# Importing a car



## fltops (Jul 24, 2012)

I'm looking into possibly importing my new car from Canada, but heard horror stories about how complicated and costly the whole process is. Does anyone have experience doing it? Any recommendations for carrier? Etc


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

Do a search for canuck. He imported a vehicle and gave a very indepth post about what it costs and what he did. He imported from Canada, so will be directly useful to you.


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## fltops (Jul 24, 2012)

Thanks Jynksgirl!


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## Confiture (Jan 9, 2011)

After you pay to ship it, insure it and do the importation admin, you'll have a car here that isn't gulf spec and owes you much more than it's worth. Plus there's probably a loss of warranty once you take it out of the country is was sold in.


Unless there's a personal attachment to the car, sell it and buy one here which is gulf spec and has warranty.

(IMHO of course).


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Ahan now I see why you emailed me......

There is a post out there where I tried to jot down the entire process. The process was not costly for me partly because my company paid the relocation costs.

Look for the thread I posted in this forum.

But we do know how the Canadian market fares for used cars don't we ? Pretty bad the least to say.

So far my car has been weathering pretty well, there will be some changes on your fuel consumption however mostly because you are going to leave your AC 100% on except during the winter.

You have to be wary about maintenance. If you are kind of a guy who feels comfortable knowing what needs to be done, you can use a mechanic here and fine. You might need to import parts and that might be too much of a hassle that one does not want to go through.

You will need to think about those things. Just because your car may be commercialized here does not mean the parts are the same, but you can import those dirty cheap too. 

I replied to your email explaining my main reasons.

Cheers,


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

Confiture said:


> After you pay to ship it, insure it and do the importation admin, you'll have a car here that isn't gulf spec and owes you much more than it's worth. Plus there's probably a loss of warranty once you take it out of the country is was sold in.
> 
> 
> Unless there's a personal attachment to the car, sell it and buy one here which is gulf spec and has warranty.
> ...


And another small thing. Make sure the car is paid off. I have 2 cars in the states which I have considered shipping. One, an '11 Tiguan is a lease car, I would have to do an immediate purchase of the car in order to move it - financing company won't let me move it. So I either have to terminate the lease early, sublease it, or do a storage service so I can use it over the 8-10 week intervals I might be back in the States, until the lease is up in late 2013.

The other car is my beloved 2008 Porsche Cayman, and again my bank will not let me take the collateral out of the country unless I am on a government or military transfer. Only a year left to pay it off, but I will probably make out much better financially (not necessarily emotionally) if I sell the car and don't store it. I have about 4-5 weeks before we have to make our permanent move to the UAE, and just finding out about this stuff has been a bit of a shock to me.

In the end - it may or may not be better to lease or buy a car in the UAE, but often there is no choice.


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## LPA1999 (Sep 4, 2012)

Hello all! 
I'm planning on shipping my 2012 Chevrolet Camaro LS to Dubai from Tunisia. My new job will pay for the shipping. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm not looking for anything specific (customs cost, pros and cons, can I sell it in Dubai?,...) TY!


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## saraswat (Apr 28, 2012)

Here's the link for the thread being mentioned:

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/du...rience-about-importing-my-car-canada-uae.html

Loads of great information on there...


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## LPA1999 (Sep 4, 2012)

Thanks Sara!


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## boomyflyer (Jan 8, 2013)

fltops said:


> I'm looking into possibly importing my new car from Canada, but heard horror stories about how complicated and costly the whole process is. Does anyone have experience doing it? Any recommendations for carrier? Etc


Its not like that.


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## Simey (Dec 4, 2012)

Roadworrier said:


> And another small thing. Make sure the car is paid off. I have 2 cars in the states which I have considered shipping. One, an '11 Tiguan is a lease car, I would have to do an immediate purchase of the car in order to move it - financing company won't let me move it. So I either have to terminate the lease early, sublease it, or do a storage service so I can use it over the 8-10 week intervals I might be back in the States, until the lease is up in late 2013.
> 
> The other car is my beloved 2008 Porsche Cayman, and again my bank will not let me take the collateral out of the country unless I am on a government or military transfer. Only a year left to pay it off, but I will probably make out much better financially (not necessarily emotionally) if I sell the car and don't store it. I have about 4-5 weeks before we have to make our permanent move to the UAE, and just finding out about this stuff has been a bit of a shock to me.
> 
> In the end - it may or may not be better to lease or buy a car in the UAE, but often there is no choice.


For what it is worth, my beloved 06 Cayman S is on its way to the UAE. As far as I was able to ascertain, used Porsches aren't cheaper in Dubai than in the US and those I looked at generally had higher milage for the year, a lower set of options than my one, and also generally were automatic. 

I don't yet know how much of a hassle it will be to register the car, but used car shopping isn't hassle free either, especially if you are picky and have something specific in mind.


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## Beamrider (May 18, 2012)

Simey said:


> I don't yet know how much of a hassle it will be to register the car


It takes about 6 hours in total. Have the car towed to the Tamam/Tasjeel center, have it revisioned, eventually sort the issues marked "major", get the insurance, buy the license and the plates, have the plates mounted, go home.


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## houstonian2012 (Jul 16, 2012)

As you'll have to pay duty on your car, do your research on how customs will value your car..

I wanted to bring my car from Houston, but changed my mind as there is no standard process to assign value in customs office. I work closely with custom brokers and logistics personnel, they all told me pretty much the same thing. I've been shopping for a car now as used car market is pretty good in Dubai with so many people coming and going.


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## Scatterling (Apr 25, 2010)

Keep in mind that if you buy a car in the UAE you will likely not be able to bring it back into Canada or the US. Both countries have very strict regulations concerning emissions and generally only vehicles manufactured there meet the requirements. You cannot get them altered


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## Bigjimbo (Oct 28, 2010)

Scatterling said:


> Keep in mind that if you buy a car in the UAE you will likely not be able to bring it back into Canada or the US. Both countries have very strict regulations concerning emissions and generally only vehicles manufactured there meet the requirements. You cannot get them altered


Errr you are aware that there are no cars manufactured here yes? The Landcruisers you see in the US and Canada are not made there either.... There are made in the same place. Japan.


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## Scatterling (Apr 25, 2010)

Bigjimbo said:


> Errr you are aware that there are no cars manufactured here yes? The Landcruisers you see in the US and Canada are not made there either.... There are made in the same place. Japan.


Duh yes, I realize that. What I meant, and guess I should have clarified, is that unless the cars are manufactured to Canadian and US specs, they cannot be brought into either country. All cars imported there from anywhere by manufacturers are made to those specs. 

So if you buy a car in the UAE that is made in Japan, or wherever, it is unlikely to be made to the specs required


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## Simey (Dec 4, 2012)

Beamrider said:


> It takes about 6 hours in total. Have the car towed to the Tamam/Tasjeel center, have it revisioned, eventually sort the issues marked "major", get the insurance, buy the license and the plates, have the plates mounted, go home.


Thanks very much. What do you mean by "revisioned"?


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## Roadworrier (Jul 3, 2012)

Simey said:


> For what it is worth, my beloved 06 Cayman S is on its way to the UAE. As far as I was able to ascertain, used Porsches aren't cheaper in Dubai than in the US and those I looked at generally had higher milage for the year, a lower set of options than my one, and also generally were automatic.
> 
> I don't yet know how much of a hassle it will be to register the car, but used car shopping isn't hassle free either, especially if you are picky and have something specific in mind.


*sigh* There are at least four Caymans in the garage at my complex in the Marina, plus about a dozen Cayennes and numerous 911's........probably more than in the entire suburb which I lived in, in Northern Virginia. I would have fit right in here.

The Porsche dealers here, as I understand, are nothing to write about. They are oriented more toward selling to moneyed poseurs than say, Porsche Club members. I concur with the others - there will be some mods that need to be made. But if you are here for the long term (longer than 2-3 years), it may work out just fine.

I have found a few two-lane "fun roads", especially toward RAK and also Jebel Hafeet. Not quite the same enjoying them in a Passat though, compared with the Cayman. There seem to be a lot of Caymans who show up for amateur nights at Dubai Autodrome and Yas Island. I enjoyed taking my car to Lime Rock in Connecticut when it was new, so some track time will make up for sentencing the car to commutes on SZR and lingering for 10 minutes at badly timed traffic signals.

I am going back to the states in a few weeks and bringing the car out of hibernation for a short period (I ended up storing it where the generals and diplomats store their babies when on overseas assignment....)


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## Simey (Dec 4, 2012)

Roadworrier said:


> *sigh* There are at least four Caymans in the garage at my complex in the Marina, plus about a dozen Cayennes and numerous 911's........probably more than in the entire suburb which I lived in, in Northern Virginia. I would have fit right in here.
> 
> The Porsche dealers here, as I understand, are nothing to write about. They are oriented more toward selling to moneyed poseurs than say, Porsche Club members. I concur with the others - there will be some mods that need to be made. But if you are here for the long term (longer than 2-3 years), it may work out just fine.
> 
> ...


Ha, funny. I am from NOVA too - Mount Vernon to be exact. 

What mods do you think are needed? I threw a third radiator on mine. I am not sure it is really necessary but didn't seem like it could hurt and the non-functional blank in the nose always bothered me.


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## ShoaibShaikh (Mar 28, 2013)

Yes, importing a car is not an easy task if you are doing yourself, there are may rules and regulations to go through and should be familiar with the rules and regulations of both the countries. I still remember one of friend wanted to import a BMW and Mercedes from Dubai to Switzerland. And that they he faced lots of issue then later someone told that hire a moving company they will make job easy and so he did that and everyone was smooth and simple


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