Local garage owners and car dealers flock to Marhaba – the Arabic word for ‘welcome’ – for pita bread or other snacks during their breaks. Take a seat at the window and take in the busy and lively atmosphere at and around the laundry across the street. The car trade at rue Heyvaert has become booming business, and known to all Brussels natives as the place to buy or sell a used car. It is from here that numerous African and Lebanese car dealers export their vehicles to the African continent. There are currently 200 used car dealers established in the Anderlecht and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean areas. Because so many industrial buildings (printing houses, meat wholesalers, etc.) in this neighbourhood stood vacant in the 1970s, the municipality was very keen to grant the first car dealers wanting to set up shop here the necessary environmental permits. Today, 30 years later, they are still here. This neighbourhood is characterised by a strong African presence: you will run into more Africans here (from the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameron, Nigeria, etc.) than in the Matonge quarter in Ixelles. Although there has been talk of relocating the car trade to a site near the channel to the north of Brussels, a lot of water will need to flow under the bridges of the Senne before it has completely disappeared!
Used car dealers
Location: Used car dealers, 1070 Anderlecht
