Job Discussion Forums

[zaylahis]

Reading through guidebooks and posts I have the impression that the norm is for everyone to have cars or 4x4. My questions are:
1. can teachers afford cars or is it better to hire one?
2. Is it easy to get a license or will an international driving licence do or can I use licence issued by my country ?

[veiledsentiments]

You will be required to get an Omani license. If you are European or North American, it is just a matter of taking your license from home (make sure that it doesn't expire in the next year) and head to the DMV. Have an eye test and pay... along with a bit of standing in line. If you are not from the countries above, you will have to take lessons and a full driving test.

Oman is like living in the sprawling suburbs and a car is crucial. I never knew any teachers who didn't have cars,but what you buy depends on your budget and needs. As a single woman, I always bought a new car - a bottom of the line Japanese, or nowadays Hyundai is just as good. If you plan to do a lot of exploring and camping in the mountains, a 4x4 is needed. For a basic car like I would buy the new ones are significantly cheaper than in the US.

Of course, if you only plan to be there for one or maybe two years, you might look into leasing. This has become quite common in the last few years.

The common question is new versus used. Right now the cyclone damage to a few thousand cars means that you won't know for sure what you are getting. I would only buy a used car from someone you know... and you know that it wasn't under water for a week or so. Of course, the best deals on good used cars are in the spring when people are leaving. So, you might want to look at leasing for the first year and watching for a good deal on a used one later.

VS

[zaylahis]

Thanks. are there car loans and are driving tests tough?

[veiledsentiments]

It used to be very easy to get a car loan. All you had to do was take your contract, but nowadays it is probably a little harder. It may depend on your employer and where you will be.

The problem is that they make everyone from the rest of the world take lessons... and pay, of course. Then, I have heard, they seem to take sport in failing everyone the first time they take the test. Those that I know that took it said that it wasn't all that hard. It is just time and aggravation.

VS

[Duffy]

A word of caution here.

If you have lived and worked in Oman before, ok, you know what to expect. But, if this is the first time, my advice would be to hire a car for at least 3 months, why?

First off you do not know if you will like being here for at least a month or more, your employers will be watching your performance during the three month probationary period.

I am not saying that there will be a problem, but, you never know!

After 3 months you should have a local bank account, your employers will be able to give you a copy of your salary agreement which will allow you to take out a maximum 3 year purchase agreement, that is if you have not done so through your bank. HSBC offer car loans, but when we priced them against National Credit LLC, we found the bank was more expensive.

We had two cars from Kia, one a small city car another a 4X4 for weekends. The payments are easily managable.

When I had my eye test, I had previously been wearing my reading glasses to fill out forms . My turn came to read the letters, I got 75% wrong and still passed the test!!!!

Duffy

[zaylahis]

So in the meantime can I use an international driving licence for the first 3 months I am there?

[veiledsentiments]

I believe that you could with a short term lease, but you have to provide a copy of your Omani license to purchase. (and probably to extend the lease to long term)

VS

[Duffy]

I can only speak from personal experience. I used my UK driving licence for the time we hired the car.

As soon as I started working for MoHE, Khaled, the ministry "Mr Fixit" took me through all the medicals, visa and driving licence routines(previous experience as described!!) Took a while but eventually got there.

Some teachers who joined last year managed to get a credit agreeement on a new car without a work permit, don't know how - don't want to know!!!


Duffy

[denise]

I only had my California license when I bought my car and when I got my loan from HSBC. For me, it was easy to get an Omani license, but it can be difficult for people from other states as the police station seems to have an incomlete listing of the 50 states. Also, what it actually says on your license can make a difference--"license" vs. "driving license."

d

[DennisSzilak]

Driving license
The following driving licenses are transferable in Oman without taking a driving test:
All Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) - Australia - Austria - Belgium - Brunei (driving license must be one year old) - Canada - Denmark - Egypt - Finland - France - Iran - Ireland - Italy - Japan (after translation) - Jordan - Lebanon - Luxemburg - Monaco - Morocco - the Netherlands - New Zealand - Norway - South Africa - Spain - Sweden- Switzerland - Syria - Tunis - Turkey - United Kingdom - United States of America - Germany.
For countries not listed above, the following rules apply:
"Please be advised that the Traffic Law permits expatriates on a visit visa to drive rental cars for 3 months, while holding an International Driving License. Expatriates on employment visas should have an Omani driving license, according to the job classification list of Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training." "Every legal expatriate residing in Oman may own up to three vehicles." (Royal Oman Police Memo dated 20th December 1998).
License and insurance
All traffic in Oman drives on the right; hence, cars with steering on the left are necessary. In order to drive a car (your own, rental or leased one), you must hold a valid Oman driving license. You are required to produce proof of insurance when applying for a vehicle license and the registration form requires the insurance policy number.

Applicants will have their eyes tested at the police station [traffic department = �muu-rurr�] which issues the license. Processing of a full Oman license is usually completed within one day after application. If you have renewed your driving license less than a year ago, it is advisable to bring your old driving license with you as the Royal Oman Police may require proof that you were already driving for longer than one year. On an employment visa, you need sponsor's letter in Arabic to get Omani license. You need no such to buy a car.

All accidents or damage must be reported to the Police, otherwise repairs will be refused by the garages. If you do have an accident, stay until the police arrive. Cars in non-injury accident must be removed [ recent edit spring '07] to the shoulder, if possible. Make sure you always carry in your car: your driving license, the motor vehicle license (or copy) and Resident Card (or copy).

There are always used car dealers and there are informal markets for selling cars, usually near a group of such dealers. Private parties come on Thursday & Friday evenings. Very free-wheeling. You need Arabic to carry on or bring an Arabic speaker. Do a bill of sale, then do transfer of insurance; get the previous vehicle registration; then on to traffic to register. Indeed, lots of flood cars; check the boot for water-line and such.
Doesn't mean it isn't worth buying; simply all cautions apply for buying used cars.

[zaylahis]

WOW thanks..Thought that only driving licences issued in countries where left hand drive is used are exempt from driving tests but doesn't look like it. As mine is not in the list you gave, I guess I will just have to go for using an international driving licence until I pass my test. Thanks for the information, DennisSzilak.

[Duffy]

Just to add to that, the Government are now issuing accident forms to be used in the case of minor collisions which do not require police attendance, ie. when no-one is injured (except maybe "pride").

Each party has to agree who is at fault and jointly declare this on one of these new forms so the insurance companies can settle.

OH YEAH

Can you see an Omani or any other ME male declaring that it was his fault??


Duffy

[veiledsentiments]

Could it be their 'maleness' rather than their nationality?

Seems rather common everywhere in the world...

VS

[helenl]

It may have more to do with the fact that a lot of nationals in any given GCC country are driving without the "required" insurance. If they are at fault, then the money comes out of their pocket - much more painful than admitting fault

[Tarka_littleotter]

Helenl > a lot of them drive with no license too!

I rented a car from Budget for the first 3 months I was here. I rented it on my UK license and negotiated the price. Speak to people where you work - there may be a rental company that does deals for people from your work place.
I then bought a new Kia Rio which I LOVED. I put down 500 rial and the dealership sorted out my finance. Interest rates are pretty standard. I had that car for a year and a few months but felt I was trashing it somewhat with driving over ungraded mountain roads on weekend camping trips and going backwards and forwards to see my horses everyday AND going racing (horse racing, not car racing - although there are plenty of people who'd do this if you want!) I traded mine in for a Kia Sorento a few months ago and got a good deal for my Rio.

Most companies have a buy back policy. Check this out when you buy your car. Japanese cars retain their value more than Korean cars and their buy back policies reflect this, as do their initial costs. You have to weigh up for yourself whether it's better to pay more and get a better buy back, or pay less and not get a great buy back.

If you buy a new car negotiate,negotiate, negotiate. You should get free servicing upto 50,000 kms, 6 year waranty and free insurance. Ramadan and the 2 months after Ramadan is the time to buy a new car. They have Ramadan deals on and you can walk away with things like plasma tvs (Suzuki Grand Vitara), electrical kitchen appliances (Kia) and hampers full of stuff (Toyota).