How to buy a future classic car buy in Dubai right now.

I've been a resident in the UAE for the best part of 15 years now and one of my favorite things about living here is the abundant access to some of the most interesting automotive exotica I grew up adoring as a teenager.

During those 10 years I've been lucky enough to work for the world's largest classified's group (OLX Group) and during that time I've lead the Product Marketing and Client Partnerships's for the Automotive vertical for Dubizzle across the UAE. Even though I'm lucky enough to work for Dubizzle I do still tend to find myself spending way more time than I should trawling through new and exciting listings in the Motors section. Even more so during our recent lock down.

One thing I've been consistently asked over the years is where to start when looking to buy a future classic car. There is no question that the biggest and best place to find a bargain in the UAE is on Dubizzle. I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve spent checking and rechecking the site. To be fair though it is time well spent as I upped my knowledge of how the marketplace works and also found some glorious gems. My favorite being my beloved and long since gone Mercedes Benz W124 500e (as shown in these pics).

1. Be first.

Mark my words on this; be ready to buy it if you find it as these rare “barn finds” don’t hang about. We get over 1.68 million unique monthly visitors to our motors section so that’s a lot of competition if you find something cool – chances are there is already an eager audience looking at the same car. So if you see something you like, jump on it before it’s too late. I’ve lost out on dozens of cars just for that reason alone.

Always remember, that the majority of these classics are privately owned so you’re dealing directly with the owner so there’s potentially a better deal to had.

2. Only buy what you like.

If I had to give only one bit of advice to you, it is to buy a car that you like. Don’t try to suddenly become a classic car expert right after reading this, as you could get burned by buying bad cars and take a loss when trying to sell them. I have gotten too many messages from people saying, “I don’t really like this car, but it seems like such a good deal. Should I buy it?” My response generally is: “If you don’t like it, why would you buy it?”

3. Do your homework.

Part of buying what you know is first learning about the particular car you are after.?Get geeky on the details, read as much as possible from other owners who have the same car and find out all the pitfalls and things to look out for.

Typically, collectors with the very best classic cars have a focus. They may focus on 1970’s BMW or light weight Porsche 911’s or Fiats or Beetles or whatever, but they are usually checking the appropriate forum(s) daily, getting to know other experts, and reading all available material about the car they like. It is through this sort of deep dive that collectors begin to develop a perspective on what is special and rare, and develop the contacts and appreciation for what they really want. Usually, what they want also happens to be the type of thing that generally increases in value at a much higher rate than more pedestrian cars out there.

4. Originality, originality, originality.

All that said about patina, I would rather have a car with some non-uniform wear on the original paint than a (poorly) repainted one any day of the week. To me, it is all about originality. While originality is extremely important to values, so is a proper provenance.

5. Factor in the cost of service.

Classic cars, even young classics, as you guessed it, require a level of financial commitment, love and dedicated service that modern cars just don’t need.?It’s a romance with rust. A friend once asked me about how much does it cost to run a classic car in Dubai? It depends entirely on the car you want to run and what you are willing to spend. On my lovely old Mercedes Benz W124 500e I replaced so many original parts of the car it was 60% brand new and I still was only one quarter of the way getting it done. It is just good advice to consider that you will need to add the cost of servicing when you get the car and you will need to have access to a good trustworthy mechanic to do the service. Behind every great car classic car is a great mechanic.

6. As iron sharpens iron, car collectors sharpen car collectors.

No good classic car collector is an island. It is worth learning from others and developing friendships as it’s an enriching part of classic car collecting. Maybe it starts on a forum or Instagram with a few messages being exchanged. Next thing you know, you are Facebook friends and then texting. Developing friendships with others with similar interests can be extremely helpful. Those very friends can offer a realistic check before buying any car and act as great resources for learning more about other brands and possible cars coming up for sale from collections etc.

7. Under the radar exotics

Make sure to consider classic's here that aren't as coveted/valuable as they are in the EU or North America e.g. small European hot hatches, mid-engined four cylinder classic's and manual gear boxes - these tend to get largely overlooked and unloved here and stories of mint Lotus Elise 111S's being sold for peanuts up in Al Aweer auto market a few years back compound that.

So there you go, I've spilled the beans on how to land an under-the-radar-appreciating exotic here in the UAE. Now all you to do is get out there, start exploring and have fun finding one.