also known as the car registration) or is about to expire, negotiate the price of the Istemara with the seller of the car. This will eventually bring down the cost of the car too.
So, you’ve bought the best car you could find for your budget and you are quite happy about it. Don’t just stop there. Take your car to a service center and get all the fluids and filters changed, even if they are in good condition. This will help your car to stay in good condition and you won’t have any problems with the car in the long run.
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This is super important. The only way to stop a car is through its brakes so it’s important to make sure that your brakes are in good condition! If they make any sort of sound while you’re stopping this means that they’re not in tip-top shape and it’s necessary for you to change them before they destroy other car parts like the rotors. It’s a good idea to spend less on brakes, rather than spending more on rotors and brakes altogether.
Tires are the only thing that connects your car to the road. It’s important to check that the tires have good tread depth and that all four matches, otherwise it’s recommended that you change them.
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Last, but not least, after doing all the necessary steps above, drive your car to your heart’s content! Go for a road trip, cruise in D-Town, or grab some karak! Do whatever you do like to do now that you have the green light on finally using the car!
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