# Import car to UAE?????? Help anyone?



## obrory (Jan 11, 2009)

Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to import a car to Dubai. I bought it in Tbilisi Georgia before the war, brought it to the Ukraine, where I am now and will be moving to Dubai shortly. 

I'm Irish and though I could bring it there temporarily, it would be parked up for a year as it's petrol and a left hand drive so USELESS in Ireland!! 

Anyone got any experience importing cars to Dubai? I am considering driving from Turkey as I have time off to enjoy a little travelling. 

Either that or I'll just ship it but I have no idea relating to shipping costs and what's involved.

Anyone got any ideas? I have 2 weeks to get a plan in place as I'm leaving here for good.   

Cheers, Rory


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## Elphaba (Jan 24, 2008)

You cannot drive a left-hand drive vehicle in the UAE. Not possible to get it registered or insured.

There have been previous threads about this issue.

-


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## Andy Capp (Oct 5, 2008)

Driving through Saudi - good luck to you buddy.

Waste of time anyway, you can't register it for road use being LHD...


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## frenchy (Feb 3, 2010)

Is this very super special ? how about selling it and buying a new one here ? Also I heard that Car manufacturers do tweak their cars for the gulf region (harsher climate, hence better AC systems, etc).


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## dxbeagle (Feb 1, 2009)

Andy Capp said:


> Driving through Saudi - good luck to you buddy.
> 
> Waste of time anyway, you can't register it for road use being LHD...



Think there has been misunderstanding about what is meant by LHD. Usually means the steering wheel is on the LH side of the car as opposed to UK/Irish/Australian cars where the wheel is on the right (RHD).

As in Georgia and Ukraine we all have LHD cars in the UAE (and drive on the right hand side of the road) there should be no obvious problem importing the car.

As Andy says worth considering if the spec of the car will be up to Gulf standards though (i.e. will the a/c and car's cooling system be able to cope) especially as summer quickly approaches....


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## obrory (Jan 11, 2009)

Thanks, I thought I was loosing my mind there for a minute as I have been to Dubai twice and do remember the cars being LHD. Most of the world have LHD cars as opposed to a few exceptions like Ireland Uk and Aus as pointed out.

The car/SUV is up to the weather. It is only 1.5 years old and able for 45 degrees here so a little more wont kill it. Reason for not selling it is because the war in Georgia turned the economy upside down making it near impossible to shift there. Selling it here in Ukraine means heavy import tax and Turkey is a no go as import tax there will be 100% of the value of the car by Turkish prices. 

So I either bring it to Dubai or 40,000 worth of a car gets left behind to sit in a garage until my 12 months are up in Dubai.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

I have a truck, car, and two motorcycles sitting in storage at home. I wouldnt risk bringing them here. I hardly ever see a car without quite a bit of damage. Plus just the harshness of this environment has to take its toll. I think there is a reason why you dont see very many older cars.


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

there are a couple of threads on importing cars to Dubai
Pls do a search. Too late in the night for me to search and put the link here


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## bigbang70 (Apr 9, 2010)

*imort car*

It should be pretty simple. you need to find a reputable "drive on-drive on shipping company not sure is a duty will apply seeing how you already own it, but you will need inspection for registration


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...-living-dubai/6188-importing-car-dubai-2.html


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## jander13 (Mar 12, 2009)

> Selling it here in Ukraine means heavy import tax and Turkey is a no go as import tax there will be 100% of the value of the car by Turkish prices.


Yeah those Turkey is pretty crazy when it comes to that, even driving thru should be pretty damn expensive.


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## Yoga girl (Oct 19, 2008)

obrory said:


> Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to import a car to Dubai. I bought it in Tbilisi Georgia before the war, brought it to the Ukraine, where I am now and will be moving to Dubai shortly.
> 
> I'm Irish and though I could bring it there temporarily, it would be parked up for a year as it's petrol and a left hand drive so USELESS in Ireland!!
> 
> ...




HI there
it is actually quite simple to import a car and if you have a residency visa you should not be paying tax on it as it is for your personal use.
The cost depends on the mode of transport, RORO (ie roll on roll off) which means the car is driven into and out of a ship, or in a container where you can also pack your personal belongings and thus "save".

I used to work for a logistics company here which specialises in the importation of cars including racing cars (and believe me those are delicate!) and can refer you. Just PM me for their contact details so you can call them/ email them for a quotation and information and then you can decide what to do.

Good luck!


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## Niels (Apr 23, 2010)

Yoga girl.. 
I too would like some info about shipping a car from the USA to Abu Dhabi or Dubai.

I just joined and could not PM you, maybe my privileges are limited.

Thanks
niels


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## Yoga girl (Oct 19, 2008)

Niels said:


> Yoga girl..
> I too would like some info about shipping a car from the USA to Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
> 
> I just joined and could not PM you, maybe my privileges are limited.
> ...


HI Neils
You need to have 5 posts before you can PM. There are some old threads that contain some information about this. You could start searching the forum for these in the meantime.
I think you should be able to send a visitors message though....


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## aryanarai (Jun 12, 2010)

*Importing car to Dubai*



Yoga girl said:


> HI Neils
> You need to have 5 posts before you can PM. There are some old threads that contain some information about this. You could start searching the forum for these in the meantime.
> I think you should be able to send a visitors message though....


Hi Yoga Girl,
For importing car to Dubai what is the taxation procedure? My car is about 7 years old and I am in the position wherein it's probably better off to ship the car than to sell it. I am moving to Dubai in July. I have three primary concerns;
How much would taxing cost?
I will probably get my residence visa 3 months into my stay in Dubai can I not use my car till then? Can I get it registered in other family's name who stay in Dubai?
My Toyota Camry is built with North American Specs....will it be useless in Dxb?
Thx
Aryana.


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## Yoga girl (Oct 19, 2008)

aryanarai said:


> Hi Yoga Girl,
> For importing car to Dubai what is the taxation procedure? My car is about 7 years old and I am in the position wherein it's probably better off to ship the car than to sell it. I am moving to Dubai in July. I have three primary concerns;
> How much would taxing cost?
> I will probably get my residence visa 3 months into my stay in Dubai can I not use my car till then? Can I get it registered in other family's name who stay in Dubai?
> ...


HI Aryana
the best thing for you to do is to get in touch with the company that will do your paperwork here in Dubai. I will PM you the details.
They can look at all the options with you and tell you how much it will cost and what is and isnt possible.
Whereabouts in the USA are you based? Do you know who you will be using to ship your stuff out there?


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## aryanarai (Jun 12, 2010)

Yoga girl said:


> HI Aryana
> the best thing for you to do is to get in touch with the company that will do your paperwork here in Dubai. I will PM you the details.
> They can look at all the options with you and tell you how much it will cost and what is and isnt possible.
> Whereabouts in the USA are you based? Do you know who you will be using to ship your stuff out there?


Hi Yogagirl,
Thanks for your reply. I am located on the east coast - VA to be exact..haven't been able to finalize a shipping service yet. Do you know of any good ones? I didn't recieve your PM. Would that be an email? Sorry I am new to this and technologically challenged. 
Thanks a ton
Aryana.


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## Yoga girl (Oct 19, 2008)

aryanarai said:


> Hi Yogagirl,
> Thanks for your reply. I am located on the east coast - VA to be exact..haven't been able to finalize a shipping service yet. Do you know of any good ones? I didn't recieve your PM. Would that be an email? Sorry I am new to this and technologically challenged.
> Thanks a ton
> Aryana.


HI Aryana
i had to send a visitor message as you only have one post and therefore cannot send or receive Private Messages.
I think you need to go on your profile to see those but I am not sure.
I had some contacts but not sure where in the USA they were. WIll take a look at home and let you know something if i do find them.


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## aryanarai (Jun 12, 2010)

Yoga girl said:


> HI Aryana
> i had to send a visitor message as you only have one post and therefore cannot send or receive Private Messages.
> I think you need to go on your profile to see those but I am not sure.
> I had some contacts but not sure where in the USA they were. WIll take a look at home and let you know something if i do find them.


Thanks Yogagirl you are the best!!!!!!!


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## petridg (Jul 16, 2010)

As far as I know, the car needs to be less than 10 years old, other than that you should be OK and you can get all the info you need from Dubai customs. If the car has a small engine (I would say less than 2000 cc) and not GCC specs you might want to think about it twice, cause the car will have hard time coping with high 40s C in the summer. Also, driving through Saudi will be an interesting experience if you have females with you...


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