Motoring in the UAE

[willdew]

I'm in the process of finalizing a job offer to work in Dubai. Obviously, my second thought (after housing) was cars. I'm a single guy with no dependents. Don't know my budget yet, but 150k AED is comfortably in budget, 200k AED is no problem if something took my fancy.

In the UK I run a track day 968 and do a track day about once a month from Spring to Autumn including about 3 'ring and Spa trips a year.

I then also run a very sensible Audi A6 for the M25 commute.

If I'm living in Dubai, what sort of motoring should I indulge myself in? I know there one track in Dubai, but I'm not really inclined to want a dedicated track car out there. Instead, I'm thinking I should get into off-roading and get a big 4x4 for desert safari's and wadi bashing.

Is this line of thought correct? Should I be ditching the Porsche for a Land Cruiser or similar?

Also, I'm inclined to go for something I would never have in the UK. So the biggest petrol engine I can find. So I'm also tempted by something like a Corvette or 996 Turbo for day-to-day use and to then hire a 4x4 when I fancy it.

What do others do in a similar situation?

[oilydan]

I have the following and it does me just fine:

5.3 litre Chevvy Tahoe, for the road - nice and big/comfortable/powerful/safe
Mitsu EVO VI, race prepared, for track duty.
Ducati 996 for Friday morning pleasure.
Mitsu Pajero/Shogun company car for abuse in the sand/wadis/daily commute.

If you go for the popular choice of the Jeep Wrangler you will need a daily drive too as the Wrangler A/C is not good at coping with the heat (45 degrees today) especially the soft-top versions.

200K would get you a lovely RS4...

[jason90]

I've got a Landrover Defender for the desert, a Caterham 7 which only gets used on a Friday morning and a Race prep'd Civic that Ill be racing this year

If you want to get into some off roading there are a couple of local clubs which are definately worth joining to learn the basics, depends what you are looking for really

me4x4.com
dubai4x4.com

If buying a 4X4 secondhand just be careful, some have been thrashed to within an inch of their lives and will cause you nothing but trouble

[Asterix]

I had a Grand Cherokee that I used as daily transport but was extremely capable in the dusty stuff - also had a Honda S2000 for competing in AutoX and tracking.

Now just have a Cayman S for daily drive but with an agressive set up for the track.

I will be getting another 4x4 and have a mate who imports the MOPAR stuff so probably a Wrangler or an older Cherokee and breath on it a bit.

[Mark.H]

this is also co-incidentally my budget for a car out there, ill be aiming at getting something rwd and capable of being a daily driver... being young(24) could mean i struggle to insure something good though...

[mgp1969]

i have a prado which is boring but reliable, great AC and good offroad

my friday car is an 85 911 - just waiting to find out if it will be banned next year ...

[will_968]

mgp1969 said:

my friday car is an 85 911 - just waiting to find out if it will be banned next year ...

So if they are, we all buy them to bring back to the UK for tuppence to make track cars out of?

[mgp1969]

not many old cars here - other than stty old camrys and the like

will keep it as a trackday car here if need be (although supposedly "classics" (however they define that) will be exempt from the ban)

other (slightly more unrealistic option) is to buy a holiday home in france and ship it there

[oilydan]

Mark.H said:

this is also co-incidentally my budget for a car out there, ill be aiming at getting something rwd and capable of being a daily driver... being young(24) could mean i struggle to insure something good though...

Insurance is not really anything to do with age, most companies will charge between 4-8% of the agreed value of the car - it's the car that's insured, not the driver....

[Mark.H]

oilydan said:

Mark.H said:

this is also co-incidentally my budget for a car out there, ill be aiming at getting something rwd and capable of being a daily driver... being young(24) could mean i struggle to insure something good though...

Insurance is not really anything to do with age, most companies will charge between 4-8% of the agreed value of the car - it's the car that's insured, not the driver....

thats a hard concept to grasp, that an insurance company wont take my age into account when quoting me.