Leaderboard

Here i go with quick trip report. This was 2nd drive i lead and i thank all of you for joining my drive and trusting my move. We all met at meeting point on time and left to deflating point which was around 35kms from there out which 15kms was mud road and we splashed mud all around our chassis for which we have to give our 4x4 steam wash now. After deflating and quick breafing and convoy numbering we started exploring BU TAIS dunes for first time. This place had mix of technical, soft sand and huge rolling dunes with massive bowls. As marked in my GPS we finally reached to spot of 8 palm trees which is grown deep in one of the bowl. I saw everyone smiling including me to see such a lovely place with huge rolling dunes... we had enough time to play around and we all settled down at the top of one huge dune and waited to sun go down. Then there was small twist which was the most beautiful part of the drive... gaurav bhai reminded about meteor shower which is expected to shower after 9pm... So we all decided to stay and capture some glimpse. @Mujtaba and his friends decided to exit early and we continued counting meteors. Gaurav bhai has seen around 14 meteors and myself with second highest 11. Finally exited late night and all reached home safely.. Thank you all once again for making this trip wonderful @Rahimdad @Gaurav @shadow79 @skumar83 @Mujtaba @sertac see you all soon.....

Avoid German cars in that 15-25k budget like a plague, as they have a low resale value for a reason. In German cars, max safe age to buy is less than 5 years. After 5 years till 10 years is 50% chance of getting troubles and if you do, they aren't cheap AT ALL. Anything above 10 years, don't buy unless you have same model donor car handy, as parts will cost you a fortune to maintain. Germans and American cars after 10 years are very risky to own and that's why they loose value overtime too fast as opposed to the Japanese car, that comes with 15-20 years of usable life with reasonable expense.

As this will be the first Liwa drive for Carnity, so we have to make it really memorable for all of us. I have been to Liwa several times, with different off-roaders and clubs but never attempted the LIWA CROSSING. So here is what I am planning: Drive across the Liwa desert in an expedition style drive by beating all odds against the time to cover 125 km in less than 8-10 hours. It is not a dune bashing regular drive, where we could chill and relax, instead, it's going to be a continuous off-road drive with 5 minutes break every hour and one lunch break of 30 mins max. Every driver needs to be very careful and tactical to get the whole convoy moving as fast as possible. In case anyone gets stuck, try self-recovery for a minute or two, and then announce on the radio for quick help. If crested, announce if your car is front or back heavy so that nearest recovery vehicle can position himself quickly. Rest of the driver needs to jump out and help in the recovery process as fast as they can and get the whole convoy moving again with minimal downtime. It's the agility of the whole team and mobility of minds will eventually help us to complete this serious Liwa crossing in one day. Feel free to come up with more time-saving ideas and discuss it through. This drive is not for the faint-hearted as Liwa terrain is very challenging and tiring. This requires the best of the driver and cars to mark this historic drive. So please sign up only if you are 100% confident. This drive requires a lot of dedication, discipline, and commitment to continue driving in rigorous off-road terrain and keep the convoy moving at all the times. DRIVE IS LIMITED TO 7 CARS MAX Date: 1 Dec 2017 Meeting point: Emarat fuel station after Dubai Outlet Mall - https://goo.gl/maps/kHV2yU2XFoT2 Meeting time: 4 PM, drive start after thorough vehicle and safety gear inspection Reach campsite: 7:00 PM, refuel and pitch camp and have early dinner to sleep by 9 PM Breakfast: 4 AM, 2 Dec 2017 and pack cars and start off-road drive by 5 AM Deflation point: Adnoc Service at Al Quaa - Um Al Zomool Road - https://goo.gl/maps/RzQkMSNSZzK2 Lunch break: 12 PM - 12:30 PM - Somewhere in the middle of nowhere Ending point: Adnoc Sevice at Hameem - https://goo.gl/maps/22mM8wuU9UR2 Finish by 6:00 PM - (hopefully, fingers crossed) Checklist: Each and everything will be verified at Emarat petrol station meeting point before starting Your 4x4 should be well serviced and all lubes and fluid should be topped up 20 Liter fuel jerry can 20 Liter water can or equivalent water bottles Air compressor, tow rope, 2 rated shackles, proper shovel, flag, jack and wooden plank Fire extinguisher, first aid kit, radio with charger, mobile with car charger, emergency light/torch Camp to sleep overnight, warm clothes, In case of emergency - contact number printed Enough food for 2-3 days for yourself and others to share - MUST Cooking gas stove and required utensils along with all disposables plates and glasses Dry food, energy bar, cookies, nuts, crisp to munch while driving Stand-alone GPS unit or mobile GPS app that works offline (MotionX for IOS and Geo or GPS tracker for Android) Keep checking this list, as it might grow further in coming days Please RSVP on below calendar

We need to also add that all the tires plus the spare need to be in very good condition

better japanese then korean....

Thank you for good lead @Asif Hussain this time i had so much fun.

As a classic BMW lover myself i fully agree with Gaurav. I wanted to buy a 540i Japanese import first but realized that it would take me many trips to the Sharjah workshops myself to keep things economical for this type of cars. Where i come from in Europe we have more spareparts and knowledge available to keep these cars on the road and also the climate is less demanding. If you're not doing too many miles on a daily basis it might be worth taking the risk, but be fully aware that it might cost you another +15kAED the first year to get the car in the condition you want and to repair the critical things. I went for a 2013 316i because the resale value is indeed very low, and it was well looked after. A decent Japanese brand with more spare-parts availability will give you more ease of mind. Did you consider an Infiniti G37 ? It's japanese, and it's fast. Not sure about the reliability though but my colleague drives infiniti and is really happy with it. Good luck.