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Moving to Bahrain soon, advice on car

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visigeek

Hi all

I have been reading the forum for a couple of months. Thanks to all the posters who have helped so many expats (and soon to be expats) like myself. If it wasn’t for you all, I wouldn’t have reached this stage.

I am an IT professional from London with around 12 years of experience. I have been offered a job in Bahrain with my current company. The job will be based in Al Muharraq area. The intended start date is flexible but I am targeting end of April or start of May. They will pay for relocation, medical for my family and a generic fixed allowance (rent, etc.) on top of the salary. I am married with two kids (7 and 5). My kids are in Year-2 and Reception respectively. My wife is a primary school classroom practitioner/ teacher assistant.

I will post multiple questions instead of one giant post. I think this will help others who are interested in one of my questions hence avoiding unnecessary noise. This question is regarding cars. I don’t buy new cars, I have always bought cars that are 2-3 years behind the current model and I am happy doing this.

How much do I need to budget for a 2-3 years old Toyota Corolla or equivalent saloon? I would prefer a 4x4 but not sure if this will through my budget out completely.

What are my options for car lease or rental? From what I have seen, it works out quite expensive.

I can afford to pay around BD250 per month for car rental (if I don't buy). Will it be enough?

Really appreciate your help and looking forward to the responses. Thanks,

Visi

XTang

For cars, check prices on olx.com.  The prices will vary but you should get a good idea of the range.  Also check for "pre-owned" cars in showrooms.  These are basically refurbished older cars sold with warranty and service options by the show room themselves.  A bit more expensive than the market but properly checked and with the necessary support behind them.

Personally, I would only ever choose a lease or rental if I am going to be in a country less than 2 years.   Anything above that; it's generally better to buy.  For 250 BD, you won't get a 4*4.

visigeek

Thanks XTang. This helped a lot. That website helped with few other things I wanted to check.  :)

From a quick browse, it looks like the used cars are selling at a similar price when compared to the UK. My plan is to stay there for 3-4 years so I will visit dealers when I am there. Hopefully, I'll get to visit Bahrain before I relocate so I can see cars in person and decide what I want to do.

XTang

One thing though'; the used cars here have a much higher engine capacity than the UK e.g. a Prado in the UK is a 2.8L whereas here it's around 4.0L.  So it's not a like for like.  Secondly, it's what they demand :) not what is paid.

Check the price of a new car from the showroom and then do a simple mathematical depreciation calculation based on the age of the car and condition - you will see that they are generally priced on the higher side on the site to enable negotiation.

raman1985

Hi, 2-3 years old Corolla you can get in 3-4 K, depends on your negotiation, expatraiate.com has many sellers. I think even the rent price you proposed will be enough to cater to your requirement.

Regards,
Ram

visigeek

Thanks Raman. This is helpful.

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