An informed source who is close to the car evaluation committees described the evaluations as very fair and said they exceeded what the owners were expecting. He, however, said it was not yet clear whether the compensations would be paid to the companies that sold the cars to the citizens through installments or to the owners. He noted that the ownership of the  majority of the damaged cars still belonged to the companies which sold them through installments to citizens and expatriates.

According to the statistics of the Civil Defense, 6,366 cars were damaged in the Jan. 26 floods.

Meanwhile some car dealers expected sales to surge after the payment of the compensations while others did not agree.

"There will not be any impact on sales," said Turki Saad Ghali Al-Aazmi, member of the committee pertaining to car dealers at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said so far no compensations were paid either to the car companies or car owners.

He noted that most of the residents of Jeddah owned their cars through installment sales. He expected the compensations to be paid to the car companies which will give the buyers new cars. "We at the car showrooms do not expect any rise in sales due to the lavish compensations. However, the picture will be clear when the money is actually paid," he added.

Ouwaidah bin Muhammad Al-Kashi, an owner of  a car showroom, said since the rains buyers have become very cautious when they come to buy cars. "They thoroughly check the cars for fear that water might have caused damage. The buyers are now more careful than any time before," he said. He denied any increase in sales after the rains.

Nasser Saleh Al-Harithy, an accredited distributor of Toyota cars, said the Abdul Latif Jameel Group has exported as scrap all the cars damaged during the rains and floods of 2009. "This time there is not much damage but still the company is keen not to sell any car which got water inside as a result of the rain," he said. He advised buyers, specially of second-hand cars, to be more vigilant before buying a car at this time. "You should ask an engineer to check the car before you buy it," he advised customers.