Job Discussion Forums

[aishaphyllis]

Hi,
Several have posted here about buying vs. renting autos in UAE where I have been told a vehicle is indispensable. I will be teaching at HCT Sharjah Women's College come August 1. I have a brand new Nissan pick up 4WD and will lose my shirt if I sell it now so I was considering shipping it to UAE from USA. Has anyone else done this or does anyone have recommendations for shipping companies? I have researched some companies on line and received quotes ranging from $2500 to $7500. Any advice?
Thanks!

[helenl]

One issue is that it's a pickup - most "regular" folks aren't allowed to buy pickups in the UAE - they're seen as a commercial vehicle and that you might be setting up an illegal business Not a very good reason but that's how it was a few years ago - I stand to be corrected on this point.

Another issue is that your truck is not built to Gulf specs - the AC will be inadequate as will a lot of the belts and seals. Others have found that they have had to replace a lot if not all of these types of parts.

It may be worth it to you if the loss you'll take at home is more than the cost of replacing all these parts. But do check to see if you can bring a pickup into the UAE as a regular person.

[aishaphyllis]

Hi
As I am headed to HCT Sharjah from USA, I was wondering what if any of my current teaching materials I might need to bring with me. Does anyone have any idea what texts or materials are currently being used at the Women's College or any suggestions for what I should bring to supplement my classes?
Thanks
Phyllis

[adorabilly]

You are threadjacking your own thread. that is amusing.

You don't need to bring any of your current teaching materials with you unless you want to. They will have their curriculum and books already chosen.

Now if you WANT to bring some favorite and helpful texts with you, feel free.

The biggest thing you can bring is flexibility to the classroom. That will help you more than anything else.

[veiledsentiments]

HCT has plenty of materials on hand, so you don't need to bring anything. That said... I had a box of my favorite materials that I shipped from country to country. Unfortunately the wonderful shipping company that I used for so many years went out of the shipping business for individuals and only does business shipping now.

As to shipping in your pickup... Let's say it is at the high end of the estimates you get. Then you will have the cost and aggravation of getting it plated in the UAE. Unless you are coming from Arizona or Florida, the truck is probably not set up for the heat or the humidity of the Gulf. I had never thought of the problem brought up by helen1 that they are considered only for business, but I don't recall seeing them used by average expats in the urban areas. You could give the embassy in DC a call and see if anyone can answer that one.

One idea is to store the truck with a friend. I had a new car when I first went overseas in the '80s. Since I wasn't sure that I might come right back, I stored it at my father's business... where it sat until I finally just sold it too many years later.

VS

[Afra]

Unless there has been a change in law, ex-pat individuals can't register a pickup as it is viewed as a commercial vehicle.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[johnkg]

[Sheikh N Bake]

Back to shipping cars to the UAE, below is some info I posted a few weeks ago on that topic. Currently I am making plans to teach overseas for a couple of years yet again, and I am simply storing my car in a friend's two-car garage. Obviously the friend has only one car of her own. By the way, shipment between Houston and Dubai should run about $3000 these days. usually more from other US ports.

Don't even think about driving your US-registered car in the Gulf Middle East. Shipping can indeed be affordable, and I've done it twice in the UAE. (Shipped a car from the US in 1997 to Dubai and a different one to Dubai in 2005). Cars in the Gulf should be specially modified for Gulf conditions: extreme heat, dust and humidity that varies greatly in a single day. These conditions cause sensors to fail prematurely and rubber seals to wear out quickly. The second car I thought wouldn't be a problem, because it was a top-of-the-line Infiniti Q45, but within two years I had the knock sensors fail, which causes some loss of power, along with the turbo sensor on the transmission, as well as the temperature gauge sensor and several rubber seals. Furthermore, and this is important, the diagnostic software/hardware used in the States is incompatible with that used in the Gulf Middle East--at least in the UAE. So they couldn't fix the knock sensors because they couldn't diagnose the problem. If your love your car, store it in the US and buy a Camry in Saudi.

[aishaphyllis]

Hi
I am so glad I asked about my truck. Your responses saved me a lot of turmoil and money! I will leave my Nissan with my bro in Florida, but I will miss it. I have been driving pickups all my life and hate drive plain old autos...sigh.
Really appreciate your input!!!!
Thanks
Phyllis

[turtlepi1]

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

[Sheikh N Bake]

Naw, I had simply copied and pasted that entry from an earlier Saudi post. No need to change it--climate same-same, sir!

[Sheikh N Bake]

Aishaphyllis: pickups? Yucko. Pickups are fine for hauling stuff from Home Depot but are redneckmobiles. Try my '97 Infiniti Q45 sedan for a touch of class. It'll make you feel like an older Ray Milland (even if you ARE a girl) in his gray suit tooling around in his Bentley intimidating highway patrol officers with lectures: "Young man, if you persist in annoying me, I shall have to inform your superiors..."

Try THAT from a pickup!