So, I bought a car today. From one hoop to another the
seller and I jumped. The process was new, and sometimes seemed upside down
compared to what I am used to in Canada, but maybe there is yet another thing
for the ‘West’ to learn from the East.
First thing I had to do of course, was check with the bank.
This is standard. But the rates are quite different. Here, we have 3 options
when looking to get any type of loan in the price range of a used car. Before I
left for Malaysia, I wanted to make sure that I started any paperwork for it to
be completed when I got back to smooth out the process. It’s not too often when
someone at NBAD is particularly helpful…inshalla my luck will stay with me
because my banking service has been amazing through this experience. I was told
that I could either apply for a car loan (option 1) at an interest rate of 3.5%
calculated at a flat rate, or option 2, increase my credit limit with credit
interest at about 2.5-2.9% calculated on a declining balance (interest paid
each month). As I explained my situation and expectations as to what I was
intending to spend, my banker introduced me to their ‘ezcash’ program (option
3) in which a cash advance from your credit card would be directly deposited
into your chequing account at a declining interest of 0.8%. This seemed to make
the most sense as it allowed me to still use the credit for store purchases as
well if needed. The second banker I was sent to gave me a print out of the
months I signed up for (18 month plan) with the withdrawals that would be made
each month. Having this completed on the spot, I was ready to shop. Family and
friends back in Canada are likely to gag over the interest on loan rates…yes?
I thought the next part would be easy. In the UAE, we have a
great website called dubizzle.com. You can buy and sell pretty much anything
through it, and it’s very popular for cars. I would spend hours going through
profiles of cars, and each time I searched, there seemed to be cars I didn’t
see before, and I was going to make sure that what I purchased met a few
criteria. For about a week, I went through and messaged a good 10-15 car owners
about their cars and to get back to me. ONE returned my call, and
unfortunately, he was in Al Gharbia (about 2 hours away). I was going to try
again, and if no one returned my calls/messages a second time around, we were
going on a road trip.
The second dubizzle blitz I did just this past weekend. The
cars that I had originally left messages for had all been taken down, so I’m assuming
those car owners from before simply didn’t get back to me because they had sold
their cars. I found a few I liked, and within ONE hour, the seller of my
favourite car out of what was there emailed me. She offered to meet me that
evening, and I accepted knowing how fast things go on the site. The car itself
was within my budget plan with the bank (and I’m not a negotiator with price, I
know…I have to learn that to survive in this country), it was formally ex-pat
owned (seller works for Etihad and is from Hungary), 2007 Mazda 3 with less
than 60,000 kms on it. All of the servicing had been done at the Mazda garage,
and there is even one more servicing still under warranty. Getting into the car
for a test drive, you can quickly tell that this was a person who took care of
her car.
So, if it’s so great, why is she selling it? She bought a
motorcycle. Flying with Etihad, this was her ‘weekend car’ as she spends most
of her time in the sky. Those of you who have been to the Carribean/Latin
America…the same kind of traffic here. She is my new hero who can handle these
roads on a bike.
Now, off to get the car out of her name and into mine. Easy…right?
Well…
I was to meet her at 5pm. I was at the bank just down the
street and I told her I would be a few minutes late. She said not to worry and
that I should find her at ‘Bay 5’. Hmmm…let’s see if I can find this ‘bay 5.’
Knowing where I had to go was nearby the location where I got my licence in the
fall, I parked my rental in the area and walked over to where the familiar
ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company) blue signs were, and sure enough, I found
‘bay 5’.
Picture 5 ramps going into a Speedy or Midas-like oil lube
change. Up each ramp (bay area), there were at least 10 cars in each queue. I
found the seller along the line and she was frazzled. She gave me her
registration card and told me to go inside and get our ‘ticket’ for inspection.
I quickly weaved through the 5 lines of cars, got into the building and quickly
found my way to the cashier. Coming back, I found a police officer at the
drivers’ side talking to the seller. This wasn’t the first time an officer was
at the car (hence why she was frazzled). Rules are rules. We were supposed to
park first, get the ticket, and then join the queue. After apologizing to the
officer (I guess I looked innocent as I was the 1 of us who really didn’t know
any better), the ordeal was over. I wondered later that if we were supposed to
get out of line to park, not sure how we would have done that in a wall to wall
traffic area.
Wait, I thought…she had done this before. I asked her how
the inspections go in this country. Once every year, the cars go through
inspection to make sure that they are ready and safe for the UAE roads. Seeing
about 50 cars get through within 30 minutes, I would say it’s a pretty
effective system. Inspection passed…now
we have to get the insurance and registration switched over. Now, here’s the
biggest lesson I’ve learned of the night. Even when dealing with government-run
institutions such as vehicle insurance, everything is negotiable.
Going just past the licence plate area were what looked like
to me, a small sea of office cubicles. Each cubicle representing a different
insurance company for your car. Keeping with the same insurance company until
at least hers expires in August made the most sense to me. Talking with friends
and colleagues I asked and asked…do I need ANYTHING from ADEC (Abu Dhabi
Education Council) when I go in to switch the cars over? It was a unanimous ‘no’.
I found that you don’t need anything from ADEC (unless you want a discount on
your insurance). Our insurance provider first explained to us that since we were
going from an Etihad employee to a regular customer, that the insurance would
be more expensive. We asked him, OK, but do you have any discounts for ADEC
employees? No, he said. He looked at my licence again and asked if I had my
licence from Canada with me. I told him I did, but it was at home (why would I
carry my drivers’ licence from Canada?) He said that because my UAE licence was
less than a year old, I would again, be more expensive unless I had my Canadian
licence on me to show him. I did point out that I obviously have my Canadian
driver’s licence in the country as it was a prerequisite to obtaining a UAE
licence. Fine…rules are rules he said. It can’t be changed.
Not wanting to go back to the flat, I told him I would pay
the extra. In the meantime, the seller went to get the car back from the
inspection area (we thought we would save time doing paperwork while they
looked at it). Talking to the insurance man on my own, he made a comment that I
seemed happy with the rates anyways as he knew that Canada’s insurance is much
more expensive (vehicle comprehensive insurance here is 1200 AED a year…less
than $350CAN). He then asked me again which company I worked for. After telling
him ADEC again, he said that yes, there was now a discount. The seller of the
car returned and I told her that magically, there is now a discount, but I left
the ADEC paperwork in the car. Upon returning, he validated the paperwork that
I had given him. And all of a sudden the 355 AED charge I was facing went down to
75AED. We thanked the man and went to the next station to have all of the
insurance documents ‘blue stamped’, as nothing is valid without the blue stamp.
Impressed with my employment ‘pull’ the seller laughed and said that it had
nothing to do with being an employee of ADEC. Wiping everything away but the
standard transfer fee was due to being a woman. Hmmm…
Inspection…check. Insurance…check. Now…change of
registration. The registration room seemed to be packed, but following the
seller across the room I was reminded again, that being a woman in this country
can have its perks. Women have their own waiting areas, and in some cases such
as this, their own area to be completely served. It didn’t look to busy, but
the next hour seemed to drag on. Despite having 6 counters available, only 1
was open. This is a standard practice here. In theory, the system would work
great if it was working at full capacity. Despite the waiting time, our time at
the counter would be 10 minutes or less.
For those of you back home, imagine your inspection,
insurance company, and place of registration all in the same place? Licence
issuing just down the street. Having the inspection being mandatory before
selling your car also gives the buyer a better feeling as well. This process
may have taken up my entire evening, but when you go through government
services, I find is where a lot of learning takes place about the country that
you are living in. The next time I’m at an OHIP office or the 8th
floor of the Standard Life building at King and Bay (Hamiltonian Canadian
passport holders will know what I’m talking about), I will have extra empathy
for those who might be new residents.
Thank you to those friends here in the UAE giving me tips
and advice on the purchase of the car. For those of you that would like any
assistance from me, just let me knowJ
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