Taken for a wild ride



Buying a used car always carries some degree of risk. But when you buy from a registered dealer, you might expect a little more certainty. That's what Martyn Staniforth thought when he and his wife, Rebecca, bought a BMW X5 from a licensed dealer. The British couple was looking for a reliable 4x4 vehicle to take Mrs Staniforth, 32, from their home in Mirdif, Dubai, to work in Jebel Ali. The Staniforths moved to Dubai in 2006 to further their careers, but Mr Staniforth, 40, lost his job as a project manager for Portakabin, a manufacturer of portable buildings, in May 2009. His wife works as an HR manager for another company in Dubai.

With just one job between them, Martyn decided to use his redundancy pay to buy a second-hand car for the two of them, perhaps his first mistake, as it is unwise to buy big-ticket items if your employment outlook is uncertain. In September 2009, the Staniforths visited the car company in Sharjah. Within minutes of entering the showroom, the couple clapped eyes on a black X5. "The car looked all shiny and new. It had a lovely red leather interior, a CD player, a spacious boot, sunroof, a GPS system and, to our delight, it had very low mileage for its year. It was perfect."

The odometer on the 2003 model showed that the vehicle had covered 95,000 kilometres. The sales manager explained the low mileage by saying that the car had one previous owner - a woman who used the vehicle mainly for shopping trips. With a price tag of Dh70,000, the Staniforths thought they had a bargain in hand. The couple drove out of the showroom with their pristine-looking car, but two weeks later, while driving along Sheikh Zayed Road, the driver's power window stopped working. A few days later a rattling sound started emanating from the engine.

"We didn't think that it was any big deal at the time, but we decided to take the car to the BMW dealer in Dubai," said Mr Staniforth. A few days later he received a call from the garage telling him that the driveshaft was failing - which would cost Dh3,000 to repair. "I just couldn't believe it. This is not something you expect from a car that's only done 95,000 kilometres." Mr Staniforth was in for a second shock. The mechanic then went on to tell him that the car had been re-clocked. "A computerised diagnostics test said the real mileage was 221,000 - not 95,000 kilometres. I was so angry, I just wanted to race back to the dealer there and demand my money back."

To add to his injuries, Mr Staniforth learnt that the car had been serviced at the same garage until a certain point in 2007. Up until this time it had been registered by an owner in Dubai and was up to 175,000 kilometres. Afterwards, the BMW was purchased by another person, someone in Sharjah, after which no service records could be found. Mr Staniforth returned to the dealer with the papers in hand to prove that the car had been illegally manipulated, and he demanded a full refund.

"At first the dealer denied any knowledge, and also pretended that he didn't fully understand us, as English wasn't his first language," he said. The Staniforths went back to the dealer six times in November and December, but each time their pleas fell on deaf ears. "The dealer eventually agreed that the car had been re-clocked but said he was ignorant of this fact so couldn't claim liability," Mr Staniforth said.

He then took the matter to the police, but claims that when he visited the Sharjah police station in December, officers wouldn't investigate his complaint. "Their response was that it was my fault," he said. "It made me think about how many other dealers are getting away with selling clocked cars - and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Obviously this means dealers can clock cars till they're blue in the face," he said.

Mr Staniforth also consulted a lawyer, who advised him to drop the matter. "He said my only right of redress was through a civil case, which could end up costing me three and a half times the value of the car - and there was no guarantee that I would be awarded any compensation at the end of it." Mr Staniforth said pursuing the matter had taken up considerable time - which he might otherwise have spent trying to find suitable employment. He remains out of work. The couple didn't have the money to buy a new car, so they kept the old one, which continues to cause them trouble. Mr Staniforth says they have paid Dh15,000 on repairs, including replacing the suspension and various engine parts.

Worst of all, their car still shows the incorrect mileage - which means that if they sell they car, they will themselves be breaking the law. "We can't change the clock unless we are given a police report to verify this change, but Sharjah police have not been forthcoming," Mr Staniforth said. Mr Staniforth said he naively thought that car dealers were legally obliged to verify that their cars had authentic papers before selling them.

"The lesson learnt is, never buy a used car from a dealer in Sharjah, as there's no support if your car turns out to have a falsified service history. If you buy second-hand from anywhere else, whether it's a dealer or a private sale, take the vehicle to a mechanic to get a proper estimate of the car's state, bearing in mind that even the agency can only give you a rough idea - otherwise you can never be sure of what you might end up with."

Trolls World Tour

Directed by: Walt Dohrn, David Smith

Starring: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake

Rating: 4 stars

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

Joker: Folie a Deux

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson

Director: Todd Phillips 

Rating: 2/5

Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas

Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa

Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong

Rating: 3/5

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Company Profile

Company name: NutriCal

Started: 2019

Founder: Soniya Ashar

Based: Dubai

Industry: Food Technology

Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount

Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia

Total Clients: Over 50

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Bio:

Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour

Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people 

Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite food: Fish and vegetables

Favourite place to visit: London

SPECS

Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Thank You for Banking with Us

Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Quick%20facts
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How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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A%20MAN%20FROM%20MOTIHARI
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAuthor%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbdullah%20Khan%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPenguin%20Random%20House%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E304%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 


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