Methodology

Where the data comes from

Our market figures come from an index of Dubizzle car listings that we have kept since 19 June 2026. The index runs one full sweep of the listings every week.

Every figure on the site is dated with the date of the last full sweep, shown as "data as of". If the last full sweep is more than 10 days old, we keep the previous figures and say so on every page.

What we publish and what we never publish

We publish aggregates (counts, medians, ranges) and links to the original listings. We never publish a listing photo, title, description, seller name or phone number, and we offer no downloadable listings data.

Thresholds

A median for one model and one model year is shown only when it rests on at least 10 listings. Below that the cell is left out.

A model page is open to search engines only with at least 30 active listings and a written verdict that has been reviewed. A brand page needs 30 active listings.

A brand depreciation figure needs at least 100 listings. The fair price tool uses a regression from 20 listings, and a plain range from 10 to 19.

Medians

Price medians by model year use GCC-spec cars only, so imports with different equipment do not distort them. Asking prices under 3,000 AED or over 3,000,000 AED are treated as typing errors and left out.

Depreciation

For each model with at least three model years of medians, we fit a straight line through the logarithm of the median price against the model year. The slope gives an average loss of value per year in percent. A brand figure is the median of its models.

Days listed

Days listed is the time between the first and the last time we saw a listing that has since disappeared. A listing that disappears is not necessarily sold: it may have been withdrawn or relisted.

Price drops

The price drop share is the part of active listings whose asking price went down at least once while we were watching it.

Fair price

For one model and model year, the fair price band adjusts the middle half of asking prices (25th to 75th percentile) for mileage, using a regression of price on kilometres. The slope is never allowed to be positive: a car never gains value by driving more.

With 10 to 19 listings, we show the raw range without the mileage adjustment. Under 10 listings, we say there are not enough listings.

Live deals

A deal is a GCC-spec car, model year 2016 or newer, priced between 15,000 and 250,000 AED, sold by a dealer, at least 12 % under the median of at least 10 comparable listings. We show at most 20.

It is the same calculation as our private alerts. The list is checked every 30 minutes; a listing is removed as soon as it is gone from Dubizzle, or 48 hours after we first saw it.

True cost engine

The five-year true cost adds depreciation, financing, insurance, maintenance, fuel, Salik tolls and registration. Figures that come from third parties (insurers, lenders, the RTA, fuel prices) are cited with their source.

Where we could not check a cost against a source, it is labelled "estimate, not verified".

How articles are made

Each article starts from a factsheet: a dated file of figures taken from our data, each with its own reference. An AI drafts the text from that factsheet. A separate AI reviewer checks every figure against the factsheet and refuses any figure without a source. The editor then approves or rejects the article.

Every article carries this line: