Message for Dubai Phil

[illyun]

Hi.... I might be moving to Dubai and am looking to get a decent 2nd hand GTI - if thats possible out there - and was just wondering if you could point me in the right direction.  Thanks.   

To everyone else, I've not posted for a while as I've been very very busy - in fact I STILL haven't washed my Ed30 since I got it back in September    I'll get round to it tomorrow.  I'm not selling it though regardless of the impending move.  Its going to go into storage waiting for me when I get back - then it will be come a weekend car and get treated to some mods like remap and DV conversion, exhaust, bit of discrete carbon, rear LED tints etc...

[illyun]

Oh... I almost forgot - plus some 19" BBS LM's 

[Hurdy]

Sounds like it'll end up as a trackday weapon

[dubaiphil]

Hi illyun

Good luck with the move to Dubai!  Let me know if you need any help setting up as it can be a bit of a nightmare, but you'll love the lifestyle!

Regarding second hand Golfs over here, I only seen 1 Mk5 GTI advertised.  All the owners buy new and seem to be holding onto them.  They're more exclusive than Porsches, Ferraris, Lambos etc (well that's what I tell the wife anyway!)

When you move over here you will need your residency visa before you can buy any car.  Your company should sort this out in the first couple of months, which will give you plenty of time to get used to the traffic in a lease car before you get your own toy!

New GTIs here are much cheaper than in the UK.  You get 2 spec levels - the basic has no sunroof and 17" wheels and is around 97,000 Dirhams (13000 Pounds - I haven't seen one on the roads) and the top level has all the bells and whistles on for 107,000 Dirhams (14,500 Pounds) for the 3 door and 110,000 Dirhams (15,000 Pounds) for the 5 door.  The spec list is good - 18" Monzas, Cruise, DSG, flappy paddles, 6 CD stacker, iPod connector, xenon lights, climate control, sunroof, folding heated mirrors, rain sensitive wipers, auto dipping rear view mirror, parking sensors etc etc.  Mine has leather, electric and heated seats added on for 117,000 Dirhams (16,000 Pounds) - if you spec it on the vw.co.uk website it's a 28,000 Pound motor, so that's why it is mainly Europeans over here that buy them, and tend to keep hold of them.

The only downside is the choice of colours if you want a car quickly.  There is no extra charge for metallic but I've only seen Silver, Black, Red, White and Blue on the road.  The dealer always has cars in stock but if you want Steel Grey or something different then there'll be a wait as in the UK.

The buying process is pretty easy with low finance rates.  You have to have your residency visa and a bank cheque account, but the finance is then approved within a couple of days.  You just need to put down 1000 Dirhams deposit (130 Pounds) and within 5 days the car is insured, registered and you're off.  I've got my GTI over 5 years for 320 Pounds a month with the first year's insurance included in the finance.

A quick note on the insurance.  For some strange reason only know to Emiratis, a 3 door GTI is considered a "sports car" but a 5 door is considered a "family sedan".  The insurance can work out more expensive for the 3 door, and as a result I've only seen 1 3 door Golf in the country.

If you were to buy a car here and then leave in a year or so you'd get virtually all your money back.  You'd just need to clear the finance before you leave and job done...

[dubaiphil]

Oh - forgot to mention.  They don't sell ED30s over here, but you can get the sills colour coded on the GTI for around 1600 Dirhams (220 Pounds).  R32's have a waiting list and are 147,000 Dirhams (20,000 Pounds).

There are some tuners around - ABT have a dealership and Superchips have a resaler (the same price as the UK, for 240BHP)

[illyun]

Thanks a lot Phil... I was going to buy a Mk4 V6 but you've tempted me.  I've always admired the Candy White owners so I'll get a white one I think     

[dubaiphil]

A mate of mine picked up a 4 year old Mk 4 V6 4-motion in Candy White (these Arabs are ahead of their time!) with 40,000km on the clock for 44,000 Dirhams (6 Grand!)

[karl]

hi there...

great timing on the thread. I live in dubai as well.... and was in the showroom yesterday. I've been lurking this evening trying to find out as much as I can before I jump in a buy one.

Phil, what is the dealer like... servicing etc and general customer service.

I've finally got sick of the noise, unreliabilty, smell and going to sell my wrangler for something with a proper roof and a bit of ooomphf.

Thanks


Karl

[dubaiphil]

Hi Karl

The customer service seems to be better than other dealerships around in Dubai.  I haven't had a service yet so haven't seen that side of things, but they recommend you book the car in 2 weeks before the 15,000km first service, which is pretty much the same as in the UK.

I dealt with Ragheb Jakhadar, a Sales Consultant, and he was very good.  From putting the deposit down to hold a car to driving off with it took 5 days.  He automatically sorted me out with a good numberplate, but ask him anyway and he'll sort you out with as good a number as he can.

Let me know if you go for it - we'll have to get some other GTi drivers out for a Jebel Hafeet day out (18km of hairpin roads up a 4000ft mountain in the desert for anyone else out there).

You'll notice a bit of a difference after the Wrangler!  They'll sort you out with a test drive when you walk in (they just need your UAE driving licence) around Al Quoz, so make sure you go down on a Saturday morning to have a good try of the flappy paddles around the roundabouts in the area...

[dubaiphil]

Hi Karl

Forgot to mention about the 3 door v. 5 door bit.  I used to have a Mk 4 GTI turbo in the UK and originally wanted to go for a 3 door Mk 5.  The insurance can get silly for a 3 door in Dubai though.  The first year's insurance (arranged through the dealership) is the same for both, but after that the 5 door is cheaper to insure.  That's why 3 doors are a rare sight over here.  Having said that, the 5 door Mk 5 looks good as the wheelbase is a bit longer that the previous Golf...

I'll have to ask the dealer if they have e-mail addresses for GTI owners in Dubai and see if we can get a club set up - plenty of nice roads to drive on and track days to sort out!