Selling a car (Riyadh)
Hi All,
I am currently in the process of selling my car and wanted to highlight some information for people who may be undertaking a similar process.
Please feel free to add your own comments and experiences....
1. Advertising the car
- I found the best way is to use Protected content and then post an ad
- Also worth spreading the word through your friends (especially if they are Saudi), buying and selling cars seems to be a national past time!
- If you are in a rush and desparate you can sell your car immediately to a dealer (I've found one of the best places seems to be the second hand car dealers in the Naseem area: exit 27/28 off Karais Road)
2. Documents required/ process
- Once you navigated the negotiations then there are a few steps required
- You need to have a valid MVPI, Motor Vehicles Periodic Inspection (this is like a MoT, also called Fahas), further details below
- You need a car registration (Isthmara)
- You will need copies of Iaqama from both seller and buyer
- The buyer will need a letter from their sponsor (its very standard and most employers have a template set up which they just update with your name)
- You then need to go to an office where the transfer can occur. Again I recommend going to the Naseem area where there are tens of such agents, I have listed below the details of the one I used:
Yarmouk Cars,Khorais Road, Al Naseem, Riyadh Protected content , PO Box Protected content
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- You need to leave the keys and the agent will draw up a contract which both buyer and seller have to sign
- Usually you need to leave the car overnight and the buyer can then go pick up the car once the paper work is complete
3. The MPVI (Fahas)
- I found the following link really useful to explain the full background and context of the MPVI:
workinginsaudiarabia.blogspot.com/2009/03/mvpi.html
- The MPVI centre in Riyadh is located to the Eastern side of the city, just off Dammam high way at the following co-ordinates:
24°49'14"N Protected content
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- Having read the link above I was nervous that my car would fail the test for an arbitary reason...so I decided not to spend any money on the car but rather to just have it thoroughly cleaned
- The centre in Riyadh opens at 7am, so I arrived at around 6.45am and on the approach i was flagged down by a Yemeni from one of the work shops right next to the centre. Though he could not speak english and I cannot speak Arabic... I managed to deduce that his workshop offered a service where they would check the car, then take it to the centre and get the MPVI certificate sticker/paper work.
- Though I was aprehensive, I thought it was worth a shot, so I waited while they did some basic checks on the car (wheel alignment, brake pads etc). They then noticed the rear brake light lamp was blown so they replaced it.
- Then they asked for my car registration card, and a smart looking Saudi (up till this point I had only seen yemeni mechanics) came out the back and took the keys and explained he would now take the car for the MPVI test.
- I waited around 40 mins, fearing the worst! However to my pleasant suprise when I saw the car return it had the relevant sticked in the window which meant it had passed! I then asked how much... and they charged me SAR Protected content I felt was resonable given the test itself costs 73 riyals.
- I will never know if the car would have passed the test if I went directly but given my lack of arabic, I was more than happy to pay a bit extra and get a first time pass. :-)
Please let me know if you have any other questions and I will try my best to answer.