rent a 7-seat 4x4 in Abu Dhabi for this weekend

[TomL]

Hi

I imagine a few of us have come across this before?

We have guests for the weekend, who want to come into the desert with us for a BBQ and camping. We will be with a group of experienced drivers, but our guests will need a vehicle. Does anyone know of a good place to rent a 7-seat (Prado, Landcruiser, Patrol, etc) 4x4 to take with us?

I tried once before with one of the big international rental companies, and reserved a Prado, but ended up having something else substituted that they said was an "upgrade" (a BMW X5 or something) but was unsuitable for offroad. They also said I couldn't take their vehicles offroad anyway, so what was the problem.

So I am looking for somewhere our friends can rent something with 7 seats that we can take into the sand. I think there are places in Dubai, but am looking for Abu Dhabi, please. I wondered whether the independent rental places on Airport Road might be better?

Any suggestions?

Many thanks

[super_jordan]

well, i dont advise u to do so, cuz what ever will happen there, it will be ur resposablitiy...so imagine if the car is totaly wrecked...what could happen then?? just saying, at the end, it is ur call

[TomL]

Thanks for the advice
My own car insurance company tells me it is insured for off-raod, and certainly the policy seems to say that.
Are you saying that the insurance for a rental car does not cover off-road use?
If anyone does have recommendations for where I can rent one, especially with insurance, still much appreciated.
Tom

[iguana]

I do not think that any rental company here will allow you to use their cars for offroad ... You simply take the risk and dont tell them

And what do you mean that you are going with a group of professional drivers

[TomL]

Iguana - merely "experienced", certainly not "professional"..!

[iguana]

Iguana - merely "experienced", certainly not "professional"..!

[nikofin]

I was looking into the same subject for one of my colleagues. As you already described the problem is the insurance.

The only one I could find who was offering insurance as well was:
http://offroad-zone.com/index.php

Never used them though, nor did my colleague because of the price.

If you end up using them, I would be interested to know about the experience. Because I'm sure this question will come up again with my colleagues/friends.

[DoPushUps]

Be careful with ORZ. I contacted them to rent a jeep when I first arrived in this country, as I need to get off road for my work. On the phone, the sales guy assured me it was no problem. So I hopped into a cab from Al Ain to Dubai. Once I got there, They wanted the full month rental in advance, plus a hefty deposit. Then I needed to sign their rental agreement. I actually read it and noticed that the rental agreement states that the vehicle will not be used off road and will not be covered for any damage if used off road. When I questioned them about why their contract was the opposite of what they said, they tried to tell me not to worry about it. Bottom line, they lied and I wasted a round trip cab fair from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi. In my experience, ORZ is not trustworthy.
After the ORZ incident, my company's car rental agency rented to me a 4 door jeep wrangler and did give me coverage and authorization to use it off road. I have since returned it, so it should be available. I know its not a 7 seater, but maybe they have one available. The rental company is Al Raeed located at grid 40R BN 34774 07298 in Abu Dhabi. The owner's name is Saeed.