Moving to UAE. Bring my car?

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Mazdaspeed
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Post by Mazdaspeed » 28 Sep 2013, 6:24 am

Hello.
I am moving to Al Ain from the US for work in a few weeks and I'm struggling with the decision of bringing my car. I have a 2009 mazdaspeed3 or mps, as I believe you call it. I absolutely love it, but I want to know if bringing it is the right decision.

Would you recommend this car for the region?
Is it a common car?
It is black, is that a terrible choice with the heat?
It has some minor modifications, are there any laws I might be violating?
Would the car have decent resale value if I decided to sell it?
I appreciate any help you can give me.

Thanks!

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Tribal
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Location:Dubai

Post by Tribal » 28 Sep 2013, 12:40 pm

Not worth the expense & hassles.

- you can find the car here easily, so sell yours & come here, buy another same one if you like.
- you can find it for under 10K USD
- you will get a GCC spec, which will be much easier to maintain and its designed for this climate.
- US spec's have lower resale value.

Matt
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Vehicle:97 Wrx + 07 Wrx
Location:Jumeirah, Dubai

Post by Matt » 28 Sep 2013, 7:51 pm

Tribal - he has a Mazda Speed 3 - not just a normal mazda 3

its a 2.3L Turbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHXbEq3qFIE


Well they never imported any of the MPS cars here, they never even imported the RX8 - all the ones you see driving around have been imported by 2nd hand car dealers.

And as a result of the dealers never importing the MPS range they wont carry the parts... so if major stuff goes wrong with the car then the dealers will take months to ship the parts in for you

Matt
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Joined:17 Mar 2008, 9:30 am
Vehicle:97 Wrx + 07 Wrx
Location:Jumeirah, Dubai

Post by Matt » 28 Sep 2013, 7:53 pm

oh and what mods are on the car? do you still have the stock exhaust system? and does the engine bay look stock?

Mazdaspeed
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Post by Mazdaspeed » 28 Sep 2013, 8:08 pm

Thanks for the information everyone!
My mods are:
Full intake
Lowered
Rims
Short shifter
Chipped
Egr delete

The Underhood looks pretty stock, except for the intake.

Getting parts is a concern. I hadn't thought of that. But they should be available in Europe, yes? Do you think there will be a market to sell it in 2 years when my contract is up?

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7afe
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Vehicle:Lexus SC 300 5 SPD

Post by 7afe » 29 Sep 2013, 7:04 am

What miles are on your car? You better get your major maintenance on your motor before bringing it over. IIRC are those are the cars with a motor mounts issue ?
-L0kz

soflow
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Post by soflow » 29 Sep 2013, 2:40 pm

Is it a common car? No absolutely not common, there is the normal mazda 3 with the tiny engine here

It is black, is that a terrible choice with the heat? Not really, plenty of black cars here. If the seats are black and leather also it may get a lil hotter, but if you have a strong ac it should cool fast

It has some minor modifications, are there any laws I might be violating? In Al Ain the cops could give you trouble for having an aftermarket exhaust, downpipes etc (if it is loud), i have heard some cops even go and give ticket for being too low (rare though)

Would the car have decent resale value if I decided to sell it? No it would not, shipping a car from US to UAE is about $1,000 right? why not ship it back with you as well?

there are some good shops in dubai where you can get the basic maintenance done. you will have to source the parts yourself (either bring some with your or order online and ship them )

if it is just for 2 years, maybe you can consider just renting a car here?

good luck with the move

Mark
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Joined:12 Aug 2016, 5:39 pm

Post by Mark » 12 Aug 2016, 5:47 pm

You can just go here and send your car with http://cargoprimeway.com/. You will have no problem with it. They have online volumetric calculator and you can also track your car. You can think of it.



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