Latest news with #cardealership
The National
a day ago
- Automotive
- The National
Woman in UAE buys 'clocked' Mercedes with 145,000km dialled back
A woman who was sold an imported car with a tampered mileage clock has warned other used car buyers to complete a full history check before purchasing a second-hand vehicle. In March 2023 Emilia Cosbuc, a personal trainer from Romania, bought her dream car, a Mercedes C200, from a dealership in Sharjah. The 2016 model vehicle had 92,000km on the clock and was offered with a one-year warranty. After a smooth test drive, Ms Cosbuc handed over Dh90,000 for the luxury saloon. There was no indication of any serious mechanical faults until January 2025, when she started to experience engine problems, thinking the car had 150,327km on the clock at this point. When a mechanic assessed the vehicle, the full reality of the car's chequered history became clear. Records showed that it had been involved in several accidents, and a major collision in August 2022. Further online records showed the car was imported from South Africa and sold on at auction in the UAE for $1,700 in November 2022. Then it had 236,748km on its odometer; but four months later, when the car was sold to Ms Cosbuc, the clock showed nearly 145,000km fewer than that. Rather than the car having travelled 150,327km when it began to have engine problems, as Ms Cosbuc thought, it had actually done 295,027km - a significant and dangerous difference, as 250,000km is generally considered to be the point at which a vehicle has gone through significant wear and tear. 'Initially the car looked great, the test drive was smooth, and the seller gave me a one-year warranty contract - I trusted them and happily bought the car,' Ms Cosbuc, who lives in Abu Dhabi, told The National. 'When my car engine needed a major repair, the garage discovered its real history. I spoke to the auction house, which verified the car was sold to an individual in November 2022. "The photos of the car's odometer show 236,748km, which means it had been tampered with by the time I bought it. Selling a vehicle with an altered odometer reading and a concealed accident history puts unsuspecting buyers at serious financial and safety risks.' Victims of fraud have the right to seek compensation for damages, which can cover financial losses and emotional distress. Ms Cosbuc is facing a repair bill of Dh30,000 to get the car back on the road. As the vehicle is considerably more used than she believed, she asked for compensation from the dealership that sold the vehicle and lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Economy. The company said it was an honest mistake, and admitted they should have completed a more thorough check of the car's history. It has since changed its policy to ensure all cars purchased to be sold on are fully researched, and paid Ms Cosbuc Dh40,000 in compensation. Fines Car-sale fraud is a criminal offence in the UAE, with legal penalties including imprisonment and fines governed by the UAE's Consumer Protection Law and Commercial Transactions Law. Odometer tampering is the practice of rolling back a car's odometer to make it appear to have a lower mileage, to artificially inflate its value. There is huge demand for used cars across the UAE, with each emirate operating its own safety checks and records for imported vehicles. According to Credence Research, the UAE's used car market was worth $20.15 billion in 2022, and is expected to climb to $48.14 billion by 2030. Several e-commerce sites used to advertise second-hand vehicles for sale are improving their transparency when it comes to a car's history. Despite that, experts say buyers should conduct their own checks on any used vehicle before handing over their cash. 'This market can be a bit of a minefield, so buyers need to be careful,' said Ryan Hughes, co-owner of RMA Motors in Dubai. 'If the car is from the GCC it's usually a bit easier to track its history, if it's imported it can be more difficult. "There are a lot of imported cars that are crash repaired from America, Europe and Canada, and also stolen cars from Canada. A lot of these cars have mileage manipulation, with clocked cars usually coming from North America and Europe.' Pre-purchase safety checks As the traffic departments in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah are not connected, it can be difficult to maintain consistency in export papers to show any discrepancies in a vehicle's mileage. To check for any mileage manipulation, buyers can check a car's control unit with a mechanic to ensure its chassis number matches what is printed on the car. That can help ensure the mileage matches up with what is on each control unit on the odometer. 'On some cars you can access what is called a service reset counter to make sure that the amount of service resets match the kilometres recorded,' said Mr Hughes. 'On a Mercedes you can see if the service intervals have been once a year or every 15,000km. If it was a three or four-year-old car, you could see it would have had three or four service resets in that time, so you could make an estimate of what the kilometres should be. "But if a car had 25 service resets, for example, you would know it should have 250,000km or more. It's really about just doing your due diligence from the paperwork you have on the vehicle's history, as well as a standard inspection and technical evaluation.'
The National
2 days ago
- Automotive
- The National
UAE's used car buyers warned after woman buys 'clocked' Mercedes with 145,000km dialled back
A woman who was sold an imported car with a tampered mileage clock has warned other used car buyers to complete a full history check before purchasing a second-hand vehicle. In March 2023 Emilia Cosbuc, a personal trainer from Romania, bought her dream car, a Mercedes C200 from a dealership in Sharjah. The 2016 model vehicle had 92,000km on the clock and was offered with a one-year warranty. After a smooth test drive, Ms Cosbuc handed over Dh90,000 for the luxury saloon. There was no indication of any serious mechanical faults until January 2025, when she started to experience engine problems, thinking the car had 150,327km on the clock at this point. When a mechanic assessed the vehicle, the full reality of the car's chequered history became clear. Records showed the it had been involved in several accidents, and a major collision in August 2022. Further online records showed the car's previous history – that it was imported from South Africa and sold on at auction in the UAE for $1,700 in November 2022. Then it had 236,748km on its odometer, but four months later, when the car was sold to Ms Cosbuc, the clock showed nearly 145,000km fewer than that. Rather than the car having travelled 150,327km when it began to have engine problems, as Ms Cosbuc thought, it had actually done 295,027km - a significant and dangerous difference, as 250,000km is generally considered to be the point at which a vehicle has gone through significant wear and tear. 'Initially the car looked great, the test drive was smooth, and the seller gave me a one-year warranty contract - I trusted them and happily bought the car,' Ms Cosbuc, who lives in Abu Dhabi, told The National. 'When my car engine needed a major repair, the garage discovered its real history. I spoke to the auction house, which verified the car was sold to an individual in November 2022. "The photos of the car's odometer show 236,748km, which means it had been tampered with by the time I bought it. Selling a vehicle with an altered odometer reading and a concealed accident history puts unsuspecting buyers at serious financial and safety risks.' Victims of fraud have the right to seek compensation for damages, which can cover financial losses and emotional distress. Ms Cosbuc is facing a repair bill of Dh30,000 to get the car back on the road. As the vehicle is considerably more used than she believed, she asked for compensation from the dealership that sold the vehicle and lodged a complaint with the Ministry of Economy. The company said it was an honest mistake, and admitted they should have completed a more thorough check of the car's history. It has since changed its policy to ensure all cars purchased to be sold on are fully researched. The company has since paid Ms Cosbuc Dh40,000 in compensation. Fines Car-sale fraud is a criminal offence in the UAE, with legal penalties including imprisonment and fines governed by the UAE's Consumer Protection Law and Commercial Transactions Law. Odometer tampering is the practice of rolling back a car's odometer to make it appear to have a lower mileage, to artificially inflate its value. There is huge demand for used cars across the UAE, with each emirate operating its own safety checks and records for imported vehicles. According to Credence Research, the UAE's used car market was worth $20.15 billion in 2022, and is expected to climb to $48.14 billion by 2030. Numerous e-commerce sites used to advertise second-hand vehicles for sale are improving their transparency when it comes to a car's history. Despite that, experts say buyers should conduct their own checks on any used vehicle before handing over their cash. 'This market can be a bit of a minefield, so buyers need to be careful,' said Ryan Hughes, co-owner of RMA Motors in Dubai. 'If the car is from the GCC it's usually a bit easier to track its history, if it's imported it can be more difficult. "There are a lot of imported cars that are crash repaired from America, Europe and Canada, and also stolen cars from Canada. A lot of these cars have mileage manipulation, with clocked cars usually coming from North America and Europe.' Pre-purchase safety checks As the traffic departments in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah are not connected, it can be difficult to maintain consistency in export papers to show any discrepancies in a vehicle's mileage. To check for any mileage manipulation, buyers can check a car's control unit with a mechanic to ensure its chassis number matches what is printed on the car. That can help ensure the mileage matches up with what's on each control unit on the odometer. 'On some cars you can access what is called a service reset counter to make sure that the amount of service resets match the kilometres recorded,' said Mr Hughes. 'On a Mercedes you can see if the service intervals have been once a year or every 15,000km. If it was a three or four-year-old car, you could see it would have had three or four service resets in that time, so you could make an estimate of what the kilometres should be. "But if a car had 25 service resets, for example, you would know it should have 250,000km or more. It's really about just doing your due diligence from the paperwork you have on the vehicle's history, as well as a standard inspection and technical evaluation.'
CBS News
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CBS News
Car windows damaged during dealership break-in on Chicago's South Side
A car dealership on Chicago's South Side was broken into early Monday morning, Chicago police confirmed. According to the Chicago Police Department, a group of four to five people damaged the gate outside the dealership in the 2700 block of South Michigan Avenue around 4:30 a.m. Police said the group then shattered the front driver's side windows of two parked cars. It is unclear at this time if anything was taken from the dealership during the break-in. No arrests have been made. Area Three detectives are investigating. This is a developing story. CBS News Chicago will continue to provide updates.
Bloomberg
29-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Musk Is Leaving Washington Pretty Much as He Found It
This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, the Goldilocks choice of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. Last night, Elon Musk thanked President Donald Trump 'for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending.' The key word to note here is 'opportunity.' He had a chance to do something big! But he … did nothing with it, other than turn the White House into a car dealership for a day and ruin thousands of livelihoods for no apparent reason.
Fox News
17-05-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
AI humanoid robot is changing the way you buy cars at dealerships
The world of car dealerships is changing rapidly as AI humanoid robots, once confined to factory floors, are now stepping into showrooms to greet customers, explain features and even pour coffee. At the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, Chinese automaker Chery showcased its latest advances, placing robots at the heart of the customer experience. Chery Automobile, a major Chinese carmaker, has introduced Mornine, a humanoid robot designed to work in car dealerships. Mornine is more than just a digital character. She is a physical robot who can explain vehicle specifications, lead showroom tours, serve refreshments, and communicate in multiple languages. Chery's Mornine is already working as an "Intelligent Sales Consultant" at a dealership in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and the company plans to deliver 220 units to dealers worldwide this year. Mornine's design combines advanced robotics with a friendly digital persona, aiming to connect with younger, tech-savvy customers. Mornine is powered by Chery's expertise in autonomous driving and artificial intelligence. The robot uses a multimodal sensing model to recognize gestures, voice commands, and environmental cues. Her hands are dexterous enough to serve drinks, and she can walk upright to guide customers around the showroom. Deepseek's large language models give Mornine the ability to understand natural language and provide personalized answers, which makes interactions feel more natural and engaging. Chery envisions Mornine moving beyond car sales. Thanks to her flexible design and advanced artificial intelligence, the robot could one day work in malls, cinemas, exhibitions, and even homes or eldercare facilities. The company sees Mornine as a step toward a future where artificial intelligence is always by your side, with robots acting as daily companions and assistants. Chery believes that humanoid robots will become as important as vehicles in the coming years. These robots offer a new way to engage customers, streamline operations, and showcase technological leadership. With features such as real-time language translation, fluid movement, and the ability to answer complex questions, robots like Mornine are poised to transform how we buy cars and interact with brands. Humanoid robots in car dealerships are no longer science fiction. With models such as Mornine and Iron, Chinese automakers are leading a new wave of customer service, blending advanced artificial intelligence and robotics with real-world applications. While some may find these robots a bit uncanny, their potential to revolutionize retail and daily life is clear. The future of car buying might just include a handshake or even a fist bump from a robot. If you are curious about how these robots compare to others like Tesla's Optimus, or want to know more about their technology, there is much more to explore as this trend continues to evolve. Would you feel comfortable buying your next car from a humanoid robot sales assistant instead of a human salesperson? Let us know by writing us at For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Follow Kurt on his social channels: Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions: New from Kurt: Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
