Buying a car in Oman takes patience and time. And more patience and time.
Our adventure started last week as we checked out a few different used car lots to look for a mid-sized, 4WD, SUV. No one had anything in our price range (4000-6000 rials so we could afford the down payment and monthly payments) or they were already sold (but still sitting on the lot, frustrating!). Finally, yesterday, we went to a small lot nearby and found a 2010 Nissan XTrail with 72,000 KM. They guy gave us to the keys to look inside. Over here, people don't test drive cars. Not sure why, you just don't really. So, we looked at the interior, and said, okay, perfect, what we want, so what do we do now?
Well, when you buy a car here you have to have a lot of stuff. Residence card, passport/visa, bank statement, bank checks, letter from your school, 20% down for financing, insurance premium paid up front for the year.... bleah bleah bleah. The hardest part is that they want you to have three months history from your bank statement. Well, as new teachers who just got their bank account opened a few days ago (we're all in the same boat), we don't! And we need a car now because paying three months on a rental is spendy in the long run.
LUCKILY, the school works with a specific finance agent/business who can bypass some of these things (three month bank history) and get you a loan through them. He also was kind enough to meet us at the dealership to help buy the car and get the necessary copies of our documents.
Prior to that meeting, Colin had to race to the bank to open a checking account and order checks that we could give the dealer on Monday when they were ready. We had already been there that morning to deposit our cash from Colin's first paycheck and shipping reimbursement, and get money wired back home. Needless to say, it was a stressful and busy day. Neither of us would like to do that again anytime soon.
No actual picture of our car yet, but here is a picture from online. Ours will be white.
We are excited to upgrade from our Hyundai Accent rental car for sure :-)
Our adventure started last week as we checked out a few different used car lots to look for a mid-sized, 4WD, SUV. No one had anything in our price range (4000-6000 rials so we could afford the down payment and monthly payments) or they were already sold (but still sitting on the lot, frustrating!). Finally, yesterday, we went to a small lot nearby and found a 2010 Nissan XTrail with 72,000 KM. They guy gave us to the keys to look inside. Over here, people don't test drive cars. Not sure why, you just don't really. So, we looked at the interior, and said, okay, perfect, what we want, so what do we do now?
Well, when you buy a car here you have to have a lot of stuff. Residence card, passport/visa, bank statement, bank checks, letter from your school, 20% down for financing, insurance premium paid up front for the year.... bleah bleah bleah. The hardest part is that they want you to have three months history from your bank statement. Well, as new teachers who just got their bank account opened a few days ago (we're all in the same boat), we don't! And we need a car now because paying three months on a rental is spendy in the long run.
LUCKILY, the school works with a specific finance agent/business who can bypass some of these things (three month bank history) and get you a loan through them. He also was kind enough to meet us at the dealership to help buy the car and get the necessary copies of our documents.
Prior to that meeting, Colin had to race to the bank to open a checking account and order checks that we could give the dealer on Monday when they were ready. We had already been there that morning to deposit our cash from Colin's first paycheck and shipping reimbursement, and get money wired back home. Needless to say, it was a stressful and busy day. Neither of us would like to do that again anytime soon.
No actual picture of our car yet, but here is a picture from online. Ours will be white.
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