Letters: Answers to your shopping needs
Here is the latest batch of letters to the editor, for the month of June. Glad to clear up any confusion about resale values of Toyota, Infiniti, Nissan…and VW.
Alistair says: Hi, looking for a sedan/hatchback with the best resale value as i never know when i might leave Dubai. Choices are Lexus IS300, Infiniti G35, Golf GTI/R32, Volvo C30 and anything else similar you can suggest that costs up to 150,000. This website is a great resource, keep up the great work.
You got the descending order of resale value exactly right in your list. The BMW 320i and the Mercedes-Benz C200 K can slot in between the Lexus and the Infiniti. The Golf and the C30, along with any Saab or Cadillac, will bring you pocket-change when it comes time to sell. – MHC
Mohamed Abu Taleb says: Dear Sir. I really trust your website and believe in the information you are providing. I got new Mercury Mountneer and i install Navigator Kenwood brand now i would like to have tinted windows so can you advice what should i use V-Kool or 3M film. I really appreciate if you can give me good advice. Thanks for your time.
Go for whichever is cheaper between the two. I have seen that the differences between brands are not noticeable at all. – MHC
Resham Dhillon says: I am in the process of moving to Dubai and have a 2008 SLK 350 registered and bought in the UK. Is it possible to bring this car to Dubai, as it is a RHD car? I have driven in Europe and have had no problem. Looking forward to your response.
I am sorry to say, but RHD cars are banned in Dubai. You might see a handful of UAE nationals driving around in RHD cars here, but they have connections within the police department. I’d say sell it and buy something here, since cars are generally cheaper here than in UK. – MHC
Zeid Al Waheide says: First of all I would like to thank you for our amazing work and your great website, you are really doing a great job here. Second of all I would like to know when are we going to expect the new Audi TT-S here in the emirates, i would really appreciate it if you can get back to me regarding this matter.
Audi’s range has always been limited here. However, I’m sorry to say that you will have to contact the dealer for that information. We don’t have a good relationship with Audi ever since we lightly criticised their cars and they arrogantly tried to make us change our views. – MHC
Atif Ur-Rahim says: Hi, I don’t know I will get the reply or not but I you reply that will be very great. I am planning to buy a new car and I am looking for new Toyota Camry or Nissan Altima. I have read the car review from your site and also the road test for both cars. I am just curious about how is the resale and maintenance of Altima compare to Camry. Toyota has a great resale value but I don’t know about Altima. Look wise Altima is good I am not able to make my decision can you please help me in this regard. Lastly you have done an awesome job on this website providing all this information which is very good effort. I like most of your road tests, they are great. Thanks & Regards.
The resale for an Altima is a bit lower than the Camry. A look at the newspaper classifieds will help you see by how much. Otherwise, the Altima offers more for the price. Can’t say about dealer maintenance costs, but last I checked, Nissan costs weren’t high. – MHC
Abbas C says: Hi, I have been looking at various cars to buy and am seriously considering the Passat 2.0 Turbo. I test drove it and find it very good. Also I find it much better value for money than the 3 series or the C Class. Could you give me some advise whether it is a good car to consider buying?
The comfort-oriented Passat is technically a competitor for the Accord/Aurion/Altima, instead of the luxury-sport compacts that you may be comparing it to. As you may already know, Volkswagen has a poor reliability record, and generally poor resale value for any model except for the Golf. About the only reason to buy it is to drive something a bit different from the usual cars, in which case you have to decide whether the other points bother you. – MHC
HVB says: I wud like ur advice on which car to buy. my budget is around 180,000 . i m confused between infiniti and lexus models specifically infiniti g35 and lexus es350 and also infiniti fx35 and lexus rx 350 . though i like infiniti interiors and exteriors design of infiniti more than lexus i wud like to buy my car on the following criteria performance, durability, resale value and after-sales serivce. thanks for ur help.
In the simplest terms, the Infinitis are sportier and more powerful performers, while the Lexuses are more comfortable. The two are about even in durability, but the Lexus has better resale value, since Infiniti is a new brand. Can’t say about after-sales service, since no comprehensive studies have ever been done locally. – MHC
B. Bader says: Firstly I want to thank you in advance for your time and care. Also I’ll be very thankful if you’re site decides to make an road test article for the new Subaru Impreza, it’s my favorite car among the compact ounces and I’ll be very happy if you’re web site tell more about the advantages and disadvantages of this car for instance the reliability and the resale value. And last but not is it a good purchase after all it cost as much as a large sedan. I saw that 2.0 automatic model costs 19000$/70000DHs (probably with manual transmission will be with 1000$ cheaper, which I prefer). This is more expensive than a Mitsubishi Galant and a Hyundai Sonata, it cost as much as a Mazda 6 and the price is close to the bestsellers Nissan Altima and Honda Accord.
The Impreza is a very reliable vehicle. The problem is that, due to poor dealer support and marketing, the car has poor resale value. It is expensive because it has all-wheel-drive in a compact car, which is great for handling, but it also weighs down the car, making it slower than comparable compacts. I believe the spare parts may also be expensive. In the end, you will have to decide if the exclusive nature of this car appeals to you. – MHC
Ziad says: Hi, what is the reason to not test drive hyundai santa fe despite it has many good characteristics.
Hyundai dealers here are not very communicative with us about giving out cars, so we don’t bother too much with them, especially when we have so many other popular cars lined up for testing. – MHC
Juan says: Hi, I read your web very often. I would like to know if there is any chance to buy brand new hybrid cars in Dubai like the Toyota Prius. Congratulations for your web. Best Regards.
Nope, hybrid cars are not available here whatsoever. – MHC
Wha’chu waitin’ fo’? To drop me a word, clik ‘ere.
Comments
cb
audi tts
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
tts it is 😯
thatsit(mohamad)
the one who asked about the tinting….really i was able to find very good brand and at a lower price than Vcool and “the same or less than the 3M”
before two days we reserved for our altima and the nice thing that i saw a mercedes SLR there hehehe
actually we didnt choose it because of the brand…or anybody told us about it…no, we are already using their tinting in our sunny and altima2005 since more than one year and thanks god nothing at all happened…the heat rejection of them is above average ‘i think’about (40%).
the color didnt change at all…they are giving warranty depending on the type of tinting
——————————————
the shop is in emirates petrol stations’not all of them of course’…the one that i went to was located in alwasl street (parallal to jumairah street), it is after alsafa park (as if you are coming towards Dubai)…
————————————————-
its called (Em cool)….the one that we fixed was 30% also on the other two was 50%…the warranty is 3 years…before we payed for each one 450 DHS
now the price increased to 650 DHS but since they know about us we got a nice discount. for big cars like murano is about 800 without the discount
the second but more expensive is called ‘Ice cool’ it give more heat rejection around ‘60%’ or more…the nice thing is that it also comes with no color as if there is nothing on the windows. the price is about 1000 DHS (but it all depends on the person and his arguing). also it can come with 5 years warranty.
Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury
I paid around Dhs 650 for Em-cool tint on my Jeep. They had the discount running for everyone late last year. I have some defects (from install mistakes) on the tint, and I will see if they replace those under warranty.
assassin
i paid 60 Dhs for tint on my LC in Ajman and it is good.
I don’t know why you people believe these too much expensive companies.
thatsit(mohamad)
because assassin…before the last one…we tinted the two cars from ‘i think its called’ (soaq nayef)…around 3 times and every 7 months we have to remove it after paying 120 or more (for a fake 3M)…and they dont give you more than 1 year…and they install it outside on the rear glass so it wont damage the ‘heating lines’ and because we clean them every two days..the tint in the back starts to whiten and you cant see any more….so paying an amount and you get at least three years warranty…and really you feel that the car gets cooled faster’which is good for the AC’is a better way of SAVING.
————————————–
mash about the defects…you mean that in one of the windows the tint was not fixed propely….actually we asked them before…what type of complains you are recieving???? they told us at the begining some people used to come because the tint get off the window’espically the front windows because we open them more than the rear ones’…know they fixed it by changing the way of cutting the edges so if you open and close the windows nothing will happen….
If you are still under warranty dont stay waiting, go and let them fix a new one…
i forgot to mention that even if you keep the tinting more than 3 years you still can go and let them remove it under their responsibility….
cb
thatsit, where can i see this Em cool and Ice Cool tints online? any websites with details?
assassin, i’ve used these cheap tints and they really sucked. don’t know what you like about them. you will see them fading pretty soon and they never seem to reject any heat. just coz they look dark doesn’t mean they are actually blocking heat.
assassin
i fixed it before 5 months and still the same. i don’t see any proplem if i change it every year by 60 Dhs. And because i dont want to put any tint in the Winter (rainng time).
assassin
and i forget to tell you that this shop in Ajman has (i’m v-kool) logo stiker that be fixed on the rear glass which sells it 5 Dhs .
cb
yes assassin, i found the shop’s advertisement online. http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/uncyclopedia/images/thumb/b/b1/Ricer.JPG/450px-Ricer.JPG
assassin
yeah, and what about fake xenon lights, they seem making the power of 20000V and discharge this power somehow to the spare plugs (because there are fake) which makes the engine’s power increased 500hp for just a second (discharging time) but you should turn on the xenon lights at the same time that you push the accelerator pedal.
Don Raj
anyways guys Fast and The Furious 4 on its way with all new GT-R….check it out on youtube
thatsit(mohamad)
CB: i dont know actually if they have any website but you can go and have a look at their work 😉
assassin
cb, stop searching, you wont find anything that i said in the internet. You have 2 ways to understand my further comments.
1. To be a super smart person (which is impossible to you). 2. To stay for a very long time with crazy people in a psychiatric hospital.
cb
assassin, what search are you talking about? 😐 i was searching for the tint thatsit mentioned before. seems like you can’t figure even that out.
1. well dealing with dumb people like you probably made me not a super smart person.
2. thanks for the invitation to your house but i would kindly decline the invitation for now.
assassin
( you wont find anything that (( i )) said ). Did you get it..
next time try to read between lines too when someone says somthing looks strange to you.
Just like when i was waiting the green light, i saw an english 40’s years old man on his normal 2.0 audi A4 as i though, i said to my self english people always drive slow specially the older. i said my lc can easly beat 2.0 or even 2.4 A4. when the light became green. The engine noise of it was louder than a truck and disappear from my view in less than 5 seconds but i noticed this was not A4, it was RS4.
Ace
Assasin: about the fake xenon lights..spare plugs ? increase the engine power by 500 hp for a second ? you should press the Accelerator pedal at the same time you put the xenon on..sounds like a cheat code for some NFS game.
cb
((you wont find anything that i said. Did you get it..))
yes i got that before. but why are you telling me that. i never mentioned it or asked you about it but you keep saying i’m searching for it. 😕 wake up please.
assassin
cb, as i said before, i know exactly how do you think and which things that you are interesting in. for example, I posted that Mitsubishi 500 specially for you because you didn’t show yourself for a long time, so I wanted to make you say something.
cb
no you do not know how i think or what things i am interested in coz you can’t think in the first place. i do not need to search for anything you say because i know it is something dumb. anyone who reads that nonsense about xenon lights will know that it is meant to be a joke. now if there are people who really do believe it then they fall under the same category as you.
about mitsubishi 500, you posted a joke and i also posted something similar just for laughs. don’t see the problem.
assassin
believe me, nobody loves and reply to the jokes as much you do. so it was weird that you say nothing against Xenon Lights, for a moment, I thought you did believe this sh*ts and you were searching about it 😆
cb
lol i reply to your jokes with other jokes. i don’t know what made you think that i believe them.
assassin
(i reply to your jokes with other jokes).
you said it 😎 ,
what should i think if you didnt reply my joke (Xenon lights) with other joke?
cb
((what should i think if you didnt reply my joke ))
that is why i said you cannot think 😎 now please go back to sleep.
assassin
(now please go back to sleep)
just tell me how many times did you use something like these sentences to end a fight?
i’m really feel sorry about you, you always think by the same simple chicken way.
cb
lol what fight? i didn’t know we were fighting. you used your tiny brain to conclude that i believed your nonsense just because I didn’t bother replying and I said that it is not true. can it get any simpler? you want me to draw it for you?
assassin
who said i want to end this argument. i won’t stop even after your vanish. Of course Mash will be the replacement if you fed up from me.
and you have no permission to use my rules
😈 (All rights reserved 😆 ).
thatsit(mohamad)
OMG 😯
there was a war and i wasnt in it.
NNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
SAR
No need to go anywhere…Toyota, Nissan, Honda all have Tinting facilities at their service stations..even if you have to pay 50 dhms more …get it done from respective service stations…
SAR
Not only Santa Fe…both Tucson and Veracruz are also good vehicles..see msn auto, edmunds auto website…
assassin
i have a question to you thatsit(mohamad), my friend bought a new 2008 sunny, but the dealer didnt fix in it floor mats. Did you have the same thing when you bought yours?
Waiting from you.
thatsit(mohamad)
what i know is that when we bought the altima…the floor mates were not the original ones that have Nissan crest…and for the ‘altima’ if you want those ones you have to buy them from the accessories section for 500 DHS..the problem that we faced that the normal floor mates were black and the interior color was beige’because it was from the first bunch of cars came here’…then we went and took the beige ones and we kept the black for winters’you know mud and those stuff’…i asked them why is this???
they told me there are ‘i think 3 models’ that come with the original floor mates (patrol. murano. and dont remember the 3rd one).
our sunny is 2004 model and it has the original ones, but that was since along time. also the model changed. let your friend go and ask about this, it wont take time. 😉
assassin
thanks for your information.
I will tell him that.
thatsit(mohamad)
you are welcome 🙂
sohi
the best tint is from Lamasat believe me frndz thats very nice i have put on my car 70%
even the front is full but Thank God until now i didnt came into cops hands. 😛
Murf
hope you can actually see while driving at night..