Let's talk about cars
May 3rd 2015, 12:24 pm
#76
Just Joined
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 16
Re: Let's talk about cars
fast track as a recommended garage! really? for oil changes and rubber sure, but come on. unless you have a right old banger surely your car deserves something slightly higher up the scale. or am i going crazy and this is exactly the level of servicing a pajero needs?
re servicing of german cars there are plenty of good specialist garages in dubai to use once they have gone out of warranty. or even before if you cannot deal with the shit from the dealers.
if you want to go in the desert of course you should buy a desert car but not buying a jetta just because some guy told you there is an issue with glue (wtf?) on german cars in middle east and you have to buy radio knobs on ebay is seriously f**cked up...
re servicing of german cars there are plenty of good specialist garages in dubai to use once they have gone out of warranty. or even before if you cannot deal with the shit from the dealers.
if you want to go in the desert of course you should buy a desert car but not buying a jetta just because some guy told you there is an issue with glue (wtf?) on german cars in middle east and you have to buy radio knobs on ebay is seriously f**cked up...
You're right there are some excellent German car garages in Dubai- they're just a lot more expensive. For Mercedes, Silberarrows in Al Quoz is where I go. Expensive but unbeatable quality.
Hey the glue thing is a pain; it's a very common problem here for European cars. It's not something that might happen to a VW, it does & will definitely happen. It took 10 years for the roof of my merc to start sagging from new, but it still happened sure enough. It's comparable to death, you can enjoy life now but you know death is definitely coming at some point. Although unlike death, you can remove your headliner and pay 300aed in Satwa for new upholstery. Just something owners should know if they're going to buy German.
May 3rd 2015, 12:33 pm
#77
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2011
Location: Windscale....
Posts: 5,712
Re: Let's talk about cars
Don't get me wrong, Jettas are sweet cars if you have a good warrenty/service package to cover repairs. Or if you just love Jettas then get one.
But I think you're right about the Pajaro. All the maintenance that would ever conceivabley need to be done on a Paj can be done well and for reasonable cost at petrol station garages. I recommend fastrack on sheikh zayad road btw. All garages have loads of exp with Pajaros and order parts for them on a daily basis.
The Jetta on the other hand could also be done at petrol station garages but it would just be much more expensive and jobs would take longer because mechanics will lack experience on them compared to a Paj. Eg- petrol station garages usually have pajaro Brake pads, oil filters etc ready stocked and the brake pads cost around 300aed I think. For a Jetta you would have to wait an hour or so for them to be picked up from the dealership and they would cost around 600aed for Brake pads I imagine. Also, the volume knob and radio buttons on VW's start to get mushy and weird after as little as 2-3 years. This is only a small thing I know, but replacing them means ordering new ones off ebay in the case of a VW.
If you own a Jetta or any car for that matter and you don't want to pay the high premium on parts at the SZR dealerships, you can always drive to sharjah on Saturday and buy parts yourself for cheap, but petrol stations won't install parts that you give them. FYI OEM (original quality) parts in sharjah cost at least half of price the dealerships charge. You can also buy duplicate parts for practically any car in sharjah for a fraction of the price. For example, original Brake pads for Mercedes e500 cost 380aed in sharjah, but 700aed+ in Dubai. A 30 minute drive is worth it and once you've done the journey once, it's easy next time.
Owning any car is as expensive or cheap as you want it to be depending on how much effort you put into learning where to buy parts and get repairs done.
But I think you're right about the Pajaro. All the maintenance that would ever conceivabley need to be done on a Paj can be done well and for reasonable cost at petrol station garages. I recommend fastrack on sheikh zayad road btw. All garages have loads of exp with Pajaros and order parts for them on a daily basis.
The Jetta on the other hand could also be done at petrol station garages but it would just be much more expensive and jobs would take longer because mechanics will lack experience on them compared to a Paj. Eg- petrol station garages usually have pajaro Brake pads, oil filters etc ready stocked and the brake pads cost around 300aed I think. For a Jetta you would have to wait an hour or so for them to be picked up from the dealership and they would cost around 600aed for Brake pads I imagine. Also, the volume knob and radio buttons on VW's start to get mushy and weird after as little as 2-3 years. This is only a small thing I know, but replacing them means ordering new ones off ebay in the case of a VW.
If you own a Jetta or any car for that matter and you don't want to pay the high premium on parts at the SZR dealerships, you can always drive to sharjah on Saturday and buy parts yourself for cheap, but petrol stations won't install parts that you give them. FYI OEM (original quality) parts in sharjah cost at least half of price the dealerships charge. You can also buy duplicate parts for practically any car in sharjah for a fraction of the price. For example, original Brake pads for Mercedes e500 cost 380aed in sharjah, but 700aed+ in Dubai. A 30 minute drive is worth it and once you've done the journey once, it's easy next time.
Owning any car is as expensive or cheap as you want it to be depending on how much effort you put into learning where to buy parts and get repairs done.
May 3rd 2015, 3:32 pm
#78
Token Scandinavian Bloke
Joined: Jun 2009
Location: Dubai
Posts: 2,820
Re: Let's talk about cars
For general maintenance fast track do a straight job with original parts. They represent one of the largest chains of the UAE's service stations- therefore they can't mess about in terms of quality. Obviously for anything other than general maintenance a proper garage would be better but if you've got a well maintained pajaro 5 years or younger then it's highly unlikely to require anything other than general maintenance..
You're right there are some excellent German car garages in Dubai- they're just a lot more expensive. For Mercedes, Silberarrows in Al Quoz is where I go. Expensive but unbeatable quality.
Hey the glue thing is a pain; it's a very common problem here for European cars. It's not something that might happen to a VW, it does & will definitely happen. It took 10 years for the roof of my merc to start sagging from new, but it still happened sure enough. It's comparable to death, you can enjoy life now but you know death is definitely coming at some point. Although unlike death, you can remove your headliner and pay 300aed in Satwa for new upholstery. Just something owners should know if they're going to buy German.
You're right there are some excellent German car garages in Dubai- they're just a lot more expensive. For Mercedes, Silberarrows in Al Quoz is where I go. Expensive but unbeatable quality.
Hey the glue thing is a pain; it's a very common problem here for European cars. It's not something that might happen to a VW, it does & will definitely happen. It took 10 years for the roof of my merc to start sagging from new, but it still happened sure enough. It's comparable to death, you can enjoy life now but you know death is definitely coming at some point. Although unlike death, you can remove your headliner and pay 300aed in Satwa for new upholstery. Just something owners should know if they're going to buy German.
May 5th 2015, 11:19 am
#79
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Let's talk about cars
A trip to a petrol station just now has reminded me; You should only consider a car with the petrol cap on the right hand side.
May 5th 2015, 12:12 pm
#80
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 3,520
Re: Let's talk about cars
Another factor in favour of the Pajero.
Currently driving a rental Tiida. Petrol on right side. Brilliant. Avoids 95% of the queues, except in AD where you can fill up on either side and makes you wonder why Dubai stations won't install the extra long pump hoses?
Currently driving a rental Tiida. Petrol on right side. Brilliant. Avoids 95% of the queues, except in AD where you can fill up on either side and makes you wonder why Dubai stations won't install the extra long pump hoses?
May 6th 2015, 4:27 am
#81
Account Closed
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 0
Re: Let's talk about cars
May 6th 2015, 6:53 am
#82
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Aug 2009
Location: Disneyland, Dubai
Posts: 15,887
May 6th 2015, 9:08 am
#83
**** it we'll do it live
Joined: Oct 2004
Location: Dubai
Posts: 7,892
Re: Let's talk about cars
this is actually a massive time saver here. one i always forget until its brought up
May 9th 2015, 8:30 am
#85
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 547
Re: Let's talk about cars
Bizarre... I have 2 cars with left side "filler uppers" and have never found queues to be worse - in fact, quite often I have thought I was better off with that design. So, I've just done a highly unscientific review of all the cars I passed on my mid-morning drive through Abu Dhabi, and all the following have filler-uppers on the right:
most Mercedes I saw; most BMWs (X5, X6, several saloons); most Audis (Q7 and several saloons); landcruisers (of which there are thousands here); pajeros (loads...); Volvo XC90s (plenty of these clogging up fuel queues also); a nissan qashqai; lots of others I can no longer remember.
Maybe there's yet another difference between AD and Dubai... more cars here with right side fillers than in Dubai??!
most Mercedes I saw; most BMWs (X5, X6, several saloons); most Audis (Q7 and several saloons); landcruisers (of which there are thousands here); pajeros (loads...); Volvo XC90s (plenty of these clogging up fuel queues also); a nissan qashqai; lots of others I can no longer remember.
Maybe there's yet another difference between AD and Dubai... more cars here with right side fillers than in Dubai??!
May 9th 2015, 2:23 pm
#86
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Up on the Ranches not down on the Springs
Posts: 2,109
Re: Let's talk about cars
The OP should buy an ex rental from euro star rental if he wants a cheap German
We have just scrapped a 7 year old VW toerag in Saudi and everything was fecked.
May 9th 2015, 2:25 pm
#87
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jan 2009
Location: Up on the Ranches not down on the Springs
Posts: 2,109
Re: Let's talk about cars
Unless you're Indian don't buy a Pajero
May 9th 2015, 4:22 pm
#88
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 3,520
Re: Let's talk about cars
Why?
I had a Pajero the last time I lived in Dubai. The smaller 3-door model. Many of my friends had Pajeros too and we were all Western expats.
Looking around, I see plenty of Western expats driving Pajeros....
Anyway, noticed Naboodah is offering a bunch of used Jettas for 45K. 2-3 year old models. That's a very good offer, frankly. I can pay cash for that. Tempting. I figure I can sell it on in two years for 25-30K.
I had a Pajero the last time I lived in Dubai. The smaller 3-door model. Many of my friends had Pajeros too and we were all Western expats.
Looking around, I see plenty of Western expats driving Pajeros....
Anyway, noticed Naboodah is offering a bunch of used Jettas for 45K. 2-3 year old models. That's a very good offer, frankly. I can pay cash for that. Tempting. I figure I can sell it on in two years for 25-30K.
May 9th 2015, 7:58 pm
#89
Just Joined
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 16
Re: Let's talk about cars
Why not buy a Mitsubishi Galant AMG and get the best of both continents.
Legend has it some bloke drew a circle round the Mitsubishi badge & AMG got confused.
Legend has it some bloke drew a circle round the Mitsubishi badge & AMG got confused.
