What a Korean used car costs landed in the UAE: worked example
A ₩80,000,000 (about $58,790) Mercedes-Benz S-Class bought in Korea lands in Dubai, registered and on plates, at roughly $67,060 (about AED 246,300) once the verifiable public charges are added: 5% customs duty, 5% VAT on the duty-inclusive value, Dubai Customs fees, RTA inspection and registration. That figure still excludes four items that only exist as dated quotes: inland transport to the Korean port, the export filing, the Dubai clearing agent and the ocean freight itself, for which we use a placeholder below and say so.
Exchange rates used throughout: 1 USD = 1,360.76 KRW (XE, 15 September 2026, 10:07 UTC) and 1 USD = 3.6725 AED, the fixed rate published by the Central Bank of the UAE. Korean won is the binding currency for the car; dollar and dirham figures are orientation only.
The car: ₩80,000,000 in Korea
Purchase price: ₩80,000,000 ÷ 1,360.76 = $58,790, or AED 215,906 at the peg. This is the dealer's asking price for a W223-generation S-Class of the kind listed in our catalogue; the exact car changes the number, the method does not. Under a buy-to-order arrangement the client picks the car, KingStone inspects it at the dealer, then buys it out for export. The won price is what is paid to the dealer; nothing in the lines below alters it.
Korea-side export costs
Deregistration for export (verified): a Korean vehicle leaving the country is removed from the register at a district office. The published fee schedule of a city registration office (Gumi City) lists a ₩1,000 revenue stamp and ₩15,000 registration licence tax, so the government charge is ₩16,000, about $12. The office keeps both number plates and requires proof of the intended export, such as the export contract.
Inland transport to port (agent quote): the car is trucked from the dealer to Pyeongtaek, Incheon or Masan. No public tariff exists; the figure depends on distance and whether the car moves on a flatbed or is driven. Treat it as a line on the agent's quote.
Export customs declaration (agent quote): the export declaration is filed electronically with the Korea Customs Service by a licensed broker. The broker's filing fee and port handling are private prices, so they are not included in the arithmetic below.
Ocean freight and marine insurance
Ocean freight (dated quote required): roll-on/roll-off services from Korean ports to Jebel Ali run weekly. Published forwarder indications diverge widely: one Korean exporter's guide dated April 2026 gives USD 950–1,250 per vehicle with 21–28 days transit, while a UAE forwarder's page last updated in April 2024 lists $2,000 from Incheon with 25–30 days. Neither is a binding rate. For the worked example we plug in $1,500 as a placeholder and flag that a dated quote from the shipping line or forwarder replaces it.
Marine insurance (quote required): cargo insurance is priced as a percentage of insured value, and a 2026 brokerage overview puts general cargo premiums at roughly 0.10%–0.60% of value, with insured value often set at invoice plus freight plus a markup of about 10%. Applying 0.5% to ($58,790 + $1,500) × 1.10 gives about $330. This is an illustration, not a rate; the policy quote decides.
UAE customs: duty and VAT
Customs value: Dubai Customs charges duty on the value including cost, freight and insurance, which for a private import means customs value = car price + freight + insurance. In the example: $58,790 + $1,500 + $330 = $60,620, or AED 222,627.
Customs duty 5% (verified): the UAE government portal states that the rate of customs duty is 5 per cent of the value of goods plus cost, freight and insurance. 5% × $60,620 = $3,031, or AED 11,131.
VAT 5% on the duty-inclusive value (verified): the Federal Tax Authority importers' guide states that import VAT is calculated on the value of the goods inclusive of any customs duty and excise tax that may also be due. Passenger cars carry no excise, so the base is $60,620 + $3,031 = $63,651, or AED 233,758. The rate is 5 per cent under the UAE VAT page, so VAT = $3,183, or AED 11,688. A private individual who is not VAT-registered pays this before the car is released.
Dubai Customs service fees (verified): the Dubai Customs service guide (version 9, 2025) lists the import declaration at AED 15–100 depending on declaration type, a knowledge and innovation fee of AED 20 on any service costing AED 50 or more, and a vehicle clearance certificate at AED 30 per vehicle. Taking the upper declaration fee: AED 100 + AED 20 + AED 30 = AED 150, about $41.
RTA testing and registration
Technical inspection (verified): RTA's vehicle inspection service prices a light-vehicle technical inspection at AED 150 plus AED 20 knowledge and innovation, AED 170 in total, and the certificate is valid for 30 days. A re-inspection, if the first fails, is AED 50 plus AED 20.
Registration (verified): RTA's new vehicle registration page lists AED 400 for a light private vehicle, AED 35 for a short plate or AED 50 for a long plate, and AED 20 knowledge and innovation, so AED 455–470. It requires an electronic customs certificate, a sale and purchase agreement, and, where the customs documents do not confirm Gulf specification, a document confirming compliance. A previously owned vehicle must pass the electronic inspection first. Inspection plus registration with long plates: AED 640, about $174.
The total
Verified public charges: ₩16,000 ($12) deregistration + $3,031 duty + $3,183 VAT + $41 Dubai Customs fees + $174 RTA = $6,441.
Placeholders pending quotes: $1,500 freight + $330 insurance = $1,830.
Landed total: $58,790 + $6,441 + $1,830 = $67,061, roughly AED 246,300, or about 14% above the Korean purchase price. Not in the total: inland transport in Korea, the export broker's filing fee, port handling on either side, the Dubai clearing agent's fee, Gulf-specification conformity work if RTA asks for it, and KingStone's own service fee, which is stated on the individual quote.
Two mechanical points matter for anyone rebuilding this for a different car. Duty and VAT compound: each $1,000 added to the car price or freight adds $50 of duty and then $52.50 of VAT, so $102.50 in total. And every dollar of freight is taxed twice, first as part of the customs value and again inside the VAT base, which is why a dated freight quote belongs in the calculation before, not after, the deposit.
What KingStone checks before you pay
Insurance-history report: before buying out a car KingStone pulls the Korean insurer-database report (Carhistory) and reads the payout lines: whether repairs were paid on this car or on the other party's car, the amount, and which panels were replaced. A replaced door skin is a cosmetic item; a repaired side member or cross member is frame damage and the car is declined.
Lien and encumbrance check: the registration certificate is checked for mortgages, seizures and unpaid tax attachments. A car with any encumbrance cannot be deregistered for export, so this check happens before any payment to the dealer, not after.
Official-import status and mileage plausibility: the vehicle identification number is checked against the official Korean importer's records to confirm it was sold new through the manufacturer's channel, and the mileage on the odometer is compared with the inspection and insurance records that carry mileage stamps at each event. Gaps between those readings are asked about; readings that fall are grounds to walk away.
Open questions
Four figures in this article are not verified public prices. The ocean freight of $1,500 is a placeholder between two forwarder indications published in April 2024 and April 2026; only a dated quote from the line or forwarder is binding. The marine insurance rate of 0.5% comes from a brokerage overview of general cargo, not a car-specific policy. Inland transport in Korea, the export broker's filing fee and the Dubai clearing agent's fee have no public tariff and are omitted. We also could not fetch a current Encar listing to anchor the ₩80,000,000 price to a specific S-Class, so that price is the example's assumption, not a market quote for a named car.
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