Special Features
Used Cars Web Site
Website for Used Cars Complex attracts 300,000 visitors in 5 months Dubai Municipality’s special website for online trading of used cars is attracting a large number of visitors from worldwide including those from US, Europe, Arab countries and Gulf region.According to figures released by the Markets Department which runs the Dhs200 million Used Cars Complex at Ras Al Khor, the site, www.usedcars.ae received nearly 300,000 serious visitors over a period of five months since the site was launched in April this year.
Mohammed AbdulKarim Julfar, Assistant Director General of the Municipality for Financial Affairs and Properties, said the visitors included 88,572 from Saudi Arabia, 77,160 from the UAE, 66,735 from the US, 16,716 from Zimbabwe, and 8943 from Egypt.
"These figures show that there is a growing interest among potential buyers from all over the world in the emirate’s used cars market. We would capitalize on this trend and add more features to the website so that online buying can be made easier," said Mr. Julfar.
He noted that city-wise statistics showed that most people visited the site from Riyadh with a total of 85,049 visitors while Tehran had a total of 3012 visitors. Dubai’s used car market already enjoys a wide customer base from both the cities.
As for the US, the largest number of people who visited the website was from California with a total of 16,850, followed by Virgina (16,414), Texas (14,761), and Washington (4042).
Julfar said the Municipality has always endeavored to enhance its e-services and this website represents another milestone in the already-popular online services of the civic body. The website has an option for online auction.
"This project was initiated in 2003 and we visited some of the international sites to get benefited from them. We also conducted a survey among the owners of the used car showrooms in the complex in order to understand their requirements for such an important website, which is considered as the first of its kind in the region," said Julfar.
Established in 1999, the Used Car Complex in Ras Al Khor Industrial Area is regarded as the best such facility in the region with 130 showrooms for sale and purchase of used cars, all at one place. The complex offers all the services related to cars such as an auction area, a technical inspection section, a vehicle licensing section, insurance companies, car financiers, and even a driving school.
The website provides all services related to the Used Car Complex. It has names of all the showrooms in the complex and their cars on display for sale with their photos, specifications and rates.
The online auction service offers the auction of 25 to 35 vehicles a week during which vehicles of different types and sizes will go under the hammer. In order to offer this service, electronic access has been made with Golden Bells, an auction firm at the complex.
The website also gives a brief about the insurance companies available at the complex and the services they offer to the visitors to the complex. The complex has three insurance companies, selected carefully and as per the conditions to serve the complex and its customers.
The website also displays a brief on the technical inspection services offered at the complex in cooperation with Eppco. In addition to that, the website offers information on the Dubai Traffic Department services at the complex including the fees for different transactions regarding cars and the required documents for accomplishing these transactions.
The website has information on the banking services offered at the complex by Emirates International Bank. Electronic access has been made with the bank to offer all the services through the Used Car Complex website.
With the cooperation of Emirates Driving Institute, the website offers the details of the procedures for learning driving and taking a license.
The website also provides two ma
