Cars we work on
43 marques, from Toyota and Nissan through the German premium names to Bentley and Rolls-Royce. Each one has a page covering the sizes it actually runs, the approved sidewall codes it uses, and what tends to fail on it in this climate rather than in a European one.
We are an independent garage. We are not a dealer or an authorised service centre for any manufacturer, and every page below says plainly which jobs on that marque genuinely need one — key programming, online coding, camera calibration, warranty work. Knowing where the line falls is most of what you want from a garage.
Japan
The backbone of the UAE car park. Land Cruisers, Patrols, Prados, Hiluxes and the saloons that do the daily commute — durable, well understood, and the cars we see most.
Toyota
Toyota is the most common marque on UAE roads, and the Land Cruiser and Prado in particular do work that most SUVs elsewhere never see — desert driving, long highway runs and heavy loads in extreme heat.
Nissan
The Patrol is one of the defining vehicles of UAE roads, and like the Land Cruiser it is often asked to do genuine desert work as well as daily highway mileage.
Lexus
Lexus buyers generally prioritise quietness and ride comfort, and tyre choice affects both more than almost any other component.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi is everywhere in Dubai. The Pajero and Montero Sport do the school run and the weekend dunes, the L200 works every industrial estate in Al Quoz and the Attrage racks up taxi and fleet mileage that would frighten most cars.
Honda
Hondas are bought in Dubai for the reason they are bought anywhere: they last. The Civic and Accord are everywhere and the CR-V is one of the most common family cars on Sheikh Zayed Road.
Mazda
Mazda has quietly become a common sight in Dubai, mostly CX-5 and CX-9, with the Mazda 6 and Mazda 3 behind them. They are well built and they drive better than most of their rivals, but the higher trims sit on 19 and 20-inch wheels with very little sidewall, and the Skyactiv engines are fussier about fuel and oil condition than the badge suggests.
Infiniti
Infiniti in the UAE means the QX80 above all else - a body-on-frame SUV of nearly three tonnes sitting on 20 or 22-inch wheels. The QX60 and Q50 follow.
Suzuki
The Jimny has become the default cheap desert car in Dubai and we see a lot of them, usually with oversized tyres and sand where sand should not be. The Vitara, Swift and Ertiga do the other half of the work, on school runs and private hire all over the city.
Subaru
Subarus are a smaller presence in Dubai than in most markets, but the owners tend to be enthusiasts and the cars get used. The one thing every Subaru owner needs to hear before anything else: on a symmetrical all-wheel-drive Subaru you do not replace a single tyre.
Germany
Low-profile tyres on large wheels, tight underbonnet packaging and a real sensitivity to alignment. Most also specify an approved sidewall code, which is worth understanding before you buy.
Audi
Audis are common in Dubai and mostly run low-profile tyres on large wheels, which makes them particularly vulnerable to pothole and kerb damage — and particularly sensitive to alignment.
BMW
Many BMWs are supplied on run-flat tyres and have no spare wheel at all, which changes what happens when you get a puncture and what your options are.
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes models are heavily represented in Dubai across saloons, the GLE and GLS, and the G-Class. Most carry manufacturer-specific tyre homologation.
Porsche
Porsche homologation is unusually specific. The N-rating on a Porsche tyre is not a marketing badge — it denotes a tyre developed jointly with Porsche for that specific model.
Volkswagen
Volkswagen sells in real numbers here and the sizes are sensible - a Golf or a Tiguan runs tyres that are easy to source rather than something exotic. Unlike Audi and BMW, VW does not put an approval letter on the sidewall, so fitment comes down to size, load index and speed rating.
Opel
Opel is a small presence in Dubai next to the Japanese mainstream, but Astras, Grandlands and Insignias are on the road and their owners need somewhere sensible to take them. The important thing to know is the split: anything from roughly 2018 onwards sits on Peugeot underpinnings with PSA engines, while older cars are GM.
United States
Full-size SUVs and pickups, and a lot of weight on each corner. Load rating and correct pressure matter more here than on anything else on this page.
Ford
Ford is everywhere in Dubai, from F-150 and Ranger pickups on the Al Quoz industrial roads to Explorers and Expeditions doing the school run. The big ones are heavy, carry load and run tall tyres that heat up badly on a long Sheikh Zayed Road stint.
Chevrolet
Tahoes and Suburbans are a default family car here and Silverados do real work in the industrial areas. They are heavy, they sit on 20 and 22-inch wheels, and the small-block V8s spend a lot of their life idling with the A/C at full load.
GMC
The Yukon and Yukon XL are as common as anything on Dubai roads and the Denali trims put a two and a half tonne SUV on 22-inch wheels with very little sidewall left. Sierra pickups carry weight and tow.
Jeep
The Wrangler is close to a national vehicle in the UAE and most of the ones we see have been aired down in the dunes at the weekend then driven back up Emirates Road on the same tyres. Lifts, oversized all-terrains and larger rims change the geometry and the load on everything.
Dodge
Chargers and Challengers get driven hard here and the heat does the rest. A Scat Pack on soft summer rubber can go through a set of rear tyres in a season, and the standard pads glaze long before the discs are worn out.
Cadillac
The Escalade is a very heavy car on very large wheels, which is a hard combination in a city full of speed bumps and kerbs. Magnetic Ride dampers on the higher trims are excellent when they work and expensive when they leak, and heat does not help them.
Tesla
A Model Y weighs about the same as a mid-size SUV and delivers all its torque from a standstill, so it eats rear tyres and needs a tyre with the right load index rather than whatever fits the rim. Most Teslas here also came on foam-lined acoustic tyres, which changes how a puncture is repaired and balanced.
South Korea
Enormous and growing volume, much of it in rental and fleet service. Sensible sizes, easy to source, and cars that respond well to being serviced on time.
Hyundai
Hyundai is one of the highest-volume marques on Dubai roads and a large share of it is rental and company fleet. That shows up in the workshop: cars with four different tyre brands on them, tread run down to the wear bars, or low-mileage cars whose tyres have quietly aged past the five-year limit.
Kia
Kia sells in the same enormous numbers as Hyundai here and shares most of the hardware underneath, but the mix is different. A lot of the Pegas and Cerato work we see is taxi and limousine fleet on very high mileage, while Sportage, Seltos, Sorento and Carnival are family cars doing school runs and Hatta weekends.
Genesis
Genesis is Hyundai's luxury arm and the GV80 and G80 are the cars we actually see, usually on 20 or 21 inch wheels. Mechanically they are straightforward for an independent garage - brakes, tyres, dampers, fluids - but they carry the full driver assistance suite and a great deal of module-level electronics.
United Kingdom
From Land Rovers doing real work to Bentleys and Rolls-Royces doing none. Air suspension, very heavy kerb weights, and bespoke fitments at the top end.
Land Rover
Range Rovers and Discoverys run large-diameter wheels with heavy vehicle weight, which makes load rating and correct pressure especially important.
MINI
MINIs are small cars on big wheels. Many cars here left the factory on run-flats, which are stiff, expensive and generally not repairable - a nail usually means a new tyre, and there is no spare in the boot.
Jaguar
Jaguar sold well in Dubai through the F-Pace and XF years and there are a lot of them still on the road here, many out of warranty. The aluminium-intensive body means bonded and riveted panels rather than plain steel, and the cars are heavier on their tyres than the badge suggests.
Bentley
Bentley is well represented in Dubai and the Bentayga and Continental GT are common sights on Sheikh Zayed Road. These are very heavy cars - a Bentayga is well over 2.4 tonnes before passengers - running 21 and 22 inch wheels on tyres built to a specific load and speed rating.
Rolls-Royce
Dubai has one of the highest concentrations of Rolls-Royce cars anywhere. A Cullinan is close to 2.7 tonnes and a Phantom is heavier still, all of it riding on self-levelling air suspension and tyres made to Rolls-Royce's own specification.
Aston Martin
Aston Martins are a low volume car in Dubai and the DBX has brought a lot of the recent ones here. Fitments are bespoke - most DB11, Vantage and DBX tyres are built to Aston's own specification rather than pulled off a shelf, and they are staggered front to rear.
MG
MG carries a British badge but the cars are designed and built by SAIC in China, and the volume in the UAE has grown enormously. The ZS, HS and RX5 are everywhere on Dubai roads, a lot of them running as private hire or family second cars covering serious mileage.
Italy
Low volume, high specification, and tyres that are usually ordered rather than stocked.
- Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferraris in Dubai are usually weekend and evening cars that cover few kilometres but sit for weeks in the heat, which is harder on them than driving. We fit and balance the correct Ferrari-coded tyres, handle wheel refinishing, brake fluid, geometry and general mechanical work.
Lamborghini
The Urus made Lamborghini a genuinely common sight in Dubai and it is a very heavy SUV on very large wheels, which is a demanding combination in this climate. We handle tyres, alignment, brakes and general mechanical work on the Urus and Huracan.
Maserati
Maseratis are a familiar sight in Dubai without being common, and the Levante, Ghibli and Grecale make up almost all of the ones we see. They share a lot of hardware with the wider Stellantis and FCA world, which means parts and general mechanical work are far more approachable than the badge suggests.
Alfa Romeo
The Giulia and Stelvio are the Alfas we see in Dubai, and both are set up more sharply than their rivals. That makes them rewarding to drive and unusually sensitive to tyre choice and alignment.
Fiat
Fiat has only a small presence in the UAE, mostly the 500 and the Tipo, and many are older cars now well out of warranty. That is exactly where an independent garage is useful.
France
Value and fleet cars, plus the PSA engines that now sit under several other badges. Worth knowing which era of engine you actually have.
Peugeot
Peugeot sells steadily in Dubai on the 3008, 5008, 2008 and 508, and they are pleasant cars that reward being serviced on time. The 1.6 turbo petrol engines are the ones to watch in this heat.
Renault
Renault is one of the strongest value brands in the UAE and the Duster, Koleos and Megane turn up constantly, including a lot of ex-rental and fleet cars. High mileage, hard use and deferred maintenance are the pattern rather than the exception.
Citroen
Citroen has a small footprint in the UAE, mainly the C5 Aircross and the C3, and owners often find dealer coverage thin once the car is out of warranty. Mechanically they share most of their hardware with Peugeot, so parts and general work are no harder than on a 3008.
Sweden
Czech Republic
China
Not listed?
The list is the marques we see enough of to have something specific to say about. It is not a limit — tyres, brakes, servicing and diagnostics are much the same job across most cars. Tell us what you drive and we will tell you straight whether it is work for us or work for a dealer.