The air bag: How to clear roadblocks for imports

Here's what you need to do when your car lands in the UAE.

Imported cars need to have pre-arranged delivery, tyre checks and other tests, registration, insurance and number plating. iStock

The interest shown by ­readers in importing their own cars has shown no signs of waning since I wrote about bringing in my own Triumph TR6 to the country and, after last week's explanation (see related links) ­regarding the associated costs, it's probably a good idea to explain what you need to do once that precious hunk of metal lands in the UAE.

In my case, the freight management company I used (Top Most Freight Solutions) took care of all the paperwork required by customs for clearance. The first time I saw the car, it had already been through the required processes. It was a resident but an illegal one, inasmuch as I couldn’t use it on the road until it had been registered and insured.

Top Most delivered it on a truck to my company car park, where it sat for a couple of days while I worked out how, where and when I’d get it on the road. The first thing that needed to be addressed was its 14-year-old tyres which, while still looking like new, would obviously present a danger and would have meant a failed inspection test. Dubai company MSW (Motorsport Wheels) has been entrusted with fitting rubber to my Scirocco for the past four years, so I called them and they arranged for another truck to pick up the car, take it to them for the new tyres and return it to me, all for a cost of just Dh200 on top of the price of the new Michelins.

The beauty of this was that I now had a contact for inexpensive transportation should I ever need to have the old-timer moved around and I duly arranged for the same driver to pick it up the following day and take both it and its nervous new owner to the RTA at Barsha Mall for its inspection test and, hopefully, registration.

I chose the facility at Barsha Mall because it’s much quieter than some of the other test ­places and, as I drove the Triumph up to the test bays, my nervousness and sheer curiosity was palpable. Top Most had given me the ­paperwork that proved the vehicle was owned by me in the eyes of the UAE Government and I had to hand that over to the RTA’s staff as the car was being inspected on the ramps.

Nearly an hour later, my number was called and I went to receive what I thought would be bad news, but nothing could have been further from the truth. It had passed with the only advisory being that I should have it rust-proofed underneath – something I’d intended to do in any case.

The next part of the process was to have it insured and that set me back Dh1,000 at the next desk, where Juelmin Insurance operates. “Is it like this?” asked the man behind the desk, as he showed me a TR6 he’d found on Wikipedia. I nodded, handed over my credit card and the car was then road legal. Why so cheap? That’s a whole other story but you should be aware that for cars older than two decades in the UAE, the only cover you can get is third party – something I’ll have to address in case the worst happens. But at least the cover gets you mobile.

Another desk, another form to fill in, followed by issuance of my registration card, allocation of a unique number for the plate (I opted for the normal process as the Classic Car plates in the UAE are brown and, to my eyes, ruin the visuals) and I emerged having spent less than Dh600 with a smile that still hasn’t been wiped from my face.

A grand total of 90 minutes had transformed my TR6 from wannabe cruiser to fully road legal and paid-up member of society – the entire thing had been surprisingly painless and, as I have said here before now, if I can do it then you can too.