Gaurav

When have you got the last service done? And how many km car has been driven?

Toyota will win hands down in this section: Rav4, Prado, Land Cruiser all are having very good resale value

Thanks for sharing your details as I never knew that Dubai National Insurance does offer an offroad coverage. Have you read the offroad coverage clause and does it restrict to certain meters or unlimited?

I had some door scratches in my Range Rover and I cleaned them last week with compound scratch out polish. Almost all of them were gone except these few long white coloured marks. Any advice on how to get rid of these stubborn marks, as are 100% superficial and not inside the cracked paint.

Found these 10 shops selling used spare parts for Ford in the Carnity Business Listing, call them and check https://carnity.com/search?&q=ford&type=cms_records5&nodes=86&search_and_or=or&sortby=relevancy

Nothing is nonsense here at Carnity @Jayakrishnan. People like you, Emmanuel, Frederic who ask a lot of questions help many other users in clarifying their doubts without even asking. Insurance is more or less the same as the road coverage: the Third party will not cover your car and Comprehensive will most likely cover your car for any offroad damages. Yes, you do need a police report for any damage done in offroad so that insurance can open a claim. If it's a collision it's a straight case of red and green paper like on road. If it's accidental damage hitting the dune, trees etc. then police report will come with a fine amount of 400 dhs (I guess) as it's your fault and the insurance will take care of the damages within the stipulated excess amount you have as per your policy. Most insurance companies don't cover offroad damage, and others like RSA, AXA and Oman do cover offroad damage and one needs to read their offroad coverage clause carefully as some mention 5 meters away from the road and others have no distance limitation. If you behave well and follow all the rules and convoy discipline chances are you will never damage your car. Almost all the accidents I have seen are caused by drivers who either think they can venture by themselves or just like to try some more adventure by breaking the convoy. In my last 12 years of offroad, I have accidentally damaged my car twice - first was in 2006, when I was learning and broke the convoy to go little left and right and ended up on nose dive. The second was in 2017 when dune ended with a sharp drop and soft sand resulting in nose dive again because I was too fast in technical dunes (my mistake).

Well if it's a fully synthetic then you are good for 10K kms, if its semi (5K) and mineral (3K) for normal road usage. If you are regularly driving offroad every week then change fully synthetic at 5-6K max for a better life of an engine. I'm using fully synthetic 0W40 from Mobil 1 and changing every 5K kms (2-3 months time), as my Pajero is only used for offroading.

One of my cousins had a Durango and he put donkey miles on it and soon after the warranty is over, it becomes the money pit as most of the things are designed to fail just after the warranty period. My advice is to drive until you have a warranty and sell it just before it gets over an upgrade. No doubt the SUV is good value for money as per performance, luxury and features you can get.

Hi Sunit, welcome aboard I'm using Mobil1 for 8 years in my Pajero for extreme offroad conditions and it never failed. I tried many brands and in end, I love the Mobil 1 quality and expertise. You can get Mobil 1 in Dubai from any Grand Service Center or there is Mobil 1 quick lube in Sharjah Industrial Area 8 near tire market. Sharjah is a tad cheaper than Dubai. I also would like to know how you have a feeling of fake geolanders, UAE seems quite strict in counterfeit products so will be interesting to know how to find a fake geolanders. If it's based on price judgment only, then it won't be fair as every retailer has a different markup and you can't say that 600/piece is original than 400/piece. I bought my last set in 2017 for 450/piece for 5 tires I paid 2250 with fitting and balancing.

Congratulations @Emmanuel on successfully leading his first official drive so wonderfully that at no time, I felt it was his first lead and that too in Sweihan. The second most important thing I love about this drive was impeccable planning with plenty of exit strategies depending on time and situation and still keeping the whole convoy moving. Well done for doing a solo recce trip to scout the fencing and awesome dunes. Keep it up and I'm sure you will be a great asset to Carnity Offroad Club and other offroaders in the future. Congratulations @Javier M for joining the first intermediate drive and keeping the pace with the convoy at all times. I love your dedication to BBQ in the windiest and rainy conditions, to be honest, I was skeptical in the beginning, but later on, we found a way to hide under the mats, sunshades, and blankets. Truly a great night to remember, just because of the lovely company of like-minded enthusiast's from the drive - bbq - drinks - sleep in a car and waking up to yet another beautiful day.

Welcome @Shafik and thanks for sharing your expertise, do feel free to participate in the discussion and help others or seek advise from existing car expertise at Carnity.

Welcome @AMH to Carnity and thanks for shedding light on official rules for Engine Oil in UAE as per ESMA guidelines. I think we all should follow this minimum certification standard before buying any Engine Oil. I assume with your designation, you work with Mobil 1. Do you mind sharing the images highlighting what exact part we should be looking on the label to make sure it complies the ESMA regulations?

Very well said, Rahimdad In short go with proven 4x4 what work here in UAE sand offroading than just on computer or phone screens.

Good topic @Barry, what I personally feel is the use of new technology introduce a lot of electronics and computer management stuff in cars that started scaring petrolhead to mess with their car due to lack of knowledge and confidence. This started a trend to depend on the qualified mechanic or dealership, both are expensive and hence owners got more scared and moved away from the basic maintenance or quick fix that we use to do back in old days when cars were more simple to work than waiting for the binary command of 1's and 0'S.

Absolutely

You can pick the same OEM brand or Osram or any similar brand but only thing important is to stick to the same power wattage or code number written on the existing bulb. Going with standard replacement is highly advisable to not to let your light assembly melt and also different color or quality might blind the incoming traffic and get you police fine for that. I have learned from my mistake when I change a cornering light bulb in Cayenne with more high power and that melted the light socket and short circuit the whole headlight.

Post your engine bay clear picture It may be an O ring in the power steering pump need replacement if the fluid is not less. Have you noticed any leak near the power steering pump lately or in the parking?

I'm sorry I won't be able to help you much on the pricing as I'm not researching the Prado resale value. 2015 and 94K km looks a tad more than average 20K - 24K km per year usage, so it can't command an extra premium rather break a price little than other low mileage cars. Reliability, Prado is a famous flagship model so nothing much can go wrong most of the time. Dealer cars, no comment as I never bought one from a dealer in the last 18 years in Dubai.

Nice thread @edouard and ill try to add few points Check both the number plates are intact and not fallen off or bent inside after the impact. If it's lost, report to the Police immediately and get it replaced. Check the coolant level (visually) in the expansion bottle if its well within the Min/Max range. If it's low in expansion bottle or coolant reservoir tank, then top up at any nearest fuel station. DO NOT OPEN the radiator cap, when hot, it will gush out all coolant like a hot fountain and burn, just top up in the expansion bottle and check the radiator level again next day when the car is cold. Check inside the front grill before the radiator if any shrubs, plant or plastic stuck in front, that can block the air circulation and overheat the car. Check inside the engine bay and under the car from wheel arc with a strong flashlight to spot any noticeable leaks, broken hose, pipe etc. A leak may be very small if you spot any wet hose or pipe, worth diagnosing and getting it fixed as soon as possible. While driving back on road immediately after offroad drive, start slowly to hear any unusual noise, vibration etc and then gradually hit the highway speed. Also while doing this music should be off so you can actually pay attention to any unusual hissing/noise. This means to reach to 120 (highway speed) in 5 minutes and not in 10 seconds so you can drive and notice in different speed, as many time some intermittent noise or vibration comes at a very specific speed only. If you venture in water crossing or mud terrain, important to get the car underbody cleaned asap.

50 - 90K is a big jump or a change of mind. You can never research and fairly justify that research if you keep changing your budget, as you will actually fail to compare apple to apple in that same league of a car because you start research with 50K budget (4 days ago) and then end up buying 90K car (in 1 day). Prado's are indeed better in terms of comfy and offroad capability but comes with a bigger price tag and you have to factor that point that will you be comfortable hitting 7K rpm on 50K AED car or 90K AED for offroad drives. Another question, do you need 7 seater offroader too or is it for road purpose only? If it's only for a road, then splitting this 90K for two cars will be a better idea to have the best of both the world.

Nope, on dunes, it will keep bouncing so you won't have PITA, lolol. Very well said

Very well said points @knightjp, however, I like to add a bit more transparency from diff angles. The video seems a perfect rant when a manufacturer stops giving cars for review and he admitted the same in the second video. We have seen such bad bad bad cars from famous car reviews sites here in Dubai too when they end up with a sour relation by being a critic for paid reviews. In the end, their car reviews sound like three liners of the pros and cons. Using diesel Pajero with loaded roof rack and 7 passengers expecting it to fly off on every dune, then his experience of "SAND" offroad is in the different field probably. No comments. What I seriously believe is what I see from my eyes and not through the paid reviews or advertorials of so-called legends, celebrities, influencers, champions etc. as those are most of the time is biased and motivated either by money or by the competitors. I won't even start about my model Pajero, as it's a different species altogether but keeping it specific to Gen4 Pajero, we have tons in our offroad club and almost all of them have driven through a fewbie level drive ------- Faaaaaaaar more than what this guy claiming to be challenging and getting stuck or refusal. Off course 3.8 (275 hp and 393 Nm torque) is much better than 3.5 (190 hp and 306 Nm torque) by great value and we have seen @WiLfY and @hossein driving there 3.8 almost everywhere without even a refusal. Petrol + remove abs and traction fuse + bumper trim + 3.8 Pajero = Great value for money offroader Petrol + remove abs and traction fuse + bumper trim + 3.5 Pajero = Good value for money offroader @Julien V even managed Sweihan fewbie drive with his 3.5 Pajero two week back - totally commendable, but of course, he didn't have 200 kgs stuff on the roof rack, nor he had 500 kgs as a passenger. https://carnity.com/gallery/category/112-afternoon-fewbie-desert-drive-sweihan-1st-march-2019 P.S. I'm not saying the Pajero's are the greatest offroader, but instead I'm saying they aren't as bad as it sounds in this video.

Every drive has a separate album in the Gallery section, you can upload yours here too https://carnity.com/gallery/category/113-absolute-newbie-desert-drive-maliha-8-mar-2019

Pajero's make good family SUV with 7 comfy seating. If you are back pain sensitive, go with the full option that comes with nice leather seating and lumbar support. If you are thinking of an offroad then I highly suggest a 3.8-liter option. In your 50K budget you can get 2013 - 2014 clean Pajero with 100 - 150 k kms driven with service history. If you are more inclined on great offroading capability and comfier ride for 7, then look for Prado and 2012 - 2014 model should be around 70-90k Dhs.