From Abu Dhabi to Doha..... By Road!!!
Greetings All,
As a new joiner to this forum,i hope a can bring my contribution in the future. But for now, i probably need some info. I will be moving from Abu Dhabi to Doha by end of month (since i got a decent offer, obviously). I would, however, want to bring my car along. It's a Mazda 6. Yeah Yeah! I know! You might say that there are cars available in Doha (I can read the classifieds :) ). But me and her have a long history together (she is just a year and a half old). (And yes, my car is a she :) )
I can arrange to settle the financial obligations on the car and get an export permit.
My questions are: Anyone did the trip Doha-Abu Dhabi by road before?
Is it tough for a sedan car to do the trip (I don't know about the road conditions)?
What about visas? (I understand you need to cross Saudi Arabia territory to reach Doha? I have my Qatari visa already. And my U.A.E visa will be cancelled very soon.
How far and approximately how long will it take?
Is there any duty/tax to be paid to get it registered in Qatar?
Based on your comments, (whether it's difficult or complicated), i will decide whether i will bring her along or whether i will be departing from my beloved (Sniff... Sniff... :( ). If it will be too complicated, i will just drop the whole idea. Thanks for your comments. Cheers.
Huh??? My Avatar same as jilfer??? 8-0
OMG. I have been using hitman as my avatar since 2004 on all forums that i go to. (I don't go to many of them though).
Thanks Owen. But i think i'll stick to my agent 47 for the time being until further notice.
Anyways, coming back to the subject, it looks like i'll have a lot of paperwork (visas) and procedures to put up to. And i don't think i'll have that time to do all that before coming to Doha. Thanks all for your comments. If anyone else have any ideas on how to ease this trip, your comments are most welcome.
Imagination is more Powerful than Knowledge!!!
sm00f_op3r4tor hmmm buddy, you might consider changing your avatar as you are the same of jilfer, see this link..http://www.qatarliving.com/user/jilfer ..:)
Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.
Dude, u gotto get a KSA transit visa, not a visa on arrival. Contact ur local saudi embassy and show ur Qatar visa. Obtain ur KSA transit visa and travel in style... no probs. Keep 6 red bull in a chiller and njoy ur drive. Yeah carry some winter clothes as well... since the weather is changing. Keep urself and ur car clean (by all means) since u gotto cross KSA border (immigration and customs) twice. To save time at the immigration dont carry a CD case loaded with CDs.
Blast few trance nos. and Drive Safe dude...
GeT RicH or DiE TryinG
sm00f_op3r4tor....You will have to deal with the Govt authorities of 3 countries (UAE, Saudi & Qatar).
If you have the stomach for that and a head to bang against a Brick-wall then go ahead.
I would advise you to do that only if you have an agent to do all the running around.
My advice would be to sell it in UAE & buy one new/second hand in Doha. There are a lot of new/2nd hand cars available. You could get a decent 2nd hand car for about 25,000 QR and above which is almost equivalent to UAE currency.
For this you will need the Qatari ID card without which you would not be able to buy Cars, this could be a problem in travelling until you get an ID. But there are a lot of "private taxis" around who would pick you up and drop you for a price.
The ads on QL are ads after all, if they say a car is in "excellent condition" you have to take it with a pinch of salt. Dont buy a second hand car unless you drive it. And ofcourse you might know ...never buy one that leaks engine oil.
Thanks j.aaiah. That's what i got to understand too. Some friends told me it's really difficult to get taxis. I have the option of selling off the car and get another one in doha. But i am sentimentally attached to my car. Do you have any idea about the visa procedures to cross Saudi? If i have a qatari visa (i think i have a visa to enter qatar - not a resident visa yet), do i easily get a Saudi visa on arrival at the Saudi border or do i have to contact Saudi embassy here and get visa, etc, etc.
But a question to all. What about all these classifieds i see on qatarliving.com classifieds (cars and other sections)? Are these genuine adverts? Would you recommend buying something from these adverts?
Imagination is more Powerful than Knowledge!!!
better u bring her w/u...specially here in qatar, that's the main problem...transportation! the taxi fare are very expensive like in Dudai. and I think u won't have car here that easy, takes time...and that is Doha all about cars...coz here everything is far the access is not that easy. believe me coz we've been in Abu Dhabi for several years. what I knew from Abu Dhabi to Doha is just like around 7hrs, that's what I heard from my hubby. so pack ur things and get on the ride....