If so, are you guys buying the cars and importing them yourselves or buying them from importers? Also, is there an established second-hand market? --Dan
I live in the GCC. The second hand market is huge, for japanese cars its beyond belief, in Dubai. There pretty much isn't a car you can't find. Alot of stolen cars though. That includes Ferrari's too. Kuwait is another good place for 2nd hand cars. You really have to be careful buying them. Looking after cars is not exactly the locals forte.
Questions were more towards F-cars. I may be spending a lot of time in the near future there and am not interested in shipping my cars there. My concern, of course, is primarily driven by the available techs. If no good techs are there, I'll buy yet another 550 (there has to be a limit here now!), otherwise, I wouldn't mind a change of pace. I'm sure Stradales still carry some premium and panache, so a simple 360 6sp will suffice. Any direction is more than welcome. Are there different import/export rules from saudi / kuwait to UAE (where I'll be predominantly), etc? Best, --Dan
I had written a huge "essay" answering your questions, but a fuse went out and *poof* there it went. So this time around I'll keep it short and sweet bulletpoints. -Technically, in Bahrain, the Ferrari service is lousy. UAE would be better. I heard Saudi's Ferrari service is worse then Bahrain's. -The laws are very easy going between kuwait and UAE, Saudi would be a big headache, especially with a car like a Ferrari. Unless you know people. -Ferraris from Kuwait I wouldn't reccomend. Would you want to drive a car that was previously owned by some snotty 19year old whos daddy has too much money. There are exceptions of course. -Price wise I can only speak for Bahrain. There is a 2001 360F1 for sale for 92,000 dollars, a 95 355 GTS for 29,000. Dubai prices will be cheaper but not by much. 550 was sold here recently for upwards of 120,000dollars. -
Some key things I think you should consider before buying a Ferrari over here. -If it is too be your daily driver, expect to be stuck in traffic with 42degrees heat on a normal day in the summer. -Expect to have an accident of some sort while your over here, big or small, you'll need to forget all you learned about driving in the States when you come over here. -Don't expect things to go fast, like giving your car in for service. There is no such thing as customer satisfaction. -If in the end you do decide to buy a Ferrari, I would base it out of the UAE. Not anywhere else. Finally I would suggest you take an AMG or a big jeep instead. You'll be much better off. And I wouldn't rush in buying a car either. Come over here see how it is, drive a rental the decide. Lastly, if you don't mind my asking. What business do you exactly do?
Romeo: thanks for all of the tips and the effort in writing out so much (sorry it got lost). I have some friends in Bahrain as well, so I might ask them. (You might know one - sheikh named abdullah who drives a purple diablo se/30). My biggest concern is servicing. I managed to get in touch with people who seemt o know what they're doing, but as you said, I'm not rushing into anything. I've been to dubai plenty of times and can handle driving over there, so i'm not concerned abotu that. the car will be based out of dubai or sharjah, in either of the FTZs. If good service is hard to come by - I may just get yet another 550. I must say, though, with 2 it's silly. a 3rd will be just annoying. but I do know the cars well enough to diagnose 95% of the problems. not that i can wrench worth a damn! Given how cheap the 355s are, i might consider that, esp. if i know i can get parts. although servicing on that is well beyond me, as everything is engine-out. what are labor rates like over there for techs? I thought about getting a landcruiser, but i'm really not into the benzes or the big suvs. As for what I do, I'm still tryign to figure that one out myself! --Dan
GCC = Gulf Cooperative Council. A partnership amongst countries in the Persian Gulf region to aid commerce and travel.
Seems you know what you want...Glad my advice helped a little. Labor will be cheaper than the US. I do know that man, not personally, but ive seen him at meets and stuff. I beileve he sold the Diablo. Drives a Gemballa GT600 now.
Hi all I live in Dubai and run a Mondial 3.2 Cab and a Lamborghini Jalpa. They are looked after by Al Tayer Motors, who are the official Ferrari and Maserati dealers. I'm very happy with their level of care and service: the workshop manager was just in Abu Dhabi last week servicing the UAE President's new Maser MC12. I have seen Enzos and F40/F50s in their shop. Labour is about AED 250 ph from memory which is c.US$70. There's also a pretty active FOC in Dubai. Hope this helps Robin Wells
Robin, welcome, and thanks for the info. There's a fairly battered Testarossa in a junkyard. In Abu Dhabi, I believe. Seen it?
