New buyer in UAE market

[abu-dhabi-qs]

Hello

I am relocating to Abu Dhabi next year february. I was wondering if anyone could help me in deciding if I must buy a SUV or a sedan/hatchback. I am looking for something new that will cost approx 2250 a month.

Can i afford a GOLF 5 GTI DSG for that?or alternatives similar to GTI??or maybe you can recommend what SUV i can afford for that much.

It is just me and the wife.

[root]

See what you can buy using this:
http://www.autodealer.ae/plugins/ad/carloan.php

I did a quick calculation:
Loan Payment Calculation
Total amount to finance: AED 90,000
Interest Rate: 5% flat rate (non-reducing balance)
Payment Term: 48 months

Monthly Installment (principal + interest):
AED 2,250 (AED 1,875 + AED 375)
Total payment over 48 months: AED 118,000
Effective Interest Rate: approximately 9.4%


So, for a 100k +/- 10k you can get the following SUVs:

- 4-cyl Toyota Prado
- 6-cyl Mitsubishi Pajero
- 6-cyl Nissan Pathfinder
- 4-cyl Honda CRV
- 4-cyl Toyota Rav4
- 4-cyl Toyota Fortuner

- 6-cyl Hyundai Santa Fe
- 6-cyl Kia Sportage

A bunch of american SUVs


If you want a SUV for city driving, any of the above are fine. If you want for occasional off-roading the Pajero or Pathfinder are rougher and have power.

[abu-dhabi-qs]

I am not sure how the money lending market works in the UAE, but is it possible to get a better interst rate than 5% and a longer payment period e.g 60 months??

What is the cost of a GOLF 5 GTI DSG full spec??Ford focus STI??OPEL opc??Mazda3 MPS??

[Brembo]

golf gti is around 107k AED.

[navadv]

We dont get the Opel, the focus ST or the M3S....

[root]

yeah, you can get rates of 3.99% and sometimes even lower but on select models.

Financing can go up to 60 months.

[abu-dhabi-qs]

For living in abu dhabi which would you recommend?? a hatchback, sedan or SUV??

With regards to SUV has anybody driven the Mazda CX7 or CX9??
Whats the price of the 2??which would you prefer??

[root]

CX-7 does not come here!
CX-9 was just introduced..118k fully loaded! Looks nice!

I would say sedan or SUV, depending on your taste, family size and what you want to do with the vehicle (off-road, city-driving)

[abu-dhabi-qs]

I think i will go for a SUV-It is more of a status vehicle than a sedan??am i correct??

So say for approx +/- 115 k AED what SUV 4x4(FULL SPEC) will i be able to buy??

[Brembo]

umm owning a SUV is not exactly a status symbol, lol. anyone can buy a cheap SUV like a rav4 or crv but it dosent give them a 'good' status over the guy who bought a 5 or 7 series bmw as those are sedans.

buy WHAT you want and something you and your family is comfortable in. if you plan on doing some offroading, none of these AWD suv's like rav4, crv, cx-9 etc will work.

you need a prado or a wrangler which will fit in ur budget.

[root]

abu-dhabi-qs! First advice, do not get into the 'status' race. This is the wrong country for that. You need to buy a Bugatti Veyron over here to get noticed.

I say this is that when I arrived here, I was fascinated by all the cars being driven down the roads. Nowadays, I dont even notice. There are 4 Carreras, a few X5s and Cayennes, a couple of SLs in my neighborhood and I hardly notice them (and I dont live in a posh neigbourhood either). The only thing I guess I still notice is if I see a good Ferrari or Lamborghini.


SUVs are good here for the following reasons (my subjective opinion):
- The traffic here is crazy and it feels a lot safer being in something big and sturdier.
- If you are into desert-driving, or taking the car off-road. This is one of the popular outdoor activity in this part of the world.
- If you need a big car because of a big family, or even with a small family but you plan to take long drives.
- Petrol is cheap. If you can afford it anywhere, its here.


As Brembo said, a number of sedans are good as well. Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima, Mazda 6, a bunch of American sedans, Peugeot 307, Volvo S40 all fit in below 100k.

For 115k range SUVs you can get Toyota Prado, Toyota Fortuner, Mitsu Pajero, Nissan Pathfinder, Honda CRV, Mazda CX-9, a bunch of Jeeps (Wrangler, Cherokee, ..), Ford Edge.
The Korean brands and Suzuki/Isuzu/Daihatsu will be 20k cheaper.

[Brembo]

the ford edge has a 3 or maybe even 5yr warranty!!! and free insurance too if i remember correctly

[root]

Even better...it comes with a 3 year service plan. I am unsure if it includes tires and brake-pads, but I think it does. Just that is worth 15-20k.

Fully loaded for 120k I think. Looks nice..but it's a Ford ;(

[abu-dhabi-qs]

with regards to nissan, what are the different models they offer and prices??

Does you get the Nissan Qashqai in UAE??

Is nissan as reliable as Toyota???

[abu-dhabi-qs]

I have read that both the toyota RAV 4 and Fortuner are mommy/feminine cars?? how true is this??

Is ford reliable??seen a ford escape??is it worth it??price??