As you may have read in an earlier post, we picked-up very cute rental car before we left Abu Dhabi and came to Al Ain. It was a great deal on a month to month basis. However, it was very small and very basic (Jack wanted to know what the window winders were for)! I also drive about 60 miles, round trip, to work each day and the center console dug into my leg and was leaving a bruise.
So, after about 3 weeks, we decided we needed to get a slightly bigger car, and one we did not have to take back to Abu Dhabi every time it needed an oil change. We called the rental company that many expats use out here and organized delivery of a mid-sized car.
The next morning, a red, nearly new Chevy Cruze was delivered to our hotel. It was wonderful; climate control, cruise control, bluetooth phone, electric locks AND windows!!!!! And above all it was comfortable! We did not need to return the other car for few days so we had two cars for a while. Dana loved this, no more taxis to work for a while!
Well, it seems Dana liked the no taxi gig a little to much and asked if we could keep the smaller car, which "was perfect for her," for another month. If there's one thing we like, it's our independence!
Last week's drives to work were great, cruise control in a comfortable, fast car. Then, on Thursday afternoon, I went to Jack's school to pick him and his friends up, got back into the car, turned the key and....nothing! The battery was dead, killed by the desert heat. Dana came to pick us up and after much driving around, we bought some jumper cables and managed to start the car and drove back to the hotel. A quick call to the rental company and they arranged for a temporary replacement while they fixed the battery issue.
The next morning, Friday, they brought a brand new Mitsubishi Galant to our hotel. The rental company said I would have that for a few days while they fixed the Cruze. Great customer service!
This evening (Saturday) we went to the mall, as we do most weekends. When we were leaving the parking lot we were backed into by someone leaving a parking space. The right front wing and bumper was a mess.
The rules out here when this happens is that you call the police so they can come and decide fault and print out an accident report, which they do there and then. Luckily the gentleman who reversed into me admitted fault and was able to translate for me to the traffic agent who spoke no English. The whole process was very efficient, which is unusual in a country where efficiency is not part of the language. One hour later were were back in the hotel. We were all fine. I called the rental company, our Cruze is not fixed yet, so they will be delivering car number four to us tomorrow. I feel I could have a job on Top Gear testing all these cars.
It is definitely an adventure and we are learning new things every day. Keep watching for my post on my school......sure to be an interesting read :)
Take care,
S
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