# To buy or not to buy



## thriftybrit (Aug 5, 2011)

Considering the possibility of driving in El Gouna and therefore researching purchase of a car / motorbike.

Is there a secondhand market for cars (notwithstanding the inherent risks)?

Is there a market for cars among ex pats?

Do people do motorbikes at all?

Can we just drive on a UK license, do we have to take a new test or can we convert UK license?

Some are advising to buy a car, others not. Any advice / answers much appreciated.

Thanks


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## kevinthegulf (Aug 16, 2009)

There are many threads about buy/renting cars etc, however one essential is an International Driving licence (plus your UK)

There are many different views on the length of time you can drive with an international licence- I reckon a long time, I have only ever shown the international when stopped at check points or for my 150LE contribution to retirement fund for going too fast.

Just bear in mind that Egypt is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for road deaths
good luck


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## Gounie (Jan 27, 2011)

Motorbikes are very dangerous in El Gouna because of all the sand on the roads. The roads are sometimes watered to keep the sand from blowing around and this makes them very slippery. Some people drive quad bikes but many have accidents on those too. Some expats buy their own tok toks (around GBP2,000 I think). There is a group on Google for El Gouna residents where sometimes people sell or buy cars. It is not so simple to register a car. I have an Egyptian driving licence but it took around 5 weeks to get with many visits to the Traffice Office in Hurghada

Much safer to walk ;-)


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## Lanason (Sep 1, 2009)

Don't know about Gouna but buying a second hand car is very risky - the history can be very dubious. Only buy new or from a very trusted source. IMHO.

I have a full Egyptian driving license and a full residences visa - the international driving license is ok but may invalidate any insurance. If you have a residence visa then (I'm told) you must have an egyptian license. My car is a company one and so i needed the full Monty.

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## gabe2010 (Aug 9, 2011)

Why bother ? There is always easy transport cheap enough to most places. IT will be a lot safer, buy a morotbike if you have a death wish ! !


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## Helen Ellis (Aug 9, 2008)

Used cars are very expensive here,you could pay £4,000 plus for an old banger, and there is no service history like in UK. A car will have had dents and scrapes at some time in it's life. Or so I am told, I don't have a car.


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## mamasue (Oct 7, 2008)

Helen Ellis said:


> Used cars are very expensive here,you could pay £4,000 plus for an old banger, and there is no service history like in UK. A car will have had dents and scrapes at some time in it's life. Or so I am told, I don't have a car.



You're totally right, Helen......People sell the oldest beaten-up bangers for huge money...
I couldn't believe it when I was looking for one!
And....car servicing is dodgy, to say the least.....car parts are almost impossible to get hold of.... everything has to be imported.....big time and money....
So, a lot of the time they 'improvise'.....scarey!!


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