Car Rentals in Saudi

Hi Chris,
that is right, car rentals are too high here. I recently had an experience of renting cars from different cities. Surprisingly, car rental prices were much higher at the airport. On one side, no one looks at the petrol meter if that makes any difference

Thank you Ehtesham. Even cheaper fuel will not offset the exorbitant charge of rental. Looks like the solution is either to buy one or get the Uber as and when needed. From what I hear there ain’t much to do outside the compound anyway

Hi Chris,
It really depends on daily commute. By choosing Uber are you going to spend daily.
Car pooling is common at the place of work where you can agree with someone to pick and drop. Talking about what can be done outside depends on the city you live in. You can find them at 'meetup' application.

I will be spending on working days. In UAE, I had a Jeep Grand Cherokee as rental for AED 4200 / month. I doubt I would even get a mid size SUV in Riyad for that rate from what I see. I'm planning to see a few historic places while in Saudi. Apart from that my daily routine is gym and long walks

Hi,
If you show interest to the rental company to rent on monthly basis, you will get different rate but nothing like UAE. You really need to calculate with the current rental rates in mind. Your best option is to get a car on lease to own contract. for example, my calculation for lease to own is taking into consideration my minimum run everyday. If i take taxi, it is going to be SR.100 per day.
I pay SR. 1375/ month for a leased car, that makes it 46 SR a day.

Another option for you is to take a personal loan from bank to get minimum amount to buy a second hand car. Some expats leaving on final exit have no choice but to sell their car and if you get lucky you will find a really good car on good rate.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like a good option to lease a car. Would you mind if I asked which car did you get for that lease plan?

Kia sportage 2015 model

Sounds reasonable. Thank you