Moving to Bahrain soon, advice on car

10POSTS

8 years ago

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鈥檛 for you all, I wouldn鈥檛 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鈥檛 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

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XTang Bahrain/UAE/KSA Expert

11978POSTS

8 years ago

For cars, check prices on olx.com.聽 The prices will vary but you should get a good idea of the range.聽 Also check for "pre-owned" cars in showrooms.聽 These are basically refurbished older cars sold with warranty and service options by the show room themselves.聽 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.聽聽Anything above that; it's generally better to buy.聽 For 250 BD, you won't get a 4*4.

visigeek Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

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

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 Bahrain/UAE/KSA Expert

11978POSTS

8 years ago

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.聽 So it's not a like for like.聽 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 New member

9POSTS

8 years ago

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