I Got a Car!!!

You may not pay attention to this, but if you see the dates of this blog and the previous one, you will see it is the SAME day, February 11th, 2012. This was a BIG day for me because not only did I get an apartment, BUT I also FINALLY got my car!!!! Woo hoo!!!

2 months ago I happen to have one a colleague from work as a patient, and really randomly the topic of cars came up and she told me that another colleague was selling his. She gave me some info, definitely sounded up my alley as far as color (heheh, the most important!), size, mileage, and year. Helloo? The last few years in Chicago I drove a 1994 Geo Chevrolet Prizm, so pretty much anything over the year 2000 was a major upgrade for me. This is a 2006 Nissan Tidda. I took a look at it, and basically after some little negotiations, was like "I'll take it!" I know NOTHING about cars, and I was under so much stress with everything else, that was just something I DID not have to worry about. A rash sudden decision? Maybe, but honestly, I was and still am totally comfortable with it. I just need a car that takes me from Point A and Point B. And yes, Dubai is a place for showing off, but I'm not one of those people and this car is perfect for me. So this "deal" may have been back in December and he told me it won't be available until mid to late January. Fine. As long as I knew it was going to be in the near future, I would continue with my taxi's and metro'ing.

So January kinda comes and goes. February creeps up on us, and finally, as things in Dubai goes, when you're not aggressive with something, nothing happens. I confronted him and said "I need this... NOW!" And did a little sob story how I'm going broke taking taxi's, I'm not even experiencing life in Dubai because I can't get around (which is true), and blah blah. So it was the kick in the butt he needed, and we decided to go through the process that next weekend, which was last weekend. Buuuut I needed to get car insurance first and that set us back a week. Fine. I was a bit anxious because things in Dubai are typically backwards and everything seems like 023480328439 times more complicated than it really is, BUT thanks again to advice from patients, I got a few names of some good companies, called around, got the best quote for what I wanted and needed, and once I decided, it took all of 1/2 an hour to take care of (in case you are in Dubai, I got RSA (Royal Sun Alliance)):

Insurance: Check.

Next, transfer of car.

Uh oh.... again, the insurance seemed fairly easy, so I was doubtful about how this would go. So this morning, he picked me up, we went to their version of the DMV, got the car inspected (basically making sure there are no problems with the car. If there were, then he would of course have to pay for all the repairs), bought some stupid triangle reflective thing they require, give them a copy of my passport, visa, license, and insurance confirmation, pay a fee (of course), they did the transfer, and wah-la! Got my "vehicle license" card, and that was pretty much it! It may have took a little over an hour to do all that?? The last thing standing is this thing called Salik which is their version of the "toll." You buy this sticker and basically like an I-Pass (for you Chicago people), you keep driving and it scans your card, basically deducting it and you just pay for it on credit. Fairly straightforward.

So here are the fees for buying a 2nd hand car (this is for Feb 2012!) in care you're wondering how things go in Dubai:

• Car insurance (and this can obviously vary. I went through an international company with a good reputation, comprehensive coverage): 1591 dh for the year ($433 USD). There is cheaper, but it was fine for me. 
• "Passing" the vehicle test (the buyer making sure the seller has a good car and nothing wrong with it): 120 dh ($33 USD)
• A triangle reflector for emergency: 30 dh ($8 USD)
• Vehicle registration: 330 dh ($90 USD)
• Salik (the toll system): 100 dh ($27 USD)

TOTAL: $591 USD

Have I mentioned that you really can't survive Dubai without money in your pocket??

Lesson # 20: DO NOT come to Dubai without a fair amount of money in your pocket! 

So here it is! Watch out Dubai, here I come!!!