HELP me! they want to buy me a new car......

[Kelab]

Hi,
I am new to Dubai, recently got a good job and the company is willing to buy me a car. The question is what do I get from them? since they are buying it for me, not looking for 2nd hand cars.

The budget is around AED 250,000. I haven't had a chance to look around and to be honest I am just getting used to the currency here. so not really clear on what this will get me. (if it will only get me a cattle driver, then bes to hear the bad news now.)

HELP!

[T.N.T]

Hi and welcome to the forum!
That's a pretty good amount. 250,000 AED can get you MANY amazing cars.
I need to know your needs before suggesting you a vehicle. eg. Will 2-doors be fine, Something sporty or something luxurious etc.
Well, here is the list, the best of the best:

TOYOTA
According to me and pretty much everyone, Toyota is the best car money can buy.
Toyota doesn't offer any vehicle that is above 200,000 except the Toyota Land Cruiser VXR (Fully loaded price including nav and leather seats=219,000), which as you might have noticed, is pretty common in the U.A.E.

BMW

You have many options if you opt for BMW:

A nicely equipped 5-Series (550i I think)



A 7 series



An X-5 SUV



Cadillac

Escalade. You'll have to wait for this shape though.



Hummer

H2. I really love it's looks.



Jaguar

XJ. A classic.



Land Rover

Range Rover Sport. Spectacular!



Lexus

LS. Most reliable luxury car ever.



SC. Worth a look.



LX 470. King of the desert. Extremely luxurious and very silent even when dune bashing. I've driven it and it's proved once again that it is the best luxury SUV out there. Reliable because it's a Lexus. It is based on the Land Cruiser VXR but it is much more luxurious inside and is a little different in looks.

Mercedes-Benz

CLS. Love-it or hate-it looks. I come in the 'love-it' category.



E-Class. Higher equipped levels (E500)



S-Class



Porsche

Cayman



That's It.
Hope you find the car of your dreams.

[Ferrari]

If your company is paying you 250k you need to buy your dream car. dont worry aout 2nd hand value.

TNTs suggestions are good!

You can probably add Porsche Cayenne, Merc M-class, and maybe even a low end 7-series beamer to the list.

Put in a bit more dosh and the new Audi Q7 is an option.

Depends on what you want to do and use the car for?
Offroading? City driving? Long driving like Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, etc?

For Offroading, how about a hummer or top end land cruiser or Armada.
For city driving, a convertible might be nice with a hard top.
For long driving, I think Lexus has great comfort.

[root]

You might not be able to get all the cars shown by TNT
250k will get you something nice, but you need to come down from the clouds.

Ferrari, i think your classifications are good. (BTW, Welcome back!)

My vote would be for the new 2007 Audi TT. Might have to wait a few months though.


The 3.2L V6 has 250 bhp and there might be an RS model with 350 bhp. This should probably fit within the budget.


Other roadsters/convertibles that might fit in the budget are: Audi S4 convertible, BMW M3, Merc CLKs.

On Japanese cars, you get a lot of car for your dirhams if you select Lexus or Infinity.

Cayman is very interesting as well. I dont know what its current price is, but it was supposed to be around $60k which should fit in.

Range Rover Sports is also beautiful. Its not a very trouble-free vehicle, but then if your company is buying it you dont need to worry about its loss of value, and the warranty should last you 2-3 years.

[T.N.T]

Hey, the TT you are talking about will be way too cheap for kelab . if the company is offering 250,000, why care and save a few thousand?. As it will be a company car, you may not have to worry about servicing and fuel, so take advantage! Hummer H2 is the best bet for you. It's safe, bling-ish, and a VERY capable off-roader. You don't even have to care about poor resale value.
Sorry folks, i forgot to mention Audi. I think you'll get a Q7 for around 239k. I am not aware of the pricing of the A8. A Porsche Cayenne might also be great.

[navadv]

i knw it isnt a very good option - but if ur thinking about safety think about a Volvo XC90 V8... nice ride...

Personally, if i could, i would go with a sports car

[Kelab]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the sugegstions, didn't realise therewwere so many good options. The Audi would be great but like "T.N.T" said.. kinda cheap isn't it? After all I have to uphold my image... i mean.. the company's image.

The Hummer would give me the feeling of travelling in a tank, and peer down at the mortals in their normal cars. The indisputable knowledge that I can take it around with out worrying about getting stuck. However, the part about elegence is not quite there... although, a Hummer is a class of it's own. bling Blinging an' all. I somehow get he feeling that I might actually be tempted to use it like a monster truck.

The volvo: good suggestion for a safe car, but hey, u only live once. I am far too young and not married to have what is classified as a "Daddy car". (and by "Daddy car" I mean "family car" not the good stuff) It is nice car NAVADAV, thank for suggesting it, but I am only 25 driving a Volvo at this age will just make me 52, and I wil have to get the necessary accessories for this car, namely a wife and 2.1 children. However, I like the fact that u suggested a Sports car.

Range Rover: Despite it not being British, it still has elegance and class. It certainly has shed it's "Rich wife's car" image (read soccer mom's car if u are american) and have become more of style must have. I have to say this car will always have a soft spot for me as I had been driving an Autobiography back home. However, just like the Land Cruiser this car seems to be as common as high rise buildings, in Dubai. Kinda want something that is not so common.. something rare (like that'spossible)

the others well they are just too good to choose from.

I guess what I am looking for is something that is sporty as well as elegant (luxurious) at the same time.

Having made all the above comments, I would like all the cars u guys have suggested here. (now that's wishfull thinking)

Sports and Elegenace for a 25 year old. Will that help?

[root]

25...you need a porsche (but they are pretty common here as well!)..there are several model options you have there.

alternative is to get a BMW M3 cabriolet!

[navadv]

I say go for the Infinity G35 ! - sporty, luxurious and u can still keep up with a Porsche

I cant believe im saying this, but Porsches are really common and i wouldnt like to own one in Dubai -- unless its a CarreraGT or a GT3 or something Turboed .
But the price range ur looking at -- only a Cayenne (not an S or Turbo) and maybe a Boxster (every tom xxxx and harry seems to have one) will fit, and i wouldnt like it..

as ive mentioned TONS of times - im about Jap cars - Infinity FX45, G35, M45, Lexus SC430, are the ones i would like - all seem sporty and luxurious to me

[root]

porsches might be plenty here, but great car to own - great chic-magnets as well for our young friend. I think the new Cayman might fit in the price bracket as well.

dont know much about the infinity but the Lexus SC430 you mentioned looks really great, has the power, hard-top convertible and a 21 speaker music system. Image-wise, as there are not that many of those here you are probably fine with it...otherwise, I would have thought its a mid-age car.

[dodgeek]

Dude...25 and u get 250k as budget for a car? Damn! What do you do? Deal drugs? I think I need a change in career! Anyone hiring?

Anyway..root...I just noticed that there was this dude that posted quite a number of nice black damaged cars, i.e. porsche boxter, merc sl55, infinity fx35 and a beemer 3(this one is fixed). All for 25k except the merc that's selling for 37k.

Do u think its worth it to buy them and fix them? I'm not sure how much it costs for fixin and whether it will ever be the same again (lets hope the wheels don't fall off when u drivin em...)...any ideas anyone?

Me probably have 25k as budget for a CAR! Dats coz i wanna get myself a nice pad.

[Kelab]

Nice pad, sounds like you have your head screwed on mate.

Damaged cars? How damaged are they dude?... I mean just bumps and bruises or are we talking 'driving along and u hear a loud clattering noises, only to realise that u are leaving a mechanical parts Hensel and Gratel trail.'....

Nicht good.

My budget: I'm sure they can push it to 300k. (And that I am hopeing they won't be pissing themselves in laughter, and point me to the door when I ask for it) However an extra 50 grand is not gonna shed more light to this situation.

No I don't deal drugs. I'm what you call a problem solver, a business infrastructure doctor, if u will. The job comes with it's perks.

Could raise the budget but will have to plan on how to make the money back within a stipulated period of time. Which would also mean I will end up being a permanent fixture in the office like the 25 year old mahogany tables there. (the bloomin table is as old as I am!!)

I suppose I could always try and put some of my money into it, but that will just mean sharing costs, and a whole lot of complications for accounts. Lets face it, then I would actually have to worry about resale value and fuel economy.

Anyway, Cayenne (the base model) isn't it like buying the VW Tourag with a Porsche Tag?? I see what u mean about buying a Porsche, lets face it if I get in later on in life, they will call it mid life crisis, get it at this age, they claim I am trying to compensate for something....

Wah, what the hell, you only live once, go to buy something that I will not feel like I shouldn't have. The BMW sounds good though.

The company Directors, (My boss's) are Merc fans. (they drive S600, each) Kinda stops me from asking anything more than that or same level as that.

What are your thoughts guys?

[dodgeek]

well my version of nice probably is double the budget for your wheels!

your version of nice is probably quadraple the budget of your wheels... life's so unfair.

well i am somewhat of a business infrastructure doctor, more like a business intelligence consultant and i dun get that sorta perk! i help u guys generate reports so that u can make "informed" decisions on how to heal the infrastructure. Dang... need to learn how to bullshit more and leave the tech work to the rest! kidding man.....i'm sure u do a superb job.....

just envy u. i'm 27 and i dun get that sorta perk although i believe i'm doing a heck of a job!

i'll tell u what...get the bmw 6. Its really nice. A fren has one and not too many people drive that in dubai. However, I kinda feel that its a wee bit long to my liking.

[T.N.T]

300,000! Now THAT'S a great budget amount.
That kind of money will help you buy a.....

BMW 6 Series - class, elegance, looks for 289,000

Chevrolet Corvette 'Z06' - Not exactly elegant or luxurious but a BANG for BUCK bargain! 0-100 in 3.7 seconds and KILLER looks!
275,000 DHS

Porsche Cayman - Read root's comment. Certainly woth the cash!

The NEW Jaguar XK - 'Gorgeous' as mentioned in the TV advertisements. Fresh looks. Great interior and a great driving nature make it one of the Best.





Go buy a beemer, something different from your bosses. You'll be unique, in a GOOD way.

[root]

Kelab...dude, you have things rolling for you, and let all us poor souls live our auto fantasies through you (and hence all these suggestions).

For 300k, you could probably get yourself a slightly used Ferrari, and that is a statement in its own. But Ferraris are expensive cars to maintain and are prone to the far-too-occassional problems. Nevertheless, ferraris are ferraris..the engine roars...you get to live the dream..and something you can really tell you friends back home.

The 6 series BMW is very nice. Just make sure you get a nice colour..the ones I've seen on the roads here have so boring colours.
Maybe M5 fits in the budget...have not checked its price lately.

You could get a better porsche.

You could probably buy a TVR..someone mentioned a showroom opening soon. This is also a problemetic car but will be very unique here.

If they up your budget a few 100k more, go for the Aston Martin DB7.