Car Shipping Company from Mecca to the UAE 0552803439 | Open and Enclosed Carriers, Door to Door to Sharjah and Ajman

Home Safe is a car shipping company from Mecca to the UAE that moves your car by road on car carriers crossing the Kingdom from its west to the Batha border post, then delivers it in Sharjah, Ajman, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the Emirates. The distance to Sharjah is about 1,930 km, and the journey takes 4 to 8 days depending on the type of carrier. A saloon on an open carrier starts from SAR 2,350, while the enclosed carrier and air freight are priced on request. We collect the car from your front door and hand you its key at the other end. To book: 0552803439.

In this guide45ShowHide

1. Who ships a car from Mecca to the UAE?
2. Route and transit time for car shipping from Mecca to the UAE
3. Car shipping prices from Mecca to the UAE
4. What sets car shipping from Makkah apart
5. Collecting the car from home in Mecca for shipping to the UAE
6. Carrier types: open, enclosed or a single-car carrier?
7. The vehicles we ship: from the family car to the motorcycle
8. Shipping luxury, classic and rare cars from Mecca to the UAE
9. Securing and protecting the car on the carrier
10. Preparing the car before loading day
11. Export procedure for the car at the Makkah traffic department
12. From Mecca to the UAE via the Batha crossing: clearance on both sides
13. UAE customs and registering the car after arrival
14. Temporary entry on Saudi plates, or permanent export?
15. Drive it yourself or ship it?
16. Insuring the car during transport
17. Delivering cars from Mecca in Sharjah, Ajman and the rest of the Emirates
18. Car shipping for individuals, companies, public bodies and embassies
19. Can a car be shipped by sea from Mecca to the UAE?
20. Air freight for cars from Mecca to the UAE
21. Steps for shipping your car from Mecca to the UAE
22. Tracking the car on the road
23. Shipping cars from the UAE to Makkah
24. Tips before shipping your car from Makkah
25. How do you choose a car shipping company from Mecca to the UAE?
26. Common mistakes in shipping cars to the UAE
27. Why choose Home Safe to ship your car?
28. Related links
29. Tags
30. Frequently asked questions about car shipping from Mecca to the UAE
31. How much does it cost to ship a car from Mecca to the UAE?
32. How many days does a car need to get from Mecca to Sharjah or Ajman?
33. How many kilometres are there between Makkah and Sharjah?
34. Which border post does the car cross?
35. What does the Makkah traffic department require before a car is shipped for permanent export?
36. Will I pay customs duty on my car in the UAE?
37. Does the UAE accept an old car for registration?
38. Can I leave my belongings inside the car?
39. Do you collect cars from the hillside districts of Makkah?
40. Do you ship a car that does not run or is damaged?
41. Do you ship motorcycles?
42. Is air freight for cars available from Mecca?
43. Can I travel with my car on its Saudi plates instead of shipping it?
44. When do the seasons affect loading from Makkah?
45. Do you ship cars from the UAE to Makkah?

The carrier’s route: from Makkah up to Taif, on to Riyadh and Al-Ahsa as far as the Batha border post, and after Al Ghuwaifat to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, then Sharjah and Ajman · Length of the road: close to 1,930 km · Journey time: 4–8 days depending on the carrier.

Who ships a car from Mecca to the UAE?

Most of the cars that leave Makkah for the UAE are family cars, not trade stock. The owner is a resident whose contract in Makkah has ended and whose job has moved to Sharjah or Dubai, or an Emirati citizen who bought a car in the Kingdom and wants it at home, or a family that is flying and has no wish to cover two thousand kilometres with children. Alongside them is a smaller group: classic-car and motorcycle enthusiasts, and showrooms selling to a buyer in the Emirates. Each of them has a carrier that fits:

Car owner	What they ship	Best carrier
A resident relocating with the family	A small or mid-size family car	Open carrier, the most economical
A returning Emirati citizen	A car bought in the Kingdom	Open, or covered for a single car
Someone who sold a car to a buyer in the UAE	A car on export plates	Open, handed to the buyer against a signed report
The owner of a luxury or classic car	A high-value or rare car	Enclosed carrier, or air for urgent cases
Showrooms and dealers	Several cars in one trip	A full open carrier
Motorcycle enthusiasts	One motorcycle or more	A wooden crate on the carrier, or a closed truck
Companies, public bodies and embassies	Fleet cars or official cars	A dedicated carrier on a fixed date

Route and transit time for car shipping from Mecca to the UAE

Road freight is the main method on this route, and the road is the same for every carrier. The carrier leaves Makkah climbing to Taif, then takes the motorway to Riyadh, about 870 km. From Riyadh it heads for Al-Ahsa and then the Batha border post, another 500 km or so. After the Al Ghuwaifat post it runs along the Emirati coast for about 560 km to Sharjah and Ajman. So the car spends two and a half to three days on the road, and the rest is loading, clearance and delivery.

Stage	Approximate distance	Usual time
Collecting, inspecting and photographing the car in Makkah	—	One to two hours
Loading onto the line carrier and securing the car	—	The same day, or once the load is complete
Makkah → Riyadh	About 870 km via Taif	One day
Riyadh → Batha	About 500 km via Al-Ahsa	6–8 hours
Clearance at Batha and Al Ghuwaifat	—	A few hours to a day
Al Ghuwaifat → Sharjah and Ajman	About 560 km	6–7 hours
Unloading and handing over the key and the papers	—	One hour

Carrier type	Door-to-door time	Departure
Open multi-car carrier	5–8 days	Once the load is complete
Enclosed carrier	4–6 days	On an agreed date
Covered single-car carrier	4–5 days	On loading day
Air freight via Jeddah airport	Set at booking according to the flight available	After the car is accepted at the cargo village

What lengthens the journey?

• The export certificate: a car whose export plates have not been issued is not loaded, and each day lost at the traffic department is a day lost on the trip.
• An unpaid fine: a single forgotten fine stops the whole file until it is settled.
• Ramadan and Hajj: the hours in which carriers may enter Makkah narrow in both seasons, so collection slips unless it is booked early.
• Filling the open carrier: in quiet weeks the carrier waits days until it is full.
• A distant emirate: Khor Fakkan and Kalba are on the east coast and are usually delivered the day after Sharjah.

Anyone in a hurry has two choices: the covered single-car carrier for the fastest road slot, and air freight when the date cannot stretch to days. We fix the collection day and the expected delivery day with you before payment, and tell you if anything changes at the border.

Car shipping prices from Mecca to the UAE

The price on this route follows three things: the space your car takes on the carrier, the type of carrier, and the emirate where it is delivered. The open carrier divides the cost of the trip among several cars, so it is the cheapest. The enclosed and single-car carriers take your car alone or with one other, so they cost more. These are the prices our service starts from, Makkah to the UAE:

Vehicle	Carrier	Price starts from
Small or mid-size saloon	Open multi-car	SAR 2,350
4×4, large family car or pickup	Open multi-car	Set on request
Luxury or sports car	Enclosed carrier	Set on request
Classic or rare car	Enclosed carrier	Set on request
Any car on an urgent date	Covered single-car	Set on request
Non-running car	Flatbed with winch	Set on request
Motorcycle	Crate on the carrier or closed truck	Set on request
Luxury or urgent car	Air freight via Jeddah airport	Set on request

Market prices for shipping cars between the Kingdom and the UAE are far apart: for the open carrier, figures of SAR 1,800 to 2,800 are quoted from cities near the border, for the enclosed carrier SAR 3,500 to 5,500, and for a car in general SAR 2,000 to 4,500. In dirhams, AED 2,000 to 5,000 circulates for an ordinary car and up to AED 7,000 for a private express service. From Makkah specifically a car is offered at SAR 4,000 to 6,000, because Makkah is about 870 km further from Batha than Riyadh is. So compare any offer against its city of departure, and ask whether it includes clearance at both border posts and delivery in the emirate or stops at the border.

What sets the price	Its effect
Size and weight of the car	A long 4×4 takes the space of a car and a half on the carrier
Carrier type	Open is cheaper; enclosed and single-car cost more because the trip is not shared out
Condition of the car	One that does not run needs a winch for loading and unloading
The emirate	Sharjah and Ajman come straight after Dubai; Khor Fakkan and Kalba are about 100 km further
Where the house is in Makkah	A hillside district may need a driver to bring the car down to a street where the carrier can stand

A fuller explanation is on the pricing factors page.

How do you bring the cost down?

• Choose the open carrier if your car is an ordinary one and your date can stretch to a few days.
• Book two weeks ahead, so we add your car to a carrier that fills on your date instead of waiting for one.
• Hand the car over at the assembly point if your house is far from the carrier’s route.
• Finish the traffic department paperwork before booking, because a carrier waiting for a document is charged for its days.
• If you have two cars, ship them together and the price of each drops.

What sets car shipping from Makkah apart

Someone shipping a car from Riyadh hands it over on the road to the border. Someone shipping from Makkah starts from the other side of the Kingdom, and from a city with rules of its own. Long car carriers do not enter Makkah’s districts at any hour, and do not climb to the hillside districts at all. Makkah has no airport, so a car going by air is driven an hour to Jeddah. And the export paperwork is completed at the Makkah traffic department before the car moves. These are the details we arrange for you:

Particular	Effect on shipping the car	How we deal with it
Regulated entry for large carriers	The long carrier cannot stand outside the house	A small covered carrier collects at the door and takes the car to the line carrier
Hillside districts and narrow streets	No room to lower the loading ramp	One of our drivers brings the car down to the nearest wide street
Ramadan and Hajj	Narrower hours and congestion around the central area	Collection in the permitted hours, or before the season
No airport in Makkah	Air freight leaves from Jeddah	We move the car, covered, to King Abdulaziz International Airport
An owner who is flying out	Nobody to hand the car over	We collect it from his agent, or from the hotel or residence car park, against an authorisation

Collecting the car from home in Mecca for shipping to the UAE

Door-to-door service begins at your address, not at the freight yard. We send a covered carrier that takes one car, with a staff member who inspects the car in front of you. He walks round it photographing every side, records the odometer reading, the fuel level and any existing scratch, and then the two of you sign the condition report and you keep a copy. After that the car is lifted, secured and covered, and goes to the line carrier, or completes the trip itself if you chose the single-car carrier.

• The appointment: we agree an hour that suits the vehicle-entry rules for your district, and call before arriving.
• Inspection and photographs before loading: pictures of all four sides and the interior, and a short clip with the engine running.
• The key: we take one key, and the spare stays with you.
• The papers: we take the original export certificate and a copy of the ID, and they travel with the driver in a sealed envelope.

We collect cars from every district of Makkah, and from the nearby towns whose cars join the same trip:

Area	Examples	How the car is collected
Districts with wide streets	Al-Awali, Ash-Shawqiyah, An-Naseem, Ash-Sharai, Batha Quraysh	The carrier stops outside the house
Crowded or hillside districts	Al-Aziziyah, Az-Zahir, Ar-Rusayfah and the surroundings of the central area	One of our drivers takes the car to the nearest wide street
Al-Jumum and Bahrah	20–40 km from Makkah	Collected on the same day as Makkah
Jeddah	About 80 km	Loaded from the assembly point or from your home there
Taif	About 90 km, and on the carrier’s route	Loaded as the carrier passes on its way to Riyadh

Details of the service are on the door-to-door shipping page.

Carrier types: open, enclosed or a single-car carrier?

Not everything that carries a car is the same, and the choice is settled by the price of your car and your date. The open double-deck carrier is what you see on the motorways loaded with showroom cars; it is safe but leaves the car to the sun and the dust. The enclosed one is a complete box that no dust enters and nobody sees into. The single-car carrier is a platform that takes your car alone under a cover, and reaches places the long carriers cannot.

Comparison	Open multi-car	Enclosed	Covered single-car
Protection	Firm securing, with the car exposed to dust and sun	Full protection from weather and from view	A cover that protects the paint, and no neighbouring cars
Cost	Lowest	Highest	Between the two
Departure	Once the load is complete	On an agreed date	On loading day
Reaching the house	Does not enter the districts	Enters wide streets only	Reaches the door in most districts
Suits	Family cars and showroom cars	Luxury, sports and classic cars	Urgent jobs, low cars and collection from the door

We often combine two types: a covered single-car carrier collects from your home in Makkah, then an open or enclosed carrier covers the long road. That gives you collection from the door at the price of the shared carrier. The general comparison between transport methods is on the land freight page.

The vehicles we ship: from the family car to the motorcycle

Families ship more than anyone on this route, and their cars are mostly small and mid-size. These cars need no special arrangement: their place on the open carrier is standard, their price is the lowest, and their date is set around the family’s travel date. We take the length and height of the car from the registration card and assign it a deck that fits on the carrier. Whatever falls outside the usual measurements has its own arrangement:

Vehicle type	What is taken into account	Carrier
Small and mid-size saloons	Nothing special; loaded on the upper or lower deck	Open
4x4s, large family cars and pickups	Height and weight put them on the lower deck	Open or single-car
Luxury and low sports cars	A long loading ramp so the bumper does not scrape	Enclosed, or single-car with a low platform
Classic and rare cars	Never strapped from old body parts; covered with a cotton sheet	Enclosed
Motorcycles	Secured upright and strapped from the frame	Wooden crate
Non-running cars	Winched on, with the fault noted in the report	Flatbed

Shipping luxury, classic and rare cars from Mecca to the UAE

A car priced in the hundreds of thousands, or one whose parts cannot be replaced, is not treated like the rest. The danger to it is not the road but the moments of loading and unloading, flying gravel, and summer heat on old paint. So we give it an enclosed carrier and a single staff member who looks after it from collection to delivery.

• Inner and outer covers: soft cotton cloth on the paint, with a dust cover over it. The seats and the steering wheel are covered inside.
• Loading on a long ramp: or on a hydraulic platform, so the front bumper never touches the ground.
• Securing by the tyres: straps wrap round the wheels instead of pulling on the body or the suspension.
• A ventilated box: the enclosed carrier is ventilated, so no heat or damp builds up to harm the leather and wood of older cars.
• A double condition report: one before shipping and one at delivery, with the same photographs from the same angles.

Securing and protecting the car on the carrier

A car is not harmed by the length of the road but by a small movement repeated over two thousand kilometres. Securing is therefore the most important thing we do after the inspection. We start by assessing the car: its weight, its ground clearance and the tie-down points set by its maker. Then we decide whether it rides on an open platform or inside a closed box, and with which straps.

• Wheel straps: four straps with metal ratchets, one for each wheel, tightened until the car is fixed without compressing the suspension.
• Wheel chocks: metal blocks in front of and behind the wheels that stop any sliding under braking.
• How the car is left: gearbox in park, handbrake on, mirrors folded and the aerial removed.
• Extra protection on request: clear film on the nose and the mirrors to deflect gravel, or a full cover for the car on the open carrier.
• Checking the tension: the driver inspects the straps at every stop, and after the first hundred kilometres in particular.

Tie-down and securing methods are explained on the packing and lashing page.

Preparing the car before loading day

Half an hour spent preparing your car saves a day at the border. The rule is simple: the car travels empty, clean and documented. An empty car crosses without extra inspection, a clean one shows its scratches in the photographs, and a documented one leaves no argument about its condition at delivery.

• Fuel: a quarter of a tank is enough for loading and unloading, and a full tank is needless extra weight.
• Personal belongings: take everything out, including packs of Zamzam water, parking cards and tracking devices linked to your account.
• Washing: wash the car the day before collection, so the paint shows as it really is.
• Photographs: photograph it yourself from every side as well, photograph the odometer, and keep the pictures.
• Leaks: fix any oil or water leak, because a leaking car is not loaded on the upper deck.
• Battery and tyres: a charged battery and inflated tyres, so the car can move at unloading.

The full preparation steps are in the car shipping guide.

Export procedure for the car at the Makkah traffic department

A car leaving the Kingdom to be registered in the UAE first comes off the Saudi traffic register. This is permanent export; it is a matter for the owner or his agent, and it is finished before the carrier arrives. The practice in force is that the Saudi plates are surrendered and export plates and an export certificate are issued in their place, which is the document the border post and then the licensing authority in the UAE ask for.

Step	What you do
Fines	All fines recorded against the car and its owner are paid, and checked through the Absher platform
Registration and insurance	A valid registration card and insurance in force until the day of export
Finance	A release or no-objection letter from the bank or finance company if the car is under a lien
Export application	Submitted to the traffic department with the owner’s ID or residence permit and a statement of the car’s destination
Plates	The ordinary plates are handed in and the export plates are received against the set fee
Export certificate	Issued in the owner’s name with the chassis number; the original is kept for the border post

Export plates have a fixed period of validity, so do not obtain them long before booking. The details of the service, its fees and the channel for applying are updated, so we confirm the current ones with you before you visit the traffic department. If you are away from Makkah or busy, your agent handles the file under a power of attorney, and we tell him what is needed, document by document.

From Mecca to the UAE via the Batha crossing: clearance on both sides

The Batha border post is the Kingdom’s road gateway to the UAE, and facing it is the Al Ghuwaifat post in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. Every car on the carrier goes through two procedures: export on the Saudi side and import on the Emirati side. The post is about 1,370 km from Makkah, so nobody goes back for a missing paper. That is why the car’s documents travel with the driver in one envelope, and a copy is sent to our clearing agent at the border a day before the carrier arrives.

Document	Who needs it	Note
Export certificate and export plates	Every car exported permanently	The original is with the driver
Copy of the cancelled registration or the car’s details	Every car	Matched against the chassis number
Owner’s ID or residence permit and passport	Individuals	A clear copy
Emirates ID or residence visa of the recipient	Whoever the car will be registered to	Requested at import and registration
Invoice or sale contract	A car sold to a buyer in the UAE	The value is assessed on its basis
The car’s earlier customs document	Anyone asking for Gulf duty not to be charged twice	Proves the duty was paid when the car entered the Gulf
Release letter from the lender	A financed car	Without this letter no export certificate is issued
Commercial registration and authorisation	Companies and showrooms	With an invoice for each car

Our agent at Batha lodges the export declaration, and our agent at Al Ghuwaifat lodges the import declaration, pays the duty in your name and collects the customs clearance certificate. You do not need to travel to the border. The paperwork is explained on the shipping documents page, and the procedure on the customs clearance page.

UAE customs and registering the car after arrival

Crossing the border does not make the car Emirati. Three steps remain: the customs clearance certificate, then the technical test, then insurance and registration with the licensing authority in your emirate. Saudi Arabia and the UAE belong to one customs union, which helps anyone holding a document proving that duty on the car was paid when it entered the Gulf. These are the rules currently applied, and we confirm what is in force before shipping:

Item	Rule currently applied
Customs duty	5% of the value of the car as assessed by customs, plus the transport charge
Value added tax	5%, calculated after the duty is added
A car on which Gulf duty was already paid	The duty may not be repeated if customs accepts its document; each case is reviewed
Age of the car	Over ten years is generally not registered; classics over thirty years follow a special route
Steering side	Left-hand drive only; right-hand drive is not accepted
Written-off and flood-damaged cars	Not accepted for registration
Specifications	A Gulf-specification car normally passes the test without modification
Registration	A technical test at an approved centre, Emirati insurance, then the emirate’s plates

A car coming from Makkah is usually Gulf-specification and left-hand drive, which leaves age and condition, and we check both with you from a photo of the registration card before you pay anything. Destination information is on the shipping to the UAE page.

Temporary entry on Saudi plates, or permanent export?

Not everyone who takes a car to the UAE exports it. A visitor staying two weeks enters on Saudi plates as a temporary entry and returns with them. Someone moving to live there exports the car permanently and registers it there. The difference between the two in paperwork and charges is large, so settle which you are before visiting the traffic department.

Comparison	Temporary entry	Permanent export
For whom	Visitors, tourists and those on a short assignment	Those relocating, and those who sold the car there
Plates	The Saudi plates stay	Export plates, then the emirate’s plates
Customs duty	None, as long as the car will return	The duty applied at import
Who is with the car	The owner, or the person he authorised through Absher to drive outside the Kingdom	The owner need not be at the border
Insurance	Insurance valid in the UAE for the whole visit	Transit insurance, then Emirati insurance for registration
Length of stay	Limited to what the Emirati authorities allow	Unlimited

When does a visitor ship a car that is entering temporarily? When he wants to fly and have the car go ahead of him or follow him. The practice with temporary entry is that the owner or the authorised driver is present at the border with the car, so we arrange for him to meet the carrier there, or point him to what suits his case. Anyone driving beyond the Gulf needs a carnet, explained on the triptik carnet page.

Drive it yourself or ship it?

The road from Makkah to Sharjah can be driven in two days with an overnight stop, and many people do it. But the sum does not end with the fuel bill. Nearly two thousand kilometres go on the odometer and wear the tyres and the oil, and the driver spends twenty hours behind the wheel on a long desert road. Anyone exporting a car permanently also drives it on export plates of limited validity. So the comparison deserves a minute:

Comparison	Driving it yourself	Shipping it on a carrier
Time	Two days of your own time, with a night on the road	4–8 days, while you are at work or with your family
Mileage and wear	About 1,930 km on the engine and tyres	Arrives with the odometer as you handed it over
Cost	Fuel, a night’s stay and meals, plus a return ticket if needed	The carrier’s charge, from SAR 2,350
Risks	Fatigue, breakdowns and gravel on the road	A professional driver and transit insurance
The border	You complete the formalities yourself	Our agents complete them on both sides
Suits	A visitor who wants the car on the same trip	Those relocating, families flying, and luxury cars

Insuring the car during transport

Your Saudi motor policy does not cover the car while it is carried on a transporter, and in practice it lapses with export. The trip therefore has its own cover: a transit policy that begins when the collection report is signed in Makkah and ends when the recipient signs in the UAE. It is optional, but we recommend it for any car worth many times its freight charge.

• What it covers: accidents, overturning, fire, theft, damage during loading and unloading, and whatever scratches and glass breakage are agreed.
• What it does not cover: mechanical faults unrelated to the transport, belongings left inside the car, and defects recorded in the collection report.
• The value: you declare the market value of the car, and the premium is a percentage of it.
• In case of damage: it is written on the delivery receipt before signing and photographed, and we file the claim in your name and follow it through to repair or compensation under the policy.

The types of cover are on the cargo insurance page.

Delivering cars from Mecca in Sharjah, Ajman and the rest of the Emirates

The carrier enters the UAE from the west and runs east: Abu Dhabi first, then Dubai, then Sharjah and Ajman right beside it, then Umm Al Quwain. Khor Fakkan and Kalba belong to the emirate of Sharjah but lie on the east coast facing the Gulf of Oman, reached by a mountain road. So the city decides the delivery day. In every city delivery follows the same pattern: the car is unloaded, the recipient walks round it holding the collection photographs, then signs and receives the key and the papers.

Delivery city	Approximate distance from Makkah	Note
Sharjah	About 1,930 km	Delivered at the house, or in a yard near the industrial areas and test centres
Ajman	About 1,940 km	On the same day as Sharjah
Umm Al Quwain	About 1,960 km	On the Sharjah day or the next
Khor Fakkan	About 2,030 km	On the east coast, usually delivered the following day
Kalba	About 2,040 km	With Khor Fakkan on the same run
Dubai	About 1,900 km	Some towers and compounds require a permit for the carrier to enter
Abu Dhabi and Al Ain	1,770–1,870 km	The first places the carrier passes after the border
Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah	About 2,030 km	By prior arrangement

What is handed over with the car: the key, the original export certificate, the Emirati customs clearance certificate and the delivery receipt. These are the papers the recipient takes to the test centre and then to the licensing authority. If the recipient is not in the UAE on arrival day, the car stays in a secured yard until he or his authorised representative comes.

Car shipping for individuals, companies, public bodies and embassies

The procedure on the road is the same, but the papers differ according to who owns the car. An individual ships in his own name with his ID. A company ships on its commercial registration with an authorisation for its representative. A public body and an embassy have their own letters and channels. So we always begin by asking: whose name is the car in, and whose name will it be registered in?

Customer	What they usually ship	What we arrange
Individuals and families	One or two cars	Collection from home, guidance through the traffic department file, delivery to the address
Companies	Cars of relocating staff or a small fleet	A full carrier, a tax invoice and a delivery schedule for each car
Public bodies	Official cars, or cars for a temporary assignment	Official letters, a dedicated carrier and a signed handover record
Embassies and consulates	Diplomatic cars	Attention to the diplomatic letters and the exemption they grant, and an enclosed carrier

For anyone moving a whole household and not only a car, we ship the furniture in a closed truck on the same route; the details are in the article shipping company from Mecca to the UAE.

Can a car be shipped by sea from Mecca to the UAE?

In practice, no. The nearest port to Makkah is Jeddah Islamic Port on the Red Sea, and a ship leaving it sails round the whole Arabian Peninsula to reach the UAE’s ports. The voyage stretches to weeks and costs more, while the road carrier arrives in days. That is why we do not offer the sea on this route for single cars. Sea freight for cars suits destinations with no road link, and how it works is on the RoRo car shipping page.

Air freight for cars from Mecca to the UAE

Air freight for cars is an established service, though little used because of its high charge. It is asked for by the owner of a luxury or rare car who does not want it on the road, or by someone entering a show or a race with a date that cannot slip. Because Makkah has no airport, we move the car, covered, to the cargo village at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. There it is secured on an air-cargo pallet and loaded onto a freighter to one of the UAE’s airports, then delivered after clearance in Sharjah, Ajman or wherever you wish.

• For whom: luxury, sports and classic cars, and any car that must arrive on a specific date.
• Preparation: very little fuel, as the airline requires, a disconnected or secured battery and the alarm switched off.
• Measurements: the length, width, height and weight of the car decide the pallet, and whether the available aircraft will take it.
• Documents: the same as for export by road, plus the air waybill.
• Transit time: set at booking, since it follows the date of a cargo flight that accepts a car.
• Price: set on request according to weight, dimensions and flight.

How air freight is calculated in general is on the air freight page.

Steps for shipping your car from Mecca to the UAE

From the first call to handing over the key there are eight steps. Five are ours and three are yours: the information, the traffic department file and preparing the car.

1. Send the car’s details: a photo of the registration card, the car’s condition, the emirate and city, and the date that suits you, to 0552803439.
2. Receive the price: we name the right type of carrier, its price and its transit time, and what the price includes item by item.
3. Complete the export file: paying the fines, then the export plates and certificate from the traffic department, with our guidance at each step.
4. Prepare the car: a quarter of a tank of fuel, no personal belongings, and a wash before collection.
5. Collection from your home: inspection, photographs and a signed condition report, then loading onto the covered carrier.
6. The road and the border: the carrier crosses the Kingdom, and our agents complete export at Batha and import at Al Ghuwaifat.
7. Delivery: the car is unloaded in your city in the UAE and checked against the photographs, and you receive the key and the papers.
8. Registration: you take the clearance certificate to the test centre and then the licensing authority, and we guide you if needed.

Tracking the car on the road

A car owner wants one answer: where is it now? We give it without being asked. After loading we send you the shipment number and the driver’s name, then a message at each point: leaving Makkah, reaching Riyadh, entering the Batha post, leaving Al Ghuwaifat, and the expected arrival time. The carriers are fitted with positioning devices, so we tell you where yours is whenever you ask.

• WhatsApp messages: at each point, with a photo of the car on the carrier at the border.
• One number for follow-up: 0552803439, from 7 am to 11 pm.
• If there is a delay: we tell you the reason and the new time before you call, whether it is a queue at the border or a document that is required.

How follow-up works is on the shipment tracking page.

Shipping cars from the UAE to Makkah

Carriers do not come back empty, so the route runs from the UAE to Makkah as well. It is used by a resident returning to the Kingdom, a citizen who bought a car from the showrooms of Sharjah or Dubai, and a long-stay visitor. We collect the car from its address in the UAE and deliver it in any district of Makkah, or in Jeddah and Taif.

• The Emirati export certificate: issued by the licensing authority in the emirate together with export plates.
• The age condition in the Kingdom: the practice in force is that a used passenger car should be no more than five years old, and we confirm the current rule before shipping.
• Conformity: a conformity certificate is required for the imported car under the procedure in force.

A wider view of shipping cars from and to the Kingdom is in the article car shipping from Saudi Arabia.

Tips before shipping your car from Makkah

These tips come from cars we have shipped on this very route, not from a general handbook:

• Start with the traffic department, not the carrier: first make sure there are no fines against you and no lien on the car, then book.
• Ask about age before anything else: if your car is old, check that your emirate will register it before you export, because an export is not easily undone.
• Do not time collection for the last ten nights of Ramadan or the days of Hajj: unless you booked two weeks ahead.
• Insure for the true value: declaring less lowers the premium and lowers the compensation with it.

Full information about the service is on the car shipping page.

How do you choose a car shipping company from Mecca to the UAE?

Offers are plentiful, and some amount to no more than a phone number and a recovery truck. A car is not a parcel that can be replaced with another like it. So ask before you hand over the key, and compare the answer with these signs:

Ask about	A good sign	A worrying sign
Commercial registration	A number given to you that can be verified	Dodging the question
Condition report	A signed report and photographs before loading	Collection without any paper
What the price includes	Clearance at both border posts and delivery are stated	A single figure with no breakdown
Carrier type	Named for you, with the difference explained	“A flatbed” with no clarification
Insurance	A transit policy shown to you	A verbal promise of compensation
Export file	A clear explanation of what you must do at the traffic department	A promise that the car will cross without an export certificate
Payment	A receipt and clear payment stages	The whole sum demanded with no receipt

Common mistakes in shipping cars to the UAE

• Exporting a car that cannot be registered there: because of its age or condition, leaving it stranded between two countries.
• Forgetting the lien: the owner discovers at the traffic department that the car is still pledged to the bank.
• Filling the car with belongings: to save the cost of shipping them, so it is held up at the border and they are not insured.
• Signing for delivery without inspecting: any remark not written on the receipt before signing is hard to prove afterwards.
• Obtaining export plates far too early: so they expire before the carrier moves.
• Choosing the cheapest without asking what it includes: then paying the difference for clearance and delivery at the border.
• Overlooking the recipient: nobody in the UAE holding an ID to receive the car on the day it arrives.

Why choose Home Safe to ship your car?

Because shipping a car is a commitment to three things: that it arrives on time, that it arrives as it was handed over, and that you know where it is every day. We build our work on those three:

To book: 0552803439 by phone or WhatsApp, from 7 am to 11 pm. Or through the request a quote page.

Related links

• Car shipping service
• Car shipping guide, step by step
• Triptik carnet for travelling by car
• Car shipping company from Saudi Arabia to the UAE
• Car shipping company from Jeddah to the UAE
• Car shipping company from Mecca to Qatar

Tags

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Frequently asked questions about car shipping from Mecca to the UAE

How much does it cost to ship a car from Mecca to the UAE?

A saloon on an open carrier that takes several cars starts from SAR 2,350 from Makkah to the UAE. Large 4x4s, the enclosed carrier, the covered single-car carrier and motorcycles are priced on request, once we know the vehicle, the emirate and the loading date. Send a photo of the registration card on WhatsApp to 0552803439 and we reply with the figure.

How many days does a car need to get from Mecca to Sharjah or Ajman?

Four to five days when it rides on a covered single-car carrier that leaves the same day, four to six days on the enclosed carrier, and five to eight days on the open carrier, which waits until its load is complete. The time is counted from the moment the car is collected in Makkah until its key is handed over in the emirate.

How many kilometres are there between Makkah and Sharjah?

About 1,930 km by road. The carrier covers roughly 870 km of that to Riyadh, then about 500 km to the Batha border post, then around 560 km inside the UAE from Al Ghuwaifat through Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Sharjah, with Ajman a few minutes further on.

Which border post does the car cross?

It leaves through Batha in the Eastern Province and enters through Al Ghuwaifat in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the road crossing that car carriers use between the two countries. Export is completed at the first and import at the second, and the car’s papers travel with the driver.

What does the Makkah traffic department require before a car is shipped for permanent export?

The fines recorded against the car and its owner are paid and the registration must be valid, then the plates are handed to the traffic department and export plates and an export certificate are issued. If the car is financed, a release letter from the lender is essential. The details of the procedure in force change, so we confirm the current one with you before loading day.

Will I pay customs duty on my car in the UAE?

The duty currently applied is 5% of the value of the car as assessed by customs plus its transport charge, with 5% VAT on top. A car whose customs document proves that Gulf duty was already paid may not be charged again, depending on what customs accepts, and we go through your case before shipping.

Does the UAE accept an old car for registration?

Under the practice in force, a used car more than ten years old is generally not registered, and classic cars over thirty years old follow a special route with the licensing authority’s approval. Because the rule is updated, we ask about it in the emirate of registration before you pay the freight.

Can I leave my belongings inside the car?

No. The car crosses the border as a vehicle only, and any suitcase or carton inside it invites an inspection and a delay, and is not covered by the insurance. Empty the boot, the seats and the compartments, and send your belongings as a separate furniture and luggage shipment on the same route.

Do you collect cars from the hillside districts of Makkah?

Yes. We send a covered single-car carrier that reaches the front door in most districts, and where it cannot get in, one of our drivers takes the car down to the nearest wide street where the carrier can stand. The condition report is written and everything is photographed before the car moves.

Do you ship a car that does not run or is damaged?

Yes, it is winched onto a flatbed carrier and secured like any other. What matters is that you tell us its state when booking: whether the wheels turn, whether the steering works and whether the brakes hold. Bear in mind that a written-off or flood-damaged car is not accepted for registration in the UAE under the current practice.

Do you ship motorcycles?

Yes. The motorcycle is secured upright on a base or inside a wooden crate, strapped from the frame rather than the handlebars, and travels on the same carrier or inside a closed truck. Its price is set on request according to its size and the number of motorcycles.

Is air freight for cars available from Mecca?

It is, through King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, since Makkah has no airport. It suits luxury and rare cars and anyone chasing the date of a show or a race. After clearance the car is delivered in Sharjah, Ajman or any other emirate, and the price is set on request.

Can I travel with my car on its Saudi plates instead of shipping it?

You can for a temporary visit, provided that you are in the car yourself, or the person you have authorised through Absher to drive it outside the Kingdom is, and that you hold insurance valid in the UAE. If you are flying and want your car there, or you intend to transfer ownership and register it in the UAE, shipping is the way.

When do the seasons affect loading from Makkah?

In Ramadan and the days of Hajj the movement of carriers inside Makkah is held to narrower hours, and congestion around the central area grows. We therefore collect cars in the permitted hours, and advise booking two weeks before the season or handing the car to us before it begins.

Do you ship cars from the UAE to Makkah?

Yes, the route works in both directions. Note that the Kingdom sets an age limit for imported used cars, and the practice in force is that a passenger car should be no more than five years old, with a conformity certificate. We check the year of manufacture with you before the car leaves the UAE.