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from pajero to Cherokee sri..?

Well done, perfect sirji. Emmanuel you and French people are not the only one, even my son speaks Aydi or ID no matter how many times I have corrected him. It seems to me it's a matter of convenience, I guess.

I have been using several car insurance in Dubai, since 2002 and based on my personal experience I found that RSA and AXA are one of the best car insurance that you can get in UAE. Lately RSA started offering highly competitive rates without compromising on their standards, so I highly recommend RSA. Here are the few things that I completely love about RSA Car Insurance: No headache roadside assistance without any Emirates clause or limitation. Offroad cover comes by default for all 4x4. Offroad cover does cover dunes and desert than road side loose gravel - 50 meter clause. Oman coverage also comes by default or on request without impacting the premium (at least in my case). Get a very good no-claim discount, that I don't find any other car insurance cheaper than RSA. Claim department works perfect - as I had one claim when someone hit my car. Repair job was of perfect quality - done by Eurogulf - good garage - bit time consuming though. Last but not least, once you cancel the insurance they refund remaining months without any drama. This time, RSA car insurance have exceeded my expectations for refund by far. When I sold my car recently I forgot to take the registration card copy. Tried to reach the new buyer since 4 days but he is not responding or willing to send me the new registration copy for some odd reasons. I explain the same to RSA and they send me a refund form and process the refund within 1 business day. Now, that's what I call an awesome customer service while taking money and while giving back money. Keep it up RSA, you guys are rock star.

Of course. It's boring to drive automatic. The real fun is in stick 😂

Congratulations Fuad, I'm going to miss your Paj during the drives 😛 Enjoy and drive safe, See you soon !

Seems every newbie fits in that criteria. Some specific clue would be nice, if you can think of something.

Here's how you can remove the car paint scratches by yourself in few minutes, no matter how deep they are or how many they are. In our last off-road drive, while moving the dead tree to help someone it flipped on my Pajero bonnet and its dry branches spoiled the whole paintwork. It took me 1+1 hour in 2 days to achieve this result. I have never done such major car paint restoration job before but my bonnet was so badly destroyed that I had nothing to loose to try my hand first. Long ago, I used to polish all my cars once every year in winter, so I had those stuff lying around and thought of giving it a try before I drop the car for repaint - expensive and time consuming affair. I researched first on how to deal with deep scratches and then applied everything in layers. Here is the whole process for removing scratches from car paint Spray gun with water and 3-4 squirt of hand wash. Sprayed on entire bonnet generously with cotton towel and massaged the hood. Then used the scotch brite - fake one that has softer grit, as I compared both. You can also use 3000 grit sandpaper. I sprayed the soap water again and then started with gentle air touch scrubbing with fake scotch brite. Almost 20-25% scratches gone immediately, then applied very little scrubbing pressure on dark scratches and now they started to fade, but not gone. Got the "Formula 1 Scratch out" and added some water in the bottle to dilute it. Dip the fake scotch brite and rub the scratches gently - first in straight line manner and then in swirls - both have its own use and importance so you will kill less of clear coat in deeper scratches. Left the first coat to dry and then scrub with dry towel and tons of elbow grease and 50% scratches were gone. Now I was really motivated and excited to see the instant results. Repeated the same on deeper scratches and after second round 90% were gone and I slept happy with big ear to ear smile. Next day morning, went to get the daytime pictures and OMG half of the paint scratches were back, because when paint is fully dry the clear coat scratches comes back. So second day night, I took the "Formula 1 Carnuba Car Wax" and "black & decker waxer" to shake the hell out. Now for the second day I didn't used scotch brite and used a soft cloth to apply scratch out liquid and scrub nicely from my hand until it literally disappeared. Did that on all stubborn scratches and again almost 90% were gone. Idea here is to keep using scratch out liquid until the scratches disappear or close to disappearing and don't overdo in one attempt. As every time you leave scratch out to dry and scrub again it fades the scratches more. So have patience and keep on repeating the steps until you are happy. Last but not least the clear coat sealing that I literally scrubbed away so much that it might fade my paint soon. So got the carnuba wax on the damp applicator and applied generously on first round and let it dry for few minutes. Then use the waxer to polish the whole hood again and bring back to its shine and fixing almost 90% scratches. Done the second round of wax but this time used a very very thin layer of wax to apply by hand so that it can retain longer as oppose to thick layer, which was needed for initial sealing. After this thin layer dried, use the waxer again to polish and super happy with the smooth and silky feel and shine on my bruised hood. If you don't have waxer, it will take more of elbow grease and muscle and it's still perfectly achievable with little more time, that's it. And yes, I checked today morning and still 90% scratches are gone and only 10% left which are break in paint or faded very deep that will be noticeable with one feet distance. I can live with this much for now and will see what next I can do. Maybe next I was thinking of sourcing same paint to cover the paint crack and then apply clear coat can, but need a paint booth for that or any closed area where dust won't settle in clear coat. Let's see what happen and Ill keep updating the progress here. THINGS I USED

Look who’s back already ! @Shamil you’re a warrior 👏

Then tie the tow rope on both sides to make a cute pony

So @Fuad bhai will the Pathy assume another Marvel character or the Hulk rules Pathy also?

Great results @Gaurav bhai. I'll be able to sleep better tonight as well.

@Gaurav - I wish if you had posted this day before as I already renewed my insurance with Noor Takaful after having a comparison with OIC, Tokyo Marine from Policy Bazaar. Anyways RSA will definitely be in my RFQ process next year

Is that Srikumar......? Who started off-road with you on the first Carnity off-road drive and become a Marshal now........?

I am also a happy RSA customer. Their rates are good, used them only once for a small incident where my neighbor bumped into my car, and everything was settled professionally and repair was done by a decent workshop that did a wonderful job. Heard good things about Oman Insurance too. I need to renew next month so i will definitely compare them.

Thanks @syedyaseer I have heard same from @Srikumar too that Oman insurance is good as he also has all his personal and commercial vehicles with them to get good rates. I always compare by myself than comparing sites between RSA and AXA premium and close on RSA since last 4-5 years. Btw, I forgot to mention for others, that this refund is on pro-rata basis that means you will get flat premium back for remaining months rather than their own slab system - which has weird percentage calculator that works in insurance company favor than the customer. I used this Insurance for 5 months 24 days and got the 6 months refund incl Vat. That's transparency.

I have a similar experience with Oman Insurance. I get better premiums compare to other provider. I tried to get quote from RSA for my prado too. OIC was around 600 cheaper. I get better deals with OIC may be because im with them since 2013. Taxi bumped into my corolla from rear. Claim was handled very professionally. Cancelled my 1st car policy(UAE) in 2016, refund was processed in 3 working days. It was the same when i cancelled my corolla policy in March this year. Refund amount was in my account on the 3rd day of the request.

@Rahimdad you are my Guru. definetly i admire your skills and pathy. Thank you for guiding on acquiring a pathy of my on. Will eventually spin my vehicle and keep updated with all the mods n this thread. will update the specs soon after this weekend.

I recently bought a 3.5 2004 manual pathfinder which is meant to use only for weekend drives. I would like to have experts valuable inputs -on building machine -things to be taken care of -selection of materials -Reliability of materials Attaching photos. waiting for inputs

Let's play a small game like dumb charades for guessing the offroad driver based on clues and hints provided. Rules: One driver at a time to be discussed, so that every other offroaders can make a guess. Clue to be specific and not just good driver etc. but it should be less revealing so that game remains entertaining. Asker can give any number of clues in following attempts, but not on the first go. Game is not limited to Marshals and crew but open to all offroaders we have in Carnity offroad club. Clues can be good or bad or funny but not humiliating or disrespectful. I hold the right to edit or delete any comment that violate with above rules Guess the offroad driver: Never respond on the first radio call, maybe on 2nd or 3rd attempt, if you are lucky.

I used Euro Gulf for bumper hole repair, they were good. RSA gave me 3 places and then I picked Euro based on their reviews. If it helps.

Ok. I got quote from 2 diff companies as 1100 ..

I paid 1050 for my Pajero. Only weird thing is that the car shows as 4 cyl 2400 cc in the paperwork, so maybe they selected Pajero io model in their computer 🤔

Whats the expected 3rd party insurance cost for V6 machine ? (Pathfinder 😉) cheapest 🙏🏻

If i put a like on this , will u miss understand me? 🤔 Yeah shifting like this

I'm very happy with RSA too. Last month someone banged into my wife car. It was handled professionally and the chosen garage did a brilliant job too. This time my wife reversed into a car but same professional manner things were handled. Although another garage name was given, but on request with 5 minutes they changed to the garage we used earlier.

Good luck @MATHEW FELEX I stopped trusting comparison sites soon after they boom here because everyone is in rat race to beat the price and cut solid corners on customer service. We buy insurance to have peace of mind than just filling documents for RTA renewal, and if that fails in time of need its pointless to save 50 or 100 dhs. I learned it hard way too. Check with your insurance about road side assistance and add to multi-emirates as you don't wanna get stuck in Sharjah workshop if you live in Al ain. This was the latest result of cutting corners since few years now. You will only face the surprise when you call recovery and he will say NO for inter-emirates drop off.

I have generally had very good experience with Oman Insurance, in terms of quick approval of claims. They also used to cover offroad damages. However, in this one case where one car had a total loss, they deducted about 10% of the insured value (by quoting some clause in their booklet). The car was insured only for about 20 days. Of-late, i have started shifting all my vehicle insurance to RSA mainly because of their good service and excellent road side assistance. I even do some property insurance with them as well. And whenever the sale of the vehicle took place they would refund the premium amount on pro rata basis within 1 working day. Extremely happy. Noor takaful and Tokyo Marine are also good insurances in terms of road side recoveries

@Frederic Mabrook.

Well done @Frederic 👌 Congratulations 😀 !!

From rags to riches in terms of drives. Guess the driver?

Congrats @Fuad I guess everybody got to it before I could even think of answering any questions. You've seen my Pathy I am not much of a mod guy, but I think ground clearance could be an issue at Fewbie+ level and above. But first you need to feel the need for the mod and be specific so we can all help in making your rife closer to what you need out of it.

Ah ah like many French people: “aydi”

Trying to do a donut on the crest of a dune ?

Turned a very sharp right at a pretty high speed. OR he fishtailed from applying to much gas and over steered to much to correct.

First order of business, do a full and complete service. Change all fluids and filters. Engine oil and filter Transmission oil Coolant Flush and refill new Brake and Clutch oil Transfer case oil Front and rear diff oil Check and test engine cooling system. Hoses and belts Plugs and wires Grease all joints and shafts where applicable So you have a good worry and problem free season

I am glad that @Gaurav and @Srikumar said exactly what was on my mind. I just didn't want to say it first as i thought it would be best for the seniors to give their opinion. I too, totally agree that this mishap could have happened on any drive level as this particular incident had nothing to do with the "drive level" as such. In fact, this could have even happened in an absolute newbie drive. I have successfully crossed ridges on an angle, quite a few times before, so i know that i am capable of doing the same in an error free manner. On that particular day, it was an error on judgement in my part and in no way am i allowing this incident to discourage me from driving again on any level that the seniors deem fit for me to drive. In fact, on the contrary, I will be exercising way more caution going forward which will actually help me to become a better driver who is aware of the risks associated with ridge crossing.

Shamil was driving well in the previous drives and I agree with Gaurav, that this was just a judgement error rather a drive level related one. And mistakes happen to the best of us, and most of the time its just simply a case on not reacting to the situation correctly and fast enough. Having experienced similar situations in the past, its best that Shamil decides what suites him. After all, we are all there just to have some fun during our weekend.

Learning never stops at any level in offroad tbh, being careful and vigilant at all levels, matters the most. Although this was Shamil's first intermediate "test drive", but this incident happen on the 4th dune, that was medium size comparable to any fewbie or even newbie level drive we have had. Instead of recommending any level, I would leave this with Shamil to choose what he is most comfortable with after his big learning lesson and trust his judgment completely.

Based on the J70 chassis and available in petrol and diesel V8 The 4.5 litre petrol engine only manages 202 bhp but it produces 317 lb ft of torque. Not a massive amount but respectable even if it is a low figure for this size of engine. What is impressive is that the engine produces this torque at 1,200 rpm. I imagine this engine will be super reliable due to its low stressed engine. Despite the size of the 4.5 litre engine it still manages 25 mpg which is impressive. I’ve had 2 litre cars which struggled to achieve this. Despite all the efforts Toyota made to build a fuel efficient, reliable overlander, they still managed to fit a set of seat covers that look like they came out of the cheapest accessory shop in Satwa. The kicker? The Landcruiser Namib is only available in South Africa.

tease my X, haha. Will ensure you will be eating my dust when you are back in december.

Well done @Shamil for sharing your incident with bold outlook to accept the failure, mistake or bad luck with open heart to help other avoid it and learn from collective experience. Keep it up and I'm sure we gonna see stronger, smarter and more seasoned Shamil soon. Nice input @Jas Gajaria spot on.

Here’s the video of the roll over incident I encountered in the intermediate drive that took place on 13th September 2019. So as you may see from the video, to start with, my angle of approach on the dune was wrong and to make things worse, after I crossed the ridge, rather than turning towards gravity(which in this case would have been left) and stabilizing the car, I turned against gravity(to the right) due to which the car rolled over completely and luckily for me and the car, landed on the tires. A rollover that ended either on the side or even worse, upside down, would have been far worse - for me to get out, and the additional trouble involved in recovering the car back to its tires. I hope by sharing this rather unfortunate incident, I could shed some light on the consequences of overlooking certain basic off roading pointers which we could sometimes take for granted. I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate the swiftness, expertise and the sheer presence of mind, displayed by the rest of the convoy members such as @G.huz and the carnity senior members @Emmanuel, @Gaurav, @Rahimdad, @Srikumar and last but not least @Asif Hussain without whom, the day would have surely been a lot worse. Thanks to all of their combined efforts, I was safely escorted out to the deflation point, despite some new issues we encountered along the way. I have taken this incident to my stride and in no way has this dampened my spirits. I fully intend on returning to the dunes once my car is repaired. IMG_2885.MP4

Wow congrats Gaurav bro and Team Carnity all the hard work has payed off finally. As we say in Uae Mabrook ya habibi.😘👍🍻

Oh yes been there done that 😂

What industry do you work in? What job are you looking for? Maybe someone here can help? Dont forget to look at indeed, bayt and dubizzle. The market is tough at the minute. I’ve been searching for a new job for the last 3 months and I’ve been getting offers but most of them have been stupid offers. Last offer I had was 4K per month to manage a garage. 2 years ago that would have been a 15k minimum job. There are so many new people coming to Dubai looking for jobs and offering to do the work for a quarter of the price, so the older more experienced people are getting pushed out. Racism is a big issue too. When you read the ads you see, European only, kabayan only, Indian only, Pakistani only. Illegal, but nothing is ever done about it. A lot of people get hired because of the colour of their skin, wether they can do the job or not. When I first came to UAE I had a hard time getting a job as a mechanic. People would always tell me white people cant be mechanics. Of course they can, I’m from a white country, all the mechanics are white, but here people looked at me like some sort of novelty because only brown people can be mechanics here. Then you’ve got wasta and nepotism. People will hire people they know, just because they know them. It doesn’t matter if they can do the job. You really need to do something to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Have something nobody else has and make yourself noticeable. I used to have people sending me CVs every day. Most of them went straight in the bin. But, a good CV will stand out and be noticed. Change your CV around and make it applicable to the job you are applying for. Don’t just make one generic CV and send it to everyone. Changing a few sentences here and there can make it seem like you’re really interested in that particular job and make you stand out. You need to sell yourself. It’s not the employers job to make you shine, it’s yours. I won’t lie to you and say the job market here is awesome, because it isn’t. Finding a job takes persistence and hard work. When you’re working you work 8 hours a day, maybe more. When you’re not working, that’s 8 hours a day you should be spending looking for work. The most important thing is don’t give up hope. Keep searching. If you try hard enough, you will get there in the end. It will take time but you will get there. Stay positive, keep applying. Print your CVs and go and visit companies in your industry. You can always sell yourself better personally than you can from an email. Good luck

Truly amazing to see Carnity in the news, hope to see much more activities to improve media presence.

in October of last year, I eagerly wanted to gain a bit more confidence to explore the desert in a safe way, after looking for a suitable ride and falling in love with my little ‘ol blue 99. My friend who joined me during the newbie drive that day couldn’t for the love of the world grasp why we would want to toil in sweat and sand on a day off, but i was sold from day one, and the camaraderie and help I got from the start onwards makes every ride REALLY something to look forward too (believe me if I say that nothing else would get me out of bed at 3am....😂). Looking forward to many many more drives to come, karak chai to sip, parathas to eat, and laughs to be had ! A heartful thanks to all people who attended the drives together and the seniors who took me under their wings.

usually after a jump or crossing a ridge i am looking for it in the car as it just slides away somewhere in the car