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Driving is an essential part of life in Dubai and choosing a car is one of the most important decisions you will make. Diana Milne reports on the cost of motoring - from buying or hiring a car to auto loans and car insurance.

Love it or loath it - driving a car in Dubai is not a choice but a necessity for the thousands of motorists that hit the city's roads every day.

A limited public transport system and rapidly growing population has created a situation where the UAE has one of the highest proportions of private car ownership in the world.

Around 212,000 cars and trucks were newly registered in the city in the past 12 months - a massive 30% increase in the total number of vehicles on the road, according to recruitment firm Kershaw Leonard's Cost of Living Dubai 2007 to 2008 report.

To combat the associated congestion problems the Dubai Government has introduced Salik - a road toll that has increased the cost of driving for motorists who live and work on different sides of the tollgates.

But with the Metro system - a viable alternative to driving - still three years away from completion - running a car is an unavoidable expense for much of Dubai's population.

In this feature we reveal the cost of motoring in Dubai - and include interviews with Dubai drivers about their cars and how much they spend on them in a week.

Buying a new car

While many of Dubai's expatriate population choose to hire a car temporarily rather than buy one outright - the abundance of auto loans and special deals on offer means owning a completely new vehicle can be an easy and affordable option.

The pages of Dubai's newspapers are filled with advertisements from car dealerships offering everything from zero percent interest to zero down payments on new models.

And most car showrooms have tie-ups up with banks which means securing finance for the car is a quick and easy process.

"Most of the dealerships have bank representatives with desks in the dealership as well as police registration offices to deal with that side of things," says Fraser Martin, freelance motoring and car events organiser.

"So fundamentally you go in, you choose the car, and provided you have the right documentation you could be driving out of the showroom in it the same day."

When choosing what model to go for motoring experts advise customers to think carefully about what they will actually use the car for - and to be clear with themselves from the start about what their budget is.

The temptation to borrow over the odds for a dream car can be compelling when faced with the dazzling array on offer and the attentions of an over-enthusiastic salesperson.

"Of course we all want nice flashy cars, but there's a big difference between need and want," says Martin.

"The first thing you need to ask yourself is what you actually need the car for - because that's what's really important.

"I might want an H2 Hummer but do I need one if all I'm going to use it for is driving to work and to the supermarket?

"And what's the point of getting a big 4X4 if I'm never going to take it off the road?"

Mike Brightmore, general manager of Al Futtaim Automall puts car owners into four categories: those who need a car to drive long distances to work every day; those who just need a little run around car to get to the shops and back two or three times a week; and those who require a car for recreational purposes - such as desert driving or towing a boat or jet ski at weekends.

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