how essential is a car?

basically if you do not get a car  here, you will feel like a  tit. Totally paralized and not only you can not step outside because of the heat, calling a taxi to go anywhere, gives you a 50 % chance they will come to you given that you call them 6 hours before.  

All I have to say, "is you get what you pay for."

U NEED A FRIEND TO GIVE SOME HELP ESPICIALLY AT FIRST DAYS, SO FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME .

Don't know where you can get your rental from but a car is a total necessity. Walking around is just not the thing to do with the temperature and humidity.

Hi to everybody even I am in same situation as the belgian lady, I am moving to qatar next week. And I feel its just to hot to walk around in the sun. So where can I rent a sedan car for 1200 Rial? Could u plz gimme the address

thanks

You cant lease a car here, you either buy or rent. When you rent you cannot take it out of the country as the car is not in your name. If you have bought a car and it is on loan from the bank you also need a letter from the bank to be able to travel out of Qatar with it.

If you are planning a trip to Oman it may be in your best interest to fly and rent a car when you get there.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

hi max007,

can you recommend where I can rent a car for 1200 per month. I've been asking around but so far nothing less than 1600

Thanks

a lot

its very essential to have a car especially its summer time here in Qatar if you will go by bus you need at least an hour or more for your travel time because if you need to have two bus connection to reach your destination especially outside Doha..I've been in this situation when our company transport was not available for one month and the work place is outside Doha, my office hours is from 8am to 5pm but I need to leave the house at 6:30 am to catch the bus and I arrive home around 7 p.m. and that's an actual situation...very hard for a newcomer like you...if you go by taxi you need to book KARWA taxi everyday and it will cost you more at the end better rent a sedan car...

you can rent a saloon/sedan car for even 1200 a month and for ur desert trip u can arrange it with one of those tourist companies here

Without a first month of the islamic calendar? That sounds complicated :D You mean some covering clothes, right? That should not be a problem. At least I would not mind covering up completely in order to drive though SA.

Owning a car is more of a problem. I don't know enough about cars to buy and sell again in time a second hand car. And could I get a more or less decent car for 8x1800Qr incl insurance (no tax?)? It doesn't sound very likely to me to be honest. Or are there companies, like in for example Australia where you can buy a car and afterwards sell it back to that company, basically renting it but factually owning it?

Mute you can travel to Oman in any vehicle you like as long as your husband, brother or father are with you as you cannot cross the Saudi border unaccompanied, or without a Muharram.

You will have to own the car, I am pretty sure you cannot leave the country with a rental and you will need insurance to cross (I think you can get this at the border).

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

I know Amoud. My hubby cannot come over to Qatar with me as he has his own job but at least visit me. :) It was all planned *sigh* Is it possible, and allowed at all to leave the country with a non 4x4 to go to Oman? It's been a dream of us to go there for years :(

If you want 4X4 Way more...

Driver will take you anywhere fro 1850...

You can't teach experience...

Mute, you couldnt go to Oman by car anyway. You arent allowed to drive in Saudi or cross the border with men not related to you.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

8 months. At the time I was planning on going on a Oman holiday nobody with a decent car will be there anymore and the people I planned to go with won't have a car either:( And I suppose I can cancel all desert trips as well. This just sucks.

car is mandatory..u cant depend on cabs or public transportations, they r busy most of the times and all crowded...calling cabs are not always a good solution since they rarely picks up.

i recommend u to get a bag with groceries instead of go shopping walkin under the sun rays, heats and humid weather..

How long will you be here ?

If its a short period, then you can get by with cabs. if not, then get yourself a KIA and enhance your image :)

Hmm.. having a driver... never did that but it might be an option. How much use can you make of him? Go to office and back each day or also drive around the desert or even abroad?

The car is definitely off but I'm offered 1800 Qr/month for taxi or transport otherwise. If I throw in a bit of extra money I should be able to get a rental car and gasoline I suppose. But what kind of car? It's probably not a small 4x4 but just a city-only car, right?

I'm not sure about a driving permit. How and what do I have to do? I understood from people who still got a car that they only needed to do a quick test. Is it easier and quicker with employer support? And do I need an international driving license or is my Belgium one sufficient?

Depends on how far and how often you use them.

The cheapest rental is 1850 from Petra.

But will you even be able to get a driving permit?

You can't teach experience...

dont have a car in qatar your disabled cant depend on karwa and bus

trying to get around in doha without a car is HELL!! whatever u do, u gotta have a car!!

car rentals r a good choice,,,,don't buy an old car. for just a few months u'd be fine with rentals.

Car is very must in Qatar for routine or important works.

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Don't rely on Public Transport as you will feel eyes staring at you from head to toe. Taxis are a quite a mess in Qatar. Most of them doesn't know the names of many places or the shortest way to reach any destination. It will take more time for them to get expert.

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So along with others, I would strongly recommend PRIVATE TRANSPORT in Qatar.

You cant depend upon public transportation yet....unless you live on next to a Bus-Stop...(ie on the same side as a bus stop) as crossing the road can be too dangerous.

Yesterday my heart broke as I saw an lady in Abhya waiting to cross the (Jaidha - Mannai) Road section with a baby in a carriage......she would have had to wait a long time in order to cross but also it would have been extremely dangerous!!!

Had I seen them earlier I would have stopped in the centre of the road, across both lanes, with my hazards on.....there would have been no other way for her to cross and pull the stroller over the foothpath....phew!

I would say go for rent a car, you will have your freedom and would not be wastime time in flagging for a taxi or some perverts stopping by and asking if you want a lift, which happens when ever a lady is standing on the road waiting for transport.

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Thanks for your answers.

t_coffee: not sitting at home after work hours is one issue (though not a big one. I'm not a very social person), but the most important issue is how to get to work and back again, and how to do groceries. Seriously, assuming I could get a taxi twice every day, would that be much cheaper than a rental car? If I need to do that then I'll put every single cab ride on my expense report. >:(

And getting a bad deal when renting a car? Hmm.. if all this really happens then I suppose I should get a male colleague to accompanie me. I guess buying is not a good option as I'll only be staying for 8 months. I'd have to sell it again and from here cannot even estimate what the used car market looks like.

Can I just say: BUGGER!

Yes car is a must. Ask your company to read this thread

Car is a must if you are not the one to be sitting in the house after work hours.... Period

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with the extremely unbearable heat, it's not an option to walk even if the office is only 2 minutes away, you'll fry under the heat of the sun.. you're lucky if you even manage to find an empty taxi in a span of 5 minutes, and buses are so, well it stinks.. and so are some of the taxis, they don't even have those car fresheners...

you need a car to get around Doha for just about everything. I wouldn't even try to take a bus, as a women with all the "starring" workers . the taxis here are pretty much useless , you never can get a taxi when you need it, also driving around with a man as a western women seems kinda uncomfortable. to rent a car would be the best option , you have to " shop" around for a good deal. We rented a car with a six month contract for 1490 QAR a month . You may get a better deal. Buying a car , I guess if you have the money right off , but I have that bad feeling they would give you a bad deal being a women. Getting a loan form the bank is kinda of a hard ship , getting all the paperwork from you sponsor and all. Anyways hope that helped