Dubai Forums Dubai Tech Discussions Dubai Auto

Dear All,

I have a very reliable car (10 years) with 335 000 km and last year, I have done lots of work on it (The engine has been changed).
It's in origin state (Volvo 850 TDI)

If I sell it as is in France before leaving, I loose some money (due to the huge amount of reparations).
I worry about one thing: GCC requirements regarding specifications of the car and pollution.
Do you know if pollution is severe on diesel cars?
I know that diesel is more expensive in UAE compared to fuel but as explained above, I just do not want to sell it and buy a new one in Dubai...

As you know, moving to dubai is expensive (housing...) so, if I could get my old car there it will be nice.

Thank you in advance for your help and kind advice,

Alan

It might be worthwhile to sell the car. Volvo parts are hard to come by here. The dealer is killer and I've never come across any non-official Volvo parts supplier here. And forget about finding scrap Volvos here. It could cost you more to keep it running here.

Thank you for your quick answer.

What about the fact that it's a diesel car?
Any problem with pollution standarts?

Regarding service, I should manage to find a non official dealer to make the main things on it... I mean I like this car because I own it for a long time that's why I try to do this.
Obviously in UAE, the cheapest way to drive is to buy a Toyota Corrola or camry that every dealer knows

alanj wrote:Thank you for your quick answer.

What about the fact that it's a diesel car?
Any problem with pollution standarts?

Regarding service, I should manage to find a non official dealer to make the main things on it... I mean I like this car because I own it for a long time that's why I try to do this.
Obviously in UAE, the cheapest way to drive is to buy a Toyota Corrola or camry that every dealer knows

The only diesel vehicles here are trucks (and a handful of 4WDs), and judging by how smoky they are, it leads me to believe that they are judged by a different standard than for cars. Petrol cars spewing black smoke automatically fail the annual police test. Not sure how they would treat a diesel car. Not sure how many parts a workshop can fabricate around here too. I can tell you right now that even the dealer won't stock diesel parts here, since they are not sold here.

Thanks for your kind answer.

I have received this from a local importer:

"You can import diesel cars in Dubai, though there are not many but you can import, register and use in Dubai. The specs papers can be made on payment of AED 300.00 while you go for registration at the Tasjeel Station."

I will go further to be sure that it will pass pollution test!
But, black smoke on petrol car is not same as black smoke from diesel engine.
When a petrol car smokes black, it is due to NO. For diesel, I don't know exactly...

I know it may be nonsense to do this but this car is sentimental for me

alanj wrote:I know it may be nonsense to do this but this car is sentimental for me

How much is it worth? How much to ship it here (and back), and ship parts over, and put in good a/c, and rent a car when it breaks down? Desert climate ages cars faster than in Europe.

Get a loan and buy a new or young car. Or rent one.

hey..


you should be fine with a diesel car in Dubai.
I knew two guys from germany, who brought their diesel cars to dubai.
The biggest problem for them was to get an insurance, as most insurance companies won't even believe you, when you tell them you're driving a diesel car. Unfortunately I lost contact with these guys.. so you would have to find out for yourself, which insurance company would insure your car.
And be aware at petrol stations... the staff will not believe that it is diesel which belongs into your car

diesel rocks!

cheers,
bs

If your Volvo is ten years old you will certainly have difficulty in finding spares for it should anything go wrong: it won't be impossible as you can order any Volvo part from any Volvo dealer worldwide, but you might have to do a lot of the research yourself. Your car will probably have been built to a lower standard than current new cars (Euro 4 and 5 levels for pollution and particulates) but that is less of a problem. The big issue here is that the quality of diesel fuel is appallling: it has very high sulphur content and because of this, none of the European manufacturers, who are at the cutting edge of diesel technology (Audi, Mercedes Benz, BMW, for example) can even bring cars here to test them in the heat. I know on one manufacturer who brought two of the latest diesel technology cars here and had them fail after only two days of running!

On the subject of smoke, as a general rule, black smoke indicates a problem with fuel mixture - in a diesel, badly adjusted or blocked injectors will cause the fuel to remain unburned and so it will cloud and come out of the exhaust as heavy black smoke. In a petrol car, it is usually too rich a fuel/air mix that gives the same result.

White smoke usually means that your engine is about to go belly up!

As with the guy wanting to import a Jeep from the US elsewhere on the Forums, you'd be better in the long term selling the car in a country that it was built for, and buying something else here that is fit for local use. In your own particular case, given the circumstances, you will negate the reasons for buying a diesel in the first place, by bringing it to the Middle East - it won't be economical to run, it won't be cheap to repair and it won't be very green either.

If you are sentimentally attached to the car, get it up on axle stands in a dry garage somewhere, drain the fuel tank and cooling system and seal them, top the engine to the brim with oil to stop it rusting and remember to prepare it properly when you go back to it.

If you are concerned about the pollution you can get a diesel particulate filter. In Holland the government subsideses private persons with 500 euro. On the other hand dielsel cars are much more economical than petrol cars so what is better? I guess a diesel car with low fuel consumption and a filter than an petrol SUV.