How to build a car dealer website in Lebanon

A car dealer website in Lebanon works best as an online showroom: every car with real photos, a price in US dollars, the facts buyers compare first (year, mileage, fuel, gearbox, engine, colour), its history stated plainly, and a one-tap way to ask about it or book a test drive on WhatsApp. Nobody buys a car in a checkout. The website's job is to bring the right buyer to your showroom.

This guide covers what each car listing needs, how to photograph cars, how to handle test drive requests, and how to keep the stock on the site true.

Why put your cars on your own site

Most dealers already post cars on Instagram, Facebook and marketplace sites. Those bring views. A site of your own adds three things:

• One link with every car, filterable by body type and budget, instead of a feed where last month's cars are buried.
• Trust. A showroom with a proper site, clear prices and a phone number looks like a business that will still be there when the buyer needs service.
• Search. People search for a specific model and year. A page per car, with its facts in plain text, can be found.

The facts every car listing needs

Buyers filter in their head before they ever call. Put these at the top of every listing, in the same order:

• Year
• Mileage in kilometres
• Fuel: petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric
• Gearbox: automatic or manual
• Engine size
• Colour
• Price in US dollars, or "price on request" if you truly negotiate every car

Then the questions every Lebanese buyer asks, answered before they ask:

• Where the car comes from: sold new in Lebanon through a local dealer, or imported, and from where.
• Owners: how many, if you know.
• History: accidents, repairs, service record. If a car was repaired, say what was done. Buyers find out anyway, and the honest dealer keeps the sale.
• What is included: registration, a warranty if you give one, a first service.

Photos that sell a car

• Wash the car first, inside and out.
• Shoot outdoors in soft light, morning or late afternoon, against a plain background. Avoid a busy street behind the car.
• Same angles for every car: front three-quarter, side, rear three-quarter, front, rear, dashboard, front seats, back seats, boot, engine bay, the odometer showing the mileage, the tyres.
• Show the flaws too: a close-up of a scratch builds more trust than hiding it.
• Put the best angle first, usually the front three-quarter.

Keep the same order on every listing, so buyers learn where to look.

Test drive requests without the back and forth

A test drive is where the sale happens, so make asking for one effortless:

• A "Book a test drive" button that opens WhatsApp with the message already written, including which car.
• A short form for people who prefer you to call them: name, phone, the car, a message.
• A clear answer within the hour, proposing two times. "Tomorrow at 11 or Thursday at 5?" closes faster than "when suits you?".

Before the visit, confirm the day before, have the car washed and fuelled, and tell the buyer they are welcome to bring their own mechanic. It costs you nothing and removes their biggest worry.

Keep the stock true

A car shown online that was sold last week wastes a buyer's trip and your credibility. The day a car is sold:

• mark it sold on the site (a sold badge for a few weeks shows your stock moves), or remove it
• update the price the day you lower it, not a week later
• add new arrivals as soon as they are ready to show, even with a few photos first

Building it with Mahallat

Mahallat has a template made for dealers, Motors: a showroom online. A new store on Motors starts in catalog mode, with no cart and no checkout, only cars and ways to ask.

• Cars with their facts. In the product editor, "Add listing facts" inserts the vehicle rows (Year, Mileage, Fuel, Gearbox, Engine, Colour), and you add your own lines for the source, owners or history. Cards show the year on the photo, mileage, fuel and gearbox, and the price large.
• A car finder on the home page, by body type and budget, with your categories (SUV, sedan, pickup) as the body types.
• Car of the week: featured cars open with a full spec sheet.
• Test drives on WhatsApp. The header and a band on the home page open WhatsApp with "I would like to book a test drive" written for the buyer, next to a button to call the showroom.
• Ask about this. Every car has a short form and a WhatsApp button with the car's name and link. Questions land in the Inquiries inbox in your dashboard, with an email and a push on your phone, and you reply on WhatsApp in one tap.
• Sold badges. A car whose stock reaches zero shows Sold, and a price of 0 reads "Price on request".

There is no booking calendar for test drives: you agree on the time with the buyer on WhatsApp or by phone, which is how most showrooms work anyway.

See the Motors template, Mahallat for car dealers, or open the demo showroom in the live demo. Every new store starts with a 14-day free trial, no card needed, then plans start at $20 a month: see pricing.