Avoid buying a second hand car from an Omani - it will have been thrown around at the weekends when they drive home to their villages. Check out OLX and try to find something from an expat family, that will hopefully mean that it has been looked after and serviced regularly. There also a couple of notice boards in local supermarkets where people advertise (Spinneys/Al Fair,) these are fairly good.

Insurance is really easy, there are lots of firms. I was with Axa and they are in most shopping malls. The registration side is fairly easy, you will need to visit the ROP once a year to pay the tax and get the registration card (Mulkiya.) If the car is over 8 years old (I think it's 8) the ROP will want to inspect it. The insurance must be valid for the ROP to issue a new Mulkiya card. Most people set-up their insurance and Mulkiya to expire within a couple of days of each other, and then do all car related tasks on the same day.

Avoid renting/leasing for too long, it's expensive and it is wasted money. You will always sell your car eventually and get some money back. I rented for a couple of months whilst I was waiting for my residency to be completed and for my salary and bank account to get sorted. As soon as I was able to, I applied for a loan through Bank Muscat, all they wanted was a salary certificate from my employer, passport and Omani ID card. The loan was approved within hours and the money was available within a couple of days.

If you do buy a second hand car there are plenty of garages who can check it over for you. I think I paid around 40 OMR for a 300 point inspection - it flagged a couple of minor things which was helpful.

If you decide to go for a new car then try to wait for the end of Ramadan, most dealers will have Eid Al Fitr sales and you might grab yourself a nice deal.

Driving isn't too bad in Oman, I went for a 4x4. I felt quite safe in it, it was great on the motorways and lots of fun off-road.

Fuel is fairly cheap! Treat yourself....

My company put me in a hotel just opposite the main Porsche dealer in Muscat. I spent quite a lot of time looking out the window at the nice shiny cars. I test drove a second hand Cayman a few weeks later, I almost did it, then I found out that a 10,000 KM service would set me back around £1000 GBP!!

I'd avoid a Land Rover unless you're good with the spanners.

Most folk will recommend Japanese cars and its hard to disagree as they're superior for longevity, maintenance, reliability, AC, resale etc but Yank mobiles like Jeeps are popular too.

Worth looking at resale values as most European cars don't fair too well (with some exceptions Golf Gtis etc) and high end German motors (BMW, Audi, Merc) all drop like stones.

Always best to get a decent trim level as basic trim models are not desirable.

My Jeep is a fantastic car - everyone agrees with me... including the owner of the garage I take it to every month.

The Jeep GC SRT is simply awesome and so much nicer than any Jap car I've ever driven - so much so that when it comes up for replacement I'll probably get a toyota.