This advice is intended primarily for other people who work for QF, since you'll be in generally the same financial situation as we are.
American cars aren't unheard of in Doha, but they are more rare than Asian brands like Toyotas, Nissans, Kias, Mitsubishis, etc. BMWs, Mercedes, and Audis are common, but naturally more expensive than their Asian counterparts in general. For American cars, that means spare parts are harder to come by, and you'll have to get most of your service at the dealer, which can mean a lot more expense and a long trip down to the industrial area. But a mechanic who knows where to look could find you parts for pretty much any Asian make of car without much trouble.
If you're into leasing cars, that's a viable option since your monthly travel allowance is high enough to lease a small sedan during your two-year contract. Selling cars isn't hard, though, so you could buy one at the same monthly rate and likely earn at least half of it back when you leave. If you want a bigger car than just a sedan, you could combine the travel allowance for a working couple and afford a used SUV from the last few model years. Or, if you really prefer to get a used car and deal with the risks that involves, you can get one for far less than the travel allowance and still sell it later. But the headaches (and unexpectedly high costs) of getting your car serviced are probably not worth getting a car as well-used as you might consider in the states.
We bought a used minivan for pretty cheap and have since regretted it due to the many trips we've had to take to get it serviced. We've replaced the fuel pump, some fuses, the radiator, the shifter/transmission cable, all four tires, both front wheel bearings, the windshield wiper sprayer pump, and had to have the engine tuned up. We've also had trouble getting its registration renewed because of the repairs it has needed, as they won't renew a car that has anything significant wrong with it.
So if we could travel back in time a year and a half and give ourselves some advice, we'd tell ourselves to buy a used car that would use close to our whole travel allowance for the next two years rather than one that uses less than half of it.
A few good sites for finding new and used cars, in order from best interface to worst (in my opinion):
http://www.carsemsar.com/en/qatar
http://www.qatarsale.com
http://www.qatarliving.com
American cars aren't unheard of in Doha, but they are more rare than Asian brands like Toyotas, Nissans, Kias, Mitsubishis, etc. BMWs, Mercedes, and Audis are common, but naturally more expensive than their Asian counterparts in general. For American cars, that means spare parts are harder to come by, and you'll have to get most of your service at the dealer, which can mean a lot more expense and a long trip down to the industrial area. But a mechanic who knows where to look could find you parts for pretty much any Asian make of car without much trouble.
If you're into leasing cars, that's a viable option since your monthly travel allowance is high enough to lease a small sedan during your two-year contract. Selling cars isn't hard, though, so you could buy one at the same monthly rate and likely earn at least half of it back when you leave. If you want a bigger car than just a sedan, you could combine the travel allowance for a working couple and afford a used SUV from the last few model years. Or, if you really prefer to get a used car and deal with the risks that involves, you can get one for far less than the travel allowance and still sell it later. But the headaches (and unexpectedly high costs) of getting your car serviced are probably not worth getting a car as well-used as you might consider in the states.
We bought a used minivan for pretty cheap and have since regretted it due to the many trips we've had to take to get it serviced. We've replaced the fuel pump, some fuses, the radiator, the shifter/transmission cable, all four tires, both front wheel bearings, the windshield wiper sprayer pump, and had to have the engine tuned up. We've also had trouble getting its registration renewed because of the repairs it has needed, as they won't renew a car that has anything significant wrong with it.
So if we could travel back in time a year and a half and give ourselves some advice, we'd tell ourselves to buy a used car that would use close to our whole travel allowance for the next two years rather than one that uses less than half of it.
A few good sites for finding new and used cars, in order from best interface to worst (in my opinion):
http://www.carsemsar.com/en/qatar
http://www.qatarsale.com
http://www.qatarliving.com
1 comment:
That sounds like valuable advice.
Nice of you to post it
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