For the Iraqi-born used car dealer Tareq El-Khaled, the fire spelled financial ruin: The seven cars represented his entire capital. And Tareq thinks he knows who the perpetrators were. A group of Chechens had dropped by his dealership that same afternoon, but had been unhappy with the deal Tareq was offering. They had made an offer, but it was less than Tareq himself had shelled out for the car in question. He put the kibosh on the deal and the men left the lot, screaming wild threats at the dealer. The arson attack, Tareq assumes, was their revenge.
Just some of the perils of dealing in the used-car market of Hamburg – where dealers compete for cars they then sell to developing nations. Also see about buying a car in Afghanistan.
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