Registering a RHD in the UAE

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Registering a RHD in the UAE

Postby ReAlisT on Thu Jan 07, 2010 4:34 pm

Hi all,

Its the first for me in a forum and autodealer seemed to be the most informative. So....

I come from South Africa and live and work in the UAE. I am planning a overland "business" expedition through the Middle East then through Africa and back home. If this trip is successful then I’ll be touring the Worlds most remote places, uhuuuu :mrgreen:
I am putting together my expedition vehicle which I'll hopefully use for the next 10 years, so I would want it to be perfect, a 4*4 camper but also the comfort of a motor home. :D

The challenge I am facing is this:
For obvious reasons I'd like to buy the car here,( cheapest, the route starts from here and sponsors etc. are here)and I will be leaving Dubai and in return basing myself in South Africa.
South African vehicles are RHD, its imposible to register LHD there either :evil: and to avoid Tax and duties I need to own the vehicle at least 6 months before.
I definitely don’t want to buy the vehicle there or wait 6 months to ship it there and back, its just too expensive and takes way too much time and paper work.

So my questions would be:
Is it possible to register my RHD in Dubai or surrounding cities and then drive to South Africa (trip is about 8-12 months long)?

What about the blue export number plate?

It'll be a diesel, would I be able to even registerd this as a private owner?

Could you refer me to a place where I could get more info?
Last edited by ReAlisT on Thu Jan 07, 2010 6:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Registering a RHD in the UAE

Postby ReAlisT on Thu Jan 07, 2010 5:38 pm

P.S the vehicle is a 2010 Toyota Landcruiser 79, code is HZJ79, with the 4.5 V8 engine (1VD-FTV) which will be converted into a camper, just thought might want to know.

I saw 2 at al awir, what a monster.
Last edited by ReAlisT on Fri Jan 08, 2010 2:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Registering a RHD in the UAE

Postby root on Thu Jan 07, 2010 7:30 pm

Ok. The rule says that RHD cannot be registered, even for blue plates!
Dubai (and maybe Abu Dhabi as well) have even banned converted cars i.e. LHD that were RHD before. In the other Emirates, it might still go with the right level of wasta.

Diesel should be fine to register. I don't think there is an issue on that. Are you sure the local diesel quality is good for this? (There is a reason diesels don't get imported here...which is the high sulpher content which can kill some vehicles).

Now, the only way I can find out of this is to have this car registered somewhere else and keep it in Dubai for some months with the foreign number plate (like a UK one). This I believe is possible and legal (search the forums as this was discussed somewhere a while back).

Or, the other way is to buy a RHD and have it parked here for 6-8 months and ready to export when you wanna leave. This works and how the RHD auto-market in Al-Awir works as well.

Last maybe maybe idea is to somehow convince the authorities on the uniqueness of your plan and get an exception. You probably can contact the Emirates Motor Sports Federation (I think that is what its called) who coordinate a number of these sports activities, and they might be able to guide you on this. Never dealt with them directly but I see them involved in many motor events, so they probably know if something can be done under the spirit of some 'competition class vehicle'.
Come and discuss at the most lively forums about Cars, Bikes, 4x4s...at http://www.autodealer.ae at the Autodealer UAE Forums.
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Re: Registering a RHD in the UAE

Postby ReAlisT on Fri Jan 08, 2010 2:49 pm

Excellent, I will have a look with a foreign number plate, might be a good possibility.

As I'm getting some big sponsors on board it might be able to convince them to approach the EMSF as well as the Automobile & Touring Club !!, as they would probably have some inside connections.

I'll get back to you with how things are going.

Thanks again for the help.
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Re: Registering a RHD in the UAE

Postby castromarcio on Wed Nov 24, 2010 10:56 pm

Hi there,

I was interesting in importing a LHD Landcruiser 79 V8 Turbodiesel to my country (Angola), because our local toyota dealership only sell the H1Z 4.2 Standard diesel.

Are there any dealerships that sell it the the Emirates.

The only Toyota country website that they sell this model is Australia, but they have RHD.

By the way, how is the Cross Continent Project going?

Thanks
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Re: Registering a RHD in the UAE

Postby root on Thu Nov 25, 2010 2:03 pm

Look in the Auto Directory for Al-Futtaim. They are the dealers for Toyota in UAE. You can check if they can order one for you. Should be possible, if you are ready to wait!

Its probably cheaper to import from Saudi or Oman, as Al-Futtaim rips its customers off :)
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Re: Registering a RHD in the UAE

Postby RajChand on Sat Dec 01, 2012 3:19 pm

You can get the following vehicles very easily in UAE, Saudi and Oman

RHD diesel new and used Toyota Land Cruiser all variants, Fortunner, Prado, Nissan Patrol. Only for export, no local UAE registration allowed

LHD diesel new and used Toyota Land Cruiser all variants, Fortunner, Prado, Nissan Patrol. New vehicles only for export and used vehicle for export and local UAE used.

Please contact me on yogencr (at) gmail (dot) com
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