Feature: Asian cars take lead in Egypt's used car market

"Japanese and Korean cars are more saleable in the Egyptian used car market because of their comparatively cheap prices, easy maintenance and available spare parts," said Amir, manager of a used car agency which is a stone's throw from the massive used car marketplace in the Egyptian capital Cairo.

It was such a busy summer Friday in Nasr City eastern Cairo, as dozens of used cars, surrounded by hundreds of buyers, sellers and dealers, parked on the two sides of the main Ahmed al-Zomor Street that leads to the main yard containing about 1,000 second-hand cars for sale.

On the way to the main yard, Yassin, a 30-year-old truck driver, was waiting for his friend inside a 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer that is displayed for sale at 77,000 Egyptian pounds (around 10,000 U.S. dollars).

"I am here with my friend to help him sell his used car whose condition is 80 percent good," Yassin told Xinhua, adding that some people come to the car market for Japanese cars in particular "as they are more reliable, more enjoyable in driving and more resalable."

At the main parking lot for used cars, Hussein, a little-bearded car dealer in his 40's, was offering two cars for sale, a red 1984 Italian Fiat 128 and a silver 1999 Korean Daewoo Leganza.

"The main reason for the success of Korean cars in Egypt is the available spare parts. They are preferred even more than the Japanese cars although the latter are also popular," the car dealer told Xinhua, pointing out that the problem of European cars like Citroen and Renault is that their spare parts are expensive and still scarce.

As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is coming soon, the used car market seemed a little idle as people who intend to sell their cars prefer to keep them until after Ramadan and the following Muslim feast because looking for another used car in Egypt always takes time.

"Only those with problematic cars offer them for sale these days. The market is idle maybe because of the recent price hikes that raised the prices of gas, foods, etc. The market is always up-and-down. The month of Ramadan for example is the weakest period of the used car market," Hussein lamented.

In the heat of the sun, Islam, a 30-year-old engineer, was sitting inside his 2010 Chinese Speranza A516 that he wants to sell at about 45,000 Egyptian pounds (less than 6,000 U.S. dollars).

"Chinese cars are good and they started to find their place in the Egyptian market, but their spare parts are not as durable as others," the car owner told Xinhua at the main parking lot, noting that he only used his car for one year and it was in good condition except for the easily-damaged suspension.

"But in general, Chinese cars are fine and they started to prevail among Egyptians, who now don't generalize that Chinese products are necessarily of lower quality," the young engineer added.

The second-hand car market in Cairo is held on Fridays and Sundays, but the Friday market is the main one with more displayed cars and more customers, as it is usually a day off in the most populous Arab country.

Each parked car in the official parking lot should pay 10 pounds for the whole day, but those cars displayed on the two sides of the street, outside the main yard, pay nothing as they do it randomly, causing traffic congestion in the area.

"I came today from Zagazig city of Sharqiya province to buy a used car. I have just sold an old German Skoda car and today I am looking for a good German car like Skoda or Opel. I also have no problem with European or Asian cars," Hesham Daif, a 50-year-old social consultant, told Xinhua while taking a tour inside the marketplace.

He explained that those coming from outside Cairo to buy used cars prefer ones with available spare parts back home and that Sharqiya people for example would not mind Korean cars like Daewoo Lanos and Chinese cars like Speranza as they have spare part agents there.

"The market is a nice place for car deals. I bought my old Skoda from here, I sold it here and I am here now to buy another," Daif told Xinhua.

Karim, a 25-year-old taxi driver, was washing his taxi outside the market when he explained that Egyptian taxi drivers prefer Asian cars because taxi cars work longer than private cars and may need more maintenance, "so we need taxis with available spare parts like Asian ones."

Some residents of Nasr City, particularly those of the Swiss District adjacent to the used car market, complain that the crowds, the jam and the garbage created by the market are very annoying to them, wishing the government could move it somewhere else.

"Most of my clients are females who feel extremely bothered when they come, if they could, to my salon on Fridays and Sundays due to the crowds of the used car market that also leaves a lot of garbage at the end of the day," said Yaqout Mohamed, a hairdresser in his late 50's, while he was heading to perform the Friday Prayer at a mosque in the Swiss District.

"The government promised a while ago to move the market to the Fifth District at a wider area away from residents. I hope they keep this promise in the near future," the old man told Xinhua. Endit