Why are cars so expensive?

[Peter Mitry]

I have been living in Hurghada now since 2008 and I am shocked how expensive cars are, and especially second hand ones. With the poor standard of driving and the bad state of the roads I would have expected second hand cars to lose value very quickly, but this does not seem to be the case.

Anyone have any insight into this? Hopefully with a new government there may be some relaxation of import duty which at least may make imported cars less expensive.

In the UK and in Spain, where I was living for 13 years prior to coming to Egypt, second hand cars lose value quickly and cars over 10 years old are a positive steal.

[Caroline66]

Hiya,
I was recently in Hurghada and looking at second hand cars. Oh my goodness what a pile of junk for nearly £6000! I would not even give them £50 for some of these bangers. I just don't get it????
I do think the second hand market in everything is expensive in Egypt. Everyone appears to have their cut so I think the price is raised because of this.
Ive just got a teaching job in Cairo so Ive asked the school to advise me or find me a car as I don't really trust anyone out there.
Being English the price is bumped up 50% anyway!!!!

[MaidenScotland]

Originally Posted by Caroline66

Hiya,
I was recently in Hurghada and looking at second hand cars. Oh my goodness what a pile of junk for nearly £6000! I would not even give them £50 for some of these bangers. I just don't get it????
I do think the second hand market in everything is expensive in Egypt. Everyone appears to have their cut so I think the price is raised because of this.
Ive just got a teaching job in Cairo so Ive asked the school to advise me or find me a car as I don't really trust anyone out there.
Being English the price is bumped up 50% anyway!!!!

Yes you will pay extra because you are a foreigner but cars even second hand cars here hold their value... import tax on cars is HUGE.. and this is why you see so many heaps of junk, people cannot afford to get rid and upgrade, buying a second hand car I suspect would be a pig in a poke..you have no idea who it belonged to and who has serviced it.. I have a hole in the wall garage beside me and I am often surprised at the good quality of cars that are getting fixed... who the heck would take a decent Merc to the hole in the wall man??

[Whitedesert]

Originally Posted by MaidenScotland

Yes you will pay extra because you are a foreigner but cars even second hand cars here hold their value... import tax on cars is HUGE.. and this is why you see so many heaps of junk, people cannot afford to get rid and upgrade, buying a second hand car I suspect would be a pig in a poke..you have no idea who it belonged to and who has serviced it.. I have a hole in the wall garage beside me and I am often surprised at the good quality of cars that are getting fixed... who the heck would take a decent Merc to the hole in the wall man??

Confirm...2nd hand cars do not loose value that easily in Egypt, compare that to Doha, Qatar where, if a new 2012 manufacture year car does not sell in 2012, it sells for less than 50% of it "new" value in 2013. The reason is as maiden said, to buy a car here is a HUGE thing, to replace it a distant possibility so they simply maintain their value. They actually pass from hand to hand, from family to family and reach the junk yard at the point when we would have expected to see it there 20 years ago. A 15 to 20 year old car is seen here as "relatively" NEW! Some makes, like the famous Peugeot's of the late sixties early seventies NEVER loose there inherent value in Egypt, notably the Peugeot 404 (especially the SW) the 504 and to a lesser extent the 405. Same applies to those "Fiats" build in Turkey, they are cheap, hardy and easy to repair (few electronics). The Egyptians recycle used pistons, cylinder sleeves and rebuild them, in some cases up to 10 times! The live of a piston can start in a new Toyota Corolla (considered a really expensive luxury car in Egypt) then get placed in a completely different car (modified) and finally land up in old Fiat 500 circa 1956. Egypt has the best mechanics in the world, they fix things, nobody will pay for replacing things...

[canuck2010]

Simple answer, car smuggling is big business here.

[Whitedesert]

Originally Posted by canuck2010

Simple answer, car smuggling is big business here.

Yes, I saw a Toyota Corolla still with its South African number plates on driving in the backstreets of Sabtia near the new Torgoman buss station. Approx 2,500 thousand cars are stolen per week in South Africa, for the African black market.

[expatagogo]

Originally Posted by Whitedesert

. Egypt has the best mechanics in the world, they fix things, nobody will pay for replacing things

I'm pretty sure I've seen old, old, old!, VW Beetles toodling around, sand blasted, with refrigerator motors keeping them going.

Auto mechanics here are sheer geniuses.

[Widget]

Originally Posted by Whitedesert

A 15 to 20 year old car is seen here as "relatively" NEW! Some makes, like the famous Peugeot's of the late sixties early seventies NEVER loose there inherent value in Egypt, notably the Peugeot 404 (especially the SW) the 504 and to a lesser extent the 405.

My BiL has a Peugeot something, circa 1978, he was offered 30,000LE for it about three years ago!

[Whitedesert]

Originally Posted by Widget

My BiL has a Peugeot something, circa 1978, he was offered 30,000LE for it about three years ago!

Absolutely the market value in Egypt, and if he pushes he may actually get more. Peugeots of the seventies are remarkably reliable and tough, are great long distance taxi's. Egyptians will generally be able to tell at a glance if the vehicle had been involved in serious accidents (they have to - they can simply NOT afford to make a mistake on these kind of issues). The fact that it might have scratches and dents on the outside is not the issue for them, it is the mechanical reliability only.