r/UaeCarEnthusiasts

Hi everyone!

I’m planning to start my own automotive garage in the UAE, specializing mainly in Infiniti, Lexus, and Cadillac.

I’m an Infiniti specialist, and back in Saudi Arabia, I worked on Infiniti and Nissan vehicles, handling regular servicing, maintenance, diagnostics, and general repairs. I also worked on other brands for my customers whenever needed.

I’ve been in the UAE for the past three years, working with a reputed garage specializing in German cars. Now, I’m planning to take the next step and start my own business.

My main goal is to provide fast, reliable, and honest automotive services with proper workmanship and reasonable turnaround times. From my experience, one of the biggest problems I’ve noticed in the UAE automotive repair market is inconsistent workmanship, unnecessary repairs, and a lack of transparency at some garages. I want to build a business that does things the right way and earns customers’ trust.

I’m considering Dubai Investment Park (DIP) as the location, mainly because I’m unsure about the long-term future of Al Quoz and whether any redevelopment plans could affect garages operating there.

Before making any decisions, I’d really appreciate advice from car owners and fellow automotive enthusiasts here.

I’d love to know:

What car do you drive? Infiniti, Lexus, Cadillac, or something else?

What problems do you face when servicing or maintaining your car in the UAE?

Are you satisfied with the quality of work, pricing, and transparency at garages?

Would you prefer a specialist garage dedicated to these three brands rather than a general workshop?

What would make you trust a new garage and become a regular customer?

Is DIP a good location for this type of business, or would you recommend another area?

I’m not here to promote a business that hasn’t opened yet. I genuinely want to understand the market, listen to car owners, and learn from your experiences before investing.

Thanks a lot for your time and honest feedback!

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First time buying a car in the UAE and honestly, the used-car market is frustrating.

My budget is around AED 25k, and I’ve mostly been looking through Facebook Marketplace. Out of maybe 100 listings, it feels like the majority follow the same pattern, and interestingly, a very large portion seem to come from one particular community of sellers here.

The descriptions are often “no accident,” “clean,” “original,” “perfect condition” — but once you ask for the VIN and actually check the history, the story can be completely different.

2018–2019 cars with 200k–210k+ km are being advertised for surprisingly high prices, and some turn out to have significant accident history that wasn't mentioned at all.

What really annoys me is that checking the VIN takes literally a few minutes. Why not just be honest about the car's history?

Then there's the other problem: GCC-spec cars in decent condition seem to start around AED 40k+, which is way outside my budget.

I understand that AED 25k isn't going to get me a perfect car. I'm perfectly fine with an older car or higher mileage if it's mechanically sound and the history is transparent.

But why does buying a used car here feel like you need to investigate the seller, VIN, accident history, mileage, import history, chassis and everything else before even considering the car? 😂

For people who've bought used cars in the UAE:

What would you recommend for someone with a AED 20–25k budget?

And are there any platforms where you're more likely to find genuine private sellers rather than these questionable Marketplace listings?