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[beequeen]

I will be going to UAE Ras al Khaimah in the fall and understand I will need a car. Naturally I have a car in the US. Trying to decide whether to transport car or not. What do others do?

[beequeen]

I want to add to my original question.... I have just started to look at prices of used cars and the prices (thanks to forum respondee) seem reasonable, but of course I can't tell about the condition. I have a 2008 Volvo with $350 monthly car note in the US. It will cost approx $2300 to transport from US to UAE (and another $2300 for return at end of contract).

As with most things in life, I am sure I'm not the only one to be faced with this decision.

Any ideas on about how much I will have to pay for descent car in the UAE?

[still_searching]

Dear Beequeen,

I don't think we know anyone personally who has shipped a vehicle over to the UAE (most of the folks we know are not academics, by the way, but not sure if that's relevant).  There seem to be quite a few cars for sale on www.abudhabiwoman.edu (warning:  great site for factual information on some things, but seems to be dominated by housewives on their husbands' sponsorship who spend most of their time talking about where to send their children to school - don't expect a ton of information about working in higher education).

All that said, the shipping costs for your car don't seem extortionate, but it has just come to mind that I have yet to see a Volvo in Abu Dhabi - or at least not a lot of them.  That may pose a problem when it comes to servicing.

Hope that is helpful.

Kind regards,
SS

[thundering_m]

If you want your car to be in running condition when you return to the States, leave it here. Sand = the need for the service mentioned by SS.

Buy one there. There's a reason there are cars for sale there, and they'll be good bargains because the people selling them know they are best left there. Plus it will come with its own interesting history and give you an opportunity to connect with the people who may be your new best friends. You'll need some. Don't dismiss their wives, some of whom may be your colleagues and/or students. Or helicopters.

[beequeen]

Thanks for all the info. I'm probably being a car snob, because I'm used to riding in a new vehicle and cannot/would not buy another new car just for a short time. So, I will have to adjust to driving a very used car.

Also, thanks for the reminder that I need to consider having a car serviced. I had thought about the potential problem of sand and plan on talking to the manufacturer about this.

You guys are great sources of info.