TGFKASE

Well, the packers are currently boxing my worldly possessions, and my thoughts are now turning to the rental and motor vehicle hunting when I land in a few days.

Quick question. Is the process of buying a vehicle outside Dubai, and registering it in Dubai, relatively painless? When I search Dubizzle, I appear to be getting a better deal for the cars I'm hunting for , but if the transfer process is a ball ache, it may be worth paying a few thousand dirhams more to buy in Dubai..

Anyone done it recently?

Brains1983

the RTA thingy in Barsha can re-register / transfer plates from any Emirate last time I checked (end of last year), hopefully someone else can confirm that's still the case.

DXBtoDOH

From what I remember based on others' experience is that if you buy outside Dubai, you have to deregister the car in that Emirate and then export it to Dubai. This means putting the car onto a flatbed and driving it up into Dubai, where you register it at Al Barsha, and only till then can you drive it in Dubai.

In other words, you can't buy the car in AD and drive it to Dubai yourself and register it there.

The process is more straightforward than you might think as there are companies who'll handle it for you and it's just a bit more paperwork and waiting around, but it does come at a small cost, as you might expect. I don't think it was that expensive but it would be a few thousand altogether.

reddiva

Where are you looking at buying the car from?

Millhouse

...and the re-import test is much much more rigorous than the general transfer/registration test. It's a ball-ache.

TGFKASE

Hmmmm.. May just pay the DXB premium for a less painful experience at the RTA..

Thanks all....

jam25mack

I've previously bought vehicles in AD/DXB and exported to SHJ (as thats where my first visa and now traffic file is).
Was a piece of p1ss! De-register in AD/DXB and ask for export plates (blue - you see them on the roads occasionally). These cost a small fee (100-150 odd dibs IIRC). You then have 3 days to export and re-register the vehicle in your chosen Emirate. The fee paid includes 3 days insurance. The test was no different to the standard re-registration test.

Exporting from outside the Emirates would likely be a ball ache tho.

Millhouse

That is the old easy process.

jam25mack

Oops, I didn't realise it had changed. Could have sworn that I've seen export plates on cars recently.

So whats the new process?

Millhouse

jam25mack

Some yokel must have invested in some recovery trucks...