Most used cars for sale on the fritz: Study

Manama : Buying a car from used car market could be tricky these days. A study by automotive experts in Bahrain showed that 90pc of cars displayed for sale are damaged cars. These vehicles’ ostensible ‘perfect’ appearance may lead customers to wrong route. 

Albeit illegal, used car dealers here often choose public spaces for displaying their vehicles for sale.    

A study conducted by automotive engineer Ahmed Alsaffar, who is the founder of Inspector Automotive Services, found that these cars, though appear in good condition, are irretrievably damaged due to previous accidents. 

Alsaffar along with a team of automotive experts from Inspector Automotive Services snuck into the fields to find out the truth about such cars. 

“Our study revealed that only 10pc of the cars were in a good condition. Apart from personally going to the field and inspecting over 300 cars, we also carried out an extensive survey to find out more,” he told DT News.

He said that he had to conduct the study on the sly. “We could not open up the cars because we did not have the owners consent. But we had modern equipment to inspect the car without seeing the engine. One of the inspection methods was to find out the type of accidents the car was involved in by inspecting the body of the car,” Alsaffar added. 

“I cannot reveal the locations or other sensitive details about the study as it could create a conflict between us and the car dealers. But they cannot sue us because they have violated the law. The authorities are taking necessary measures to tackle this issue,” he explained. 

According to Alsaffar, people need to be careful before buying used cars. “It is difficult for the layman to understand the issues related to a car,” he opined.