Importing from Dubai into the UK

Importing from Dubai into the UK

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Schermerhorn

Original Poster:

4,347 posts

196 months

Wednesday 9th May 2012
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Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong section or there has been a previous thread on it (the search function is down at the moment)

I have seen a really nice American car that is up for auction in Dubai. The price is around 50% lower than the equivalent UK spec model. I understand that there are some alterations that need to be made such as indicators, headlamp adjusting etc however I'm not 100% sure what the process entails.

Can someone give me a heads up as to what is involved, shipping, conformity certificates, registration etc. I'd love to hear from who have gone through this process before or are thinking about it and what obstacles they have faced.

shirt

23,478 posts

208 months

Wednesday 9th May 2012
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for the import process, check out dubaipetrolheads. a few guys on there ship back and forth. this recent thread may be of interest:

http://www.dubaipetrolheads.com/car-chat/shipping-...

what car are you looking at? have you got a link? might be worth having a set of eyes on it first as if its 50% less than UK i smell a scammer.


dxbtiger

4,441 posts

180 months

Thursday 10th May 2012
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The seller is somewhat known to the OP (there was a thread in GG as well I told him to post here)

I have offered to get the dealer history if it is a GCC spec car.

dictys

914 posts

265 months

Sunday 13th May 2012
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If someone has a good contact for shipping a car back to the UK please let me know, I am thinking of shipping my 928 back for the summer so I can tour Europe in it.

Schermerhorn

Original Poster:

4,347 posts

196 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
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Has anyone heard of a place in Dubai called Al Aweer; apparantly they have some very nice RHD cars that nobody wants and they find hard to sell.

dxbtiger

4,441 posts

180 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
Has anyone heard of a place in Dubai called Al Aweer; apparantly they have some very nice RHD cars that nobody wants and they find hard to sell.
Yes, it is an absolute Mecca for petrolheads.

There is more exotic metal in that square kilometer than HR Owen, Dick Lovett, Hartleys and the rest put together!

K50 DEL

9,353 posts

235 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
Has anyone heard of a place in Dubai called Al Aweer; apparantly they have some very nice RHD cars that nobody wants and they find hard to sell.
Been there many times but can't say that I've seen anything in the way of right hand drive stuff.

thb

303 posts

181 months

Wednesday 16th May 2012
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The export area of Al Aweer is chock full of RHD stuff, but most of it is destined for southern African markets. Nothing there that you'd call petrolhead nirvana - unless you have a hankering for a job lot of Toyota Crowns who've spent a few years under the desert sun.

VanquishDubai

642 posts

151 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
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thb said:
The export area of Al Aweer is chock full of RHD stuff, but most of it is destined for southern African markets. Nothing there that you'd call petrolhead nirvana - unless you have a hankering for a job lot of Toyota Crowns who've spent a few years under the desert sun.
thb is correct. All the Right hookers for the African markets. You cannot register a right hand drive car here (Unless its older than 1979 and on classic car plates issues by sharjah) Also, half of them are on their last legs and are Asian imports. As asia has strict rules on MOT renewals and major engine parts need replacing after a certian age its better for them to sell the cars abroad and buy new ones.

Re the rest of the cars at Al Awir...look at the other Middle East threads on the subject. Be careful and ALWAYS get the car checked by either the official dealer in Dubai or a good car garage. (AAA Service Centre is good for 4x4's) DONT get the car checked in Al Awir, they gys havent got a damn clue. Beware, some are nicked from the USA (And many are generally USA spec cars) and many of the perfomance cars are chipped, modified and generally played with. Many are Sale or Return cars owned by wealthy locals and have been thrashed to high hell in their short lives. There are bargains but look carefully.

VanquishDubai

642 posts

151 months

Thursday 17th May 2012
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
Apologies in advance if this is in the wrong section or there has been a previous thread on it (the search function is down at the moment)

I have seen a really nice American car that is up for auction in Dubai. The price is around 50% lower than the equivalent UK spec model. I understand that there are some alterations that need to be made such as indicators, headlamp adjusting etc however I'm not 100% sure what the process entails.

Can someone give me a heads up as to what is involved, shipping, conformity certificates, registration etc. I'd love to hear from who have gone through this process before or are thinking about it and what obstacles they have faced.
Schemerhorn, Generally American spec cars are cheaper but bear in mind that they are also worth less than GCC spec cars when you come to sell. The first question many buyers say is "is it GCC Spec" and many wont buy if it isnt. Personally, given the massive choice of secondhand cars here...there is really no need to buy a USA spec car. Depending on what you are buying and if you are a cash buyer, you can get a good discount on a GCC spec car. If you are any god a negotiation then you may well get a GCC spec one for the same price as the American spec one. People need cash these days and be prepared to walk away if you cant get a deal. And, as mentioned previously, always pay to get the car checked. They always find something wrong....which gives you more ground for negotation.

shirt

23,478 posts

208 months

Friday 18th May 2012
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can the sharjah classic car club issue plates for a car with a full roll cage, so long as it's pre 79?

IanUAE

2,945 posts

171 months

Friday 18th May 2012
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shirt said:
can the sharjah classic car club issue plates for a car with a full roll cage, so long as it's pre 79?
What have you found then in the USA?

e21jason

717 posts

226 months

Friday 18th May 2012
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Interesting stuff so I could turn up with my caged and supercharged pre 79 e21 and get a set of plates in RHD format.

Jason

Schermerhorn

Original Poster:

4,347 posts

196 months

Friday 18th May 2012
quotequote all
A friend of mine mentioned Al Aweer had two RHD Japanese spec G55 AMG models in 2009 spec (500BHP, twin clock dials rather than the big half moon dial) going for 300,000 Dirhams with room to negotiate. A quick mental calculation suggests that this £60,000 with possible discounts availble. However, given that some on here have said these cars have been thrashed to within an inch of their lives, I'm now not so keen.

A RHD Land Cruiser 4.5 V8 Diesel on the other hand could be tempted.

It's such a shame they don't advertise on the internet.

PS: I could make a trip to Dubai this summer just before Ramadan time, would anyone be availble to show me around? I'll pay for food, travel and accomodation.

Edited by Schermerhorn on Friday 18th May 12:20

shirt

23,478 posts

208 months

Friday 18th May 2012
quotequote all
IanUAE said:
shirt said:
can the sharjah classic car club issue plates for a car with a full roll cage, so long as it's pre 79?
What have you found then in the USA?
nothing, but still thinking of buying/creating an old 911 hotrod.

OP - suggest you contact desert dawg or gaffer on here, they are pros and can assist wth PPI's and shipping, possible even sourcing.

VanquishDubai

642 posts

151 months

Monday 21st May 2012
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
A friend of mine mentioned Al Aweer had two RHD Japanese spec G55 AMG models in 2009 spec (500BHP, twin clock dials rather than the big half moon dial) going for 300,000 Dirhams with room to negotiate. A quick mental calculation suggests that this £60,000 with possible discounts availble. However, given that some on here have said these cars have been thrashed to within an inch of their lives, I'm now not so keen.

A RHD Land Cruiser 4.5 V8 Diesel on the other hand could be tempted.

It's such a shame they don't advertise on the internet.

PS: I could make a trip to Dubai this summer just before Ramadan time, would anyone be availble to show me around? I'll pay for food, travel and accomodation.

Edited by Schermerhorn on Friday 18th May 12:20
Schemerhorn, The Al Awir lot advertise on Autotrader UAE. http://www.autotraderuae.com/ However its pretty useless as they all put "Best Offer" instead of a price. Which essentially means if your an Expat they will try and fleece you and change the price accordingly. Once you get to know a few of them and sell some cars to them they giveyou dencent prices. Happy to show you about when you are over if I am in town. Am away much of the summer to get away from the heat.

VanquishDubai

642 posts

151 months

Monday 21st May 2012
quotequote all
Schermerhorn said:
A friend of mine mentioned Al Aweer had two RHD Japanese spec G55 AMG models in 2009 spec (500BHP, twin clock dials rather than the big half moon dial) going for 300,000 Dirhams with room to negotiate. A quick mental calculation suggests that this £60,000 with possible discounts availble. However, given that some on here have said these cars have been thrashed to within an inch of their lives, I'm now not so keen.

A RHD Land Cruiser 4.5 V8 Diesel on the other hand could be tempted.

It's such a shame they don't advertise on the internet.

PS: I could make a trip to Dubai this summer just before Ramadan time, would anyone be availble to show me around? I'll pay for food, travel and accomodation.

Edited by Schermerhorn on Friday 18th May 12:20
A note regarding Diesels...no one buys them in the UAE so you will have massive room for negitation. Its not like Europe where most people have them, here you will be queueing up at the station with lorries as usually they are one a seperate pump. So, in short, they are mostly for export.

K50 DEL

9,353 posts

235 months

Monday 21st May 2012
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Am also happy to give you the tour, I'll be here pretty much all summer I think... booo!!

importmyvehicle

26 posts

221 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
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Not sure if you have already tried but you can get an instant breakdown of all the costs involved in shipping a car from Dubai to UK just by putting in the vehicle VIN number into http://www.shipmycar.co.uk - even calculates tax/duty for you...

A handy tool for any pistonheads looking at doing this!

Harris_I

3,237 posts

266 months

Thursday 7th June 2012
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Hi Nick. Thanks for replying to this thread - the website looks really useful.

I'm in the process of arranging the shipment of two cars to the UK, and the bureaucracy at the other end looks even worse than red tape here in Dubai! I will drop you a line through the website to get help on this.

Harris