Buying a Car

I cannot begin to express to you the total frustration with trying to purchase a car here in Abu Dhabi.

First, we want to pay cash which means we are NOT buying a $20,000 (73, 200 dirham) automobile. This means there are very limited outlets to purchase a vehicle. Normally we might be able to purchase one from someone leaving post, but we arrived in the winter and most people change posts in the summer.

Secondly, there is no such thing as a street address here. Everyone has PO Boxes and when you ask where they are, they tell you an area of town and a building. So if you don't know where the "Cosa (unintelligible)" building is, what do you do? Frustration is all I can say, serious frustration.

Yes, most everyone speaks English here, but everyone also has a thick accent. Throw in a lot of "rolled R's" and you spend a lot of time trying to clarify what you were just told.

After an exasperating evening of trying to navigate horrible traffic and find our car seller's location, we were just worn out.

Wonder of wonders - the next day one of my co-workers put his car up for sale. 2001 Silver Toyota Corolla, $116,000 K miles, $4,000!!! SOLD!!