# Importing car to Dubai



## carpediem

I'm moving to Dubai from the U.S. and I'm considering shipping my car. I've heard, however, that if I import a U.S. Spec car into Dubai, I won't be able to sell it, and I'll have to take it with me when I leave. Can anyone tell me if this is true?


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## Ogri750

I have plenty of cars for sale advertised as US spec, so not sure of any sell on issues.

I'm sure someone will be able to give a more difinitive answer


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## cairogal

As a buyer I would prefer a car w/ Gulf specs OR a if it was a US import, then a car that had been made for the southern US market.


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## qwert97

as per my research the cars are cheaper in the UAE. Unless you have a brand new car, I would consider selling my existing car and buying a new one.


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## Elphaba

Sounds like an a lot of effort & costly. Cars are not expensive here so why bother? 

-


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## Shuja

Just like Ogri mentioned, there are quite a few US specs vehicle available here in emirates. By the Way, if you do plan to sell your car, then my recommendation would be to try to sell it in states & then buy a new one here, unless until you own a gas hog which might be a pain to sell in states right now.


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## Mick-1

It's not really a good idea to bring a car here. As the tempratures go upto 120 degrees in the summer, your car has to be able to cope. The Gulf spec cars have bigger radiators and more powerful ACs.
I personally wouldn't buy an American spec car here.
Mick


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## cairogal

Mick-1 said:


> It's not really a good idea to bring a car here. As the tempratures go upto 120 degrees in the summer, your car has to be able to cope. The Gulf spec cars have bigger radiators and more powerful ACs.
> I personally wouldn't buy an American spec car here.
> Mick


There are American cars built for climates not so different from the UAE;s. Imagine that cars sold in markets like Houston, TX have to come w/ specs similar to the Gulf specs. There are also Emiratis bringing models back from the US that are not sold in the UAE. That said, the only reason I can see for bringing a car is if it was some special model that you couldn't part with.


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## carpediem

Many thanks for all the great advice and info. My dilemma is simply that the depreciation on my car if I sell it in the states is about what it would cost me to ship it here and keep it. So I break even. I'll start looking at what's available here and come to some sort of conclusion. Thanks again for the help!


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## ADovidoff

carpediem said:


> I'm moving to Dubai from the U.S. and I'm considering shipping my car. I've heard, however, that if I import a U.S. Spec car into Dubai, I won't be able to sell it, and I'll have to take it with me when I leave. Can anyone tell me if this is true?


You need to register your car in Dubai, but you will definetly be able to sell it whenever you want. It'd be a disaster if they made me take back home. I shipped my car to Dubai using West Coast Shipping wcshipping com and they took care of all the documentation on the US side. They speciliaze on shipping autos around the worlds and will be able to help you.


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## dubaimove

*did u end up shipping the car to Dubai?*



carpediem said:


> Many thanks for all the great advice and info. My dilemma is simply that the depreciation on my car if I sell it in the states is about what it would cost me to ship it here and keep it. So I break even. I'll start looking at what's available here and come to some sort of conclusion. Thanks again for the help!


I am also considering shipping my car (2006 Honda Accord) to the UAE from California because it is not a good time to sell cars in the US right now (I would lose a lot of money). 

What did you end up doing? Did you ship it? If so, how much was the import duty (percentage)? And the shipping cost? Any other costs? In other words, was it worth it? 

Thanks much!


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## aamert

For those of you that have shipped there cars to Dubai/UAE, can you share how much total did it cost you and what kind of car was it?

Thanks,


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## Dubai Hokie

We shipped two luxury cars to Dubai (M. Benz and R. Rover) last year from the US and it was much smarter for us than buying new cars here. Personally, I found the prices of cars a fair amount higher than in the US, so it made financial sense in our case. Shipping in containers was about $4,000 per car from the East Coast and it is probably less now. Duty is 5% of the wholesale value. We also paid a local company to handle the clearance through customs, inspection, registration, and getting insurance, so it was an easy process. That added about another $800 to the cost.

Also, there is absolutely no problem with a US spec car in this climate unless you are bringing over a 20+ year old car. A modern US spec car is built to handle places like Houston, Miami, Arizona, Las Vegas, and the Mojave Desert, so no worries. There are also no restrictions on selling a US spec car here and they are often for sale in the papers 

With little to no job security in Dubai these days, it probably doesn't make sense to buy a new or used car over here and several of my colleagues have been renting cars on a monthly basis. That probably makes the most financial sense as there is no maintenance, depreciation, or insurance expenses. With the used car market depressed here and rentals cheap due to the drop in tourism, it might be an option to look into. If you are merely going to break even by shipping, then I would sell your car in the US and rent one for a while here until you make it through your probation period.


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## aamert

Dubai Hokie - The cost you quoted, is that per car or total you paid for both cars?

My scenario is a little different, I lease a car through Toyota so If I ship it to Dubai, I will have to buy the car at the end of lease if i don't want to bring it back. That is all after, if Toyota does not have any restriction on exporting cars that are under lease.

*Does anyone know that the cars sold in Midwest (Chicago) are built to handle hot humid weather?*

Thanks all.


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## Dubai Hokie

Since you are leasing, that's a major problem as it is highly unlikely that you can export the car from the US as you are not the owner and your name is not on the car's title. Of course, if you turn it in early then you are still liable for the entire balance of remaining payments on your lease term and it is highly doubtful you will get any credit for turning it in early. You'll have to check your lease agreement for particulars.

The only way out is to sell it and make up the difference or buy it outright from the leasing company and then ship it, or if you really get lucky, find someone to assume the lease (if allowed by your leasing agreement). Most of the time it doesn't make sense to ship a car if it is not a luxury car due to expense. The cheapest method to ship is "roll on, roll off" and your car would be driven on the cargo ship and then driven off at the destination port, but it is likely to get scratched up since it is not in a container. The other problem is you are a long way from an Ocean port in Chicago which will add to the cost of shipping. As painful as it might be, based on your particular situation I think you're much better off getting rid of the car in the US and then renting or buying used in Dubai.

Any US spec car newer than say 1990 will have no trouble with the climate in Dubai.


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## aamert

Yes i will first have to make economic sense out of it .

But if the car is leased, the lessee and lessor both get listed on the title.


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## john0869

Dubai Hokie said:


> We shipped two luxury cars to Dubai (M. Benz and R. Rover) last year from the US and it was much smarter for us than buying new cars here. Personally, I found the prices of cars a fair amount higher than in the US, so it made financial sense in our case. Shipping in containers was about $4,000 per car from the East Coast and it is probably less now. Duty is 5% of the wholesale value. We also paid a local company to handle the clearance through customs, inspection, registration, and getting insurance, so it was an easy process. That added about another $800 to the cost.
> 
> Also, there is absolutely no problem with a US spec car in this climate unless you are bringing over a 20+ year old car. A modern US spec car is built to handle places like Houston, Miami, Arizona, Las Vegas, and the Mojave Desert, so no worries. There are also no restrictions on selling a US spec car here and they are often for sale in the papers
> 
> With little to no job security in Dubai these days, it probably doesn't make sense to buy a new or used car over here and several of my colleagues have been renting cars on a monthly basis. That probably makes the most financial sense as there is no maintenance, depreciation, or insurance expenses. With the used car market depressed here and rentals cheap due to the drop in tourism, it might be an option to look into. If you are merely going to break even by shipping, then I would sell your car in the US and rent one for a while here until you make it through your probation period.


Can you provide the name and contact number (or web address) of the company you used to handle the clearance through customs, inspection, registration, and getting insurance? I am moving to Dubai and want to ship a car, but I am having alot of trouble getting straight answers on what is required to import, register and plate an imported car.


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## sahana_kumar

Hi 

Some basic process for importing a US car from in to Dubai.

Just pay the 5% and go through the standard registration process for an imported car.

At customs, the car is cleared by your handling agent. You pay the 5% and get the green registration slip. 
You need to take the car to Tasjeel on a recovery truck for inspection of chassis number etc, and they will give you a registration. Then its the same as registering locally (i.e, get insurance, etc). 

The only thing you should check with the custom handling agent is what is required for the import custom clearance. I believe they want to see the ownership papers and bill of lading from where it is exported. Question is the ownership papers have to be in your name or could it be just the car dealer in US. I would guess it to be safer to get it registered in your name in US and then export it, as then there's no ambiguity. As you are based in California you may check out Universal Relocations, LLC who have their office in Bay Area and also in Dubai who can do a good job for you taking care of all destination services. Just drop them a mail [email protected] and you can get a free estimate.

Sahana





dubaimove said:


> I am also considering shipping my car (2006 Honda Accord) to the UAE from California because it is not a good time to sell cars in the US right now (I would lose a lot of money).
> 
> What did you end up doing? Did you ship it? If so, how much was the import duty (percentage)? And the shipping cost? Any other costs? In other words, was it worth it?
> 
> Thanks much!


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## bdb

sell your car, move to dubai and then buy a used or a new one out here. used ones are pretty cheap these days and new ones cost the same(maybe a bit more expensive) as in the US.


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## homammodel

hello all
does anybody know that if i bring a car to dubai, lets say a GM car, the warranty is valid there or not?


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## andyroney

*Car Import Details*



Dubai Hokie said:


> We shipped two luxury cars to Dubai (M. Benz and R. Rover) last year from the US and it was much smarter for us than buying new cars here. Personally, I found the prices of cars a fair amount higher than in the US, so it made financial sense in our case. Shipping in containers was about $4,000 per car from the East Coast and it is probably less now. Duty is 5% of the wholesale value. We also paid a local company to handle the clearance through customs, inspection, registration, and getting insurance, so it was an easy process. That added about another $800 to the cost.
> 
> Also, there is absolutely no problem with a US spec car in this climate unless you are bringing over a 20+ year old car. A modern US spec car is built to handle places like Houston, Miami, Arizona, Las Vegas, and the Mojave Desert, so no worries. There are also no restrictions on selling a US spec car here and they are often for sale in the papers
> 
> With little to no job security in Dubai these days, it probably doesn't make sense to buy a new or used car over here and several of my colleagues have been renting cars on a monthly basis. That probably makes the most financial sense as there is no maintenance, depreciation, or insurance expenses. With the used car market depressed here and rentals cheap due to the drop in tourism, it might be an option to look into. If you are merely going to break even by shipping, then I would sell your car in the US and rent one for a while here until you make it through your probation period.


Hi Dubai Hokie,

We are just moving back to Dubai from the East Coast and want to import our car. Can you let me know the name of the company you used for the import and registration. Many thanks.


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## valminnis

Hi, We toured the States in a 34 foot RV and towed a Mustang GT Convertible. We shipped them both back to the UK and we are now considering shipping the Mustang to Dubai when we relocate there in August. It has awesome air con and was bought in Florida. We have been in High temps...Texas in Summer and low temps...Colorado in winter and is is great. We feel the same as you. For what we could sell it for here, the shipping is cheap and much more cost effective than buying a car when we get there. It is a 2001 so we would only get a couple of grand for it here. Think we will ship it for sure.
Val


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## SilverClover

carpediem said:


> Many thanks for all the great advice and info. My dilemma is simply that the depreciation on my car if I sell it in the states is about what it would cost me to ship it here and keep it. So I break even. I'll start looking at what's available here and come to some sort of conclusion. Thanks again for the help!


I'm considering doing the same for exactly the same reason - only my car's in Bahrain rather than the US, so it's not quite as far for it to come.  Let me know what you decide to do! I'm about to start looking into it all myself.


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## Go1000

have a car coming in from the us now - supposed to clear customs during the next few days. can anyone recomend a decent company that can do all the licensing / registration etc for me? Need a company that picks the car up and delivers it back to my door with new plates and everything sorted. dont have the time.

thanks


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## outtofly411

*help*



Go1000 said:


> have a car coming in from the us now - supposed to clear customs during the next few days. can anyone recomend a decent company that can do all the licensing / registration etc for me? Need a company that picks the car up and delivers it back to my door with new plates and everything sorted. dont have the time.
> 
> thanks


Hi Go

Can you advice how it went and all the procedures involved with this? I am from Ca and looking at importing a car from there. Any help with what shipping company u used and the local agent? TAx involved etc? Thanks


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## Go1000

outtofly411 said:


> Hi Go
> 
> Can you advice how it went and all the procedures involved with this? I am from Ca and looking at importing a car from there. Any help with what shipping company u used and the local agent? TAx involved etc? Thanks


I had 'globalrelocation' handle the move and they were totally useless! They used ivk as local handling agent useless also. Overall the process was timeconsuming but worth it. Loving the car


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## INFAMOUS

There is another thread on here with lots of good info if you do a search. I am about to import my second truck from the US . First one was from the US as well and had zero issues.

As for the original comment on this thread... The first truck I imported from Canada sold here for 50% more than it would have back home... depends on what you're bringing in


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## GreyGT-C

i thought the import laws said you couldn't import a car that was over 5 years old? That's the reason i ditched my vette before moving out here.


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## INFAMOUS

GreyGT-C said:


> i thought the import laws said you couldn't import a car that was over 5 years old? That's the reason i ditched my vette before moving out here.


 not sure who told you that... but not true


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## GreyGT-C

Dubai Bans Old Cars - Association of Car Enthusiasts (ACE)

New Law from Dubai Tightens Imports « Japanese Used Car Importing Weblog

I had several people that i work with tell them the same thing before i moved out here. I didn't check thru official channels in Dubai because i was on a time crunch to get things settled back home before coming here and just sold the car cheap.


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## INFAMOUS

Interesting... perhaps one of those things that were talked about but never implemented?

I imported a 2000 SVT Lightning with no issues and I have a 2004 SRT-10 Ram on it's way...


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## GreyGT-C

oh well, glad to see that it's not true. I might opt to have my race car sent over in this case.


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## INFAMOUS

GreyGT-C said:


> oh well, glad to see that it's not true. I might opt to have my race car sent over in this case.


Well you need to be careful there. Anything heavily modified will not pass inspection here unless you don't plan on driving it on the street or pay someone off to pass it.


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## GreyGT-C

it will never see the street... it's a full prepped track car. I'd like to bring it over to play at the Autodrome with. Anything special i need to know about importing it?


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## INFAMOUS

You should be alright if it's a track car! Whatcha got? Straight line or twisties?


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## GreyGT-C

tube chassis'd 94 Mazda rx7, 3 rotor engine, gt42r turbo, complete Motec system, etc..... for the twisties!


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## INFAMOUS

GreyGT-C said:


> tube chassis'd 94 Mazda rx7, 3 rotor engine, gt42r turbo, complete Motec system, etc..... for the twisties!


Nice! Let me know once you get it here


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## Viper32

INFAMOUS said:


> Interesting... perhaps one of those things that were talked about but never implemented?
> 
> I imported a 2000 SVT Lightning with no issues and I have a 2004 SRT-10 Ram on it's way...


Who are you using to to ship? I'm due to leave the US in Feb and I'm gonna bring my 05 QC SRT-10.


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## Trmac620

Greetings....I'm thinking about bringing over a 1990 Wrangler from the U.S. Does anyone know if this is possible. I am reading about laws in Dubai.

Here is the law I was reading from ACE.org.UK

The law breaks down like this :-

The following types of vehicles are banned from these dates.
From January 1, 2009 …
cars older than 20 years
Import of cars older than 5 years
Import of heavy vehicles older than 7 years
Taxis older than 5 years
Ownership transfer of light vehicles older than 10 years
From January 1, 2010 …
cars older than 15 years 

Since this is 22 years old according to the above I would not be able to bring it over.

Can anyone confirm the info....can't believe anything on the internet. ;-)


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