It is a niche market where all the used vehicles are sold and bought. The market is also known as Souq Al Harami (meaning The Black Market) in Al Maabella of the Al Seeb area.
There is a crowd where most people park their used vehicles for days for sale by writing ‘For Sale’ and providing their phone number on an A4-sized piece of paper.
At 4 pm, the market is busy until twilight, and we found a variety of used cars in this market. No single day goes by without cars being sold and bought.
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It is the best place to get a second-hand car if purchasing a new one doesn’t sound good economically.
“This (vehicle) belongs to you, and is it for sale,” I asked the group of people sitting on mats.
It dawned on me that they were waiting for someone to say this.
“Yes, it is my car for sale,” one of them answered by shaking my hand.
“Here are some more cars I have for sale if you are interested. Please, come with me I will show you them,” he said.
He showed me four cars: an Optima, a Honda, and two Toyota Camrys. “How much is each?” I asked him about the price.
“The Optima, a 2011 model, and in excellent condition is for OMR 1,500, the first Toyota Camry is for OMR 1,800, and the second Toyota Camry, a 2009 model, is for OMR 1,600. Honda, a 2008 model, I will sell it for OMR 1,400,” he replied.
“Which one would be of interest to you? Don’t worry, you can take a test drive for free,” he tried to persuade me.
“I just wanted to gauge the market for now, how efficient it is,” I replied.
“By the way do you sell pickup trucks?” I asked him. “No, I don’t, but one of my friends does. I will be able to provide you with his contact information so that you can try to reach him,” he said.
“My name is Hameed and I am retired from the Oman Army. I recently entered the market for some money,” he said at last.
“How is the market doing by the way,” I asked.
“The market is not the same as before when we used to make good profit margins,” he said.
“To succeed in this market, one must have extensive knowledge of vehicles, especially used ones. Furthermore, one should be sharp and smart to avoid being cheated, as, in the end, it is a black market,” he concluded.
