Lease to Own a Car in Abu Dhabi: What It Is and How It Works
Lease to own, also called rent-to-own, lets you pay for a car in monthly payments and keep the car at the end, without a bank loan and without a credit bureau check. Gleeven runs these plans from a showroom in Dubai, and many of our customers live and work in Abu Dhabi and simply drive over to pick the car and sign.
What lease to own actually means
Lease to own is simple. You pick a car from our stock. We buy that car. You pay a part of the car price at the start, then a fixed monthly payment for 24 or 36 months, depending on the car. When the last monthly payment is made, the car is transferred to you.
Two things to be clear about from the beginning:
- There is a payment at the start. It is not a deposit and it is not a fee. It is a part of the price of the car. It is different for every car, so it is shown with each car on our website.
- There is no balloon payment. The last monthly payment is the last payment. There is no big lump sum at the end to keep the car.
The current list of cars, the monthly payment for each one and the starting payment for each one live on gleeven.com. Stock moves, so the site is the only honest place to see today's numbers.
Why Abu Dhabi residents look at this instead of a bank
Banks in the UAE usually want a salary transfer to that bank, a salary certificate, and a clean AECB credit report. That works well for a lot of people. It does not work for everyone.
The people who usually write to us are:
- Self-employed on a trade licence, with income but no salary slip.
- Salaried, but the salary is not transferred to a bank that will lend.
- New in the country, with a visa but almost no credit history yet.
- People who simply do not want a bank loan on their name.
With Gleeven there is no bank, no salary certificate and no credit bureau check. We do our own simple review of the customer instead. We do not promise approval to anyone, and we will tell you clearly if a car or a plan does not fit you.
An honest comparison
If you qualify for a bank car loan, a bank loan is usually cheaper over the full period. That is the truth and you should know it before you sign anything. Lease to own is for people who cannot use that door, or do not want to.
| Bank car loan | Lease to own with Gleeven | Long term rental | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total cost | Usually the cheapest if you qualify | Higher than a bank loan | You pay forever and own nothing |
| Salary transfer needed | Usually yes | No | No |
| Credit bureau check | Yes | Not checked | Usually not |
| Payment at the start | Down payment | Yes, part of the car price | Deposit, refundable |
| Do you own the car at the end | Yes | Yes, after the last monthly payment | No |
| Insurance and servicing | You pay separately | Inside the monthly payment on most plans | Usually included |
What is inside the monthly payment
On most of our plans, insurance and the agreed servicing are already inside the monthly payment. That keeps the cost of the car predictable, which matters when you are self-employed and your income moves month to month.
What is not included: traffic fines, Salik in Dubai and road tolls in general. Those are paid by the driver, because they depend on how you drive and where you drive.
There is no deposit and no hidden fee on top of the starting payment and the monthly payment. If something is not written in your contract, it does not exist.
Documents and how the process runs
You need three things:
- Emirates ID, or a passport with a valid UAE visa.
- A UAE driving licence.
- A security cheque.
The steps are short:
- Look at the list of cars and prices on gleeven.com.
- Send us a message on WhatsApp with the car you like.
- We check your documents and confirm the plan, the term and the payments.
- You come to the showroom in Midtown Central, Majan, Shop 28, Dubai. We are open every day from 10am to 8pm.
- You sign, pay the starting payment, and take the car.
You sign with Carborn Car Rental L.L.C, trade licence 1144437, licensed in Dubai. The cars on the site are our own stock. During the term the car is registered to the owning company, and at the end of the term it transfers to you, exactly as written in the contract.
Living in Abu Dhabi, car from Dubai
Our showroom and our licence are in Dubai. That is not a problem for daily life in Abu Dhabi. You drive the car normally, on Abu Dhabi roads and anywhere else in the UAE, and you pay the tolls and fines that you generate.
Two points worth planning for:
- You will need to come to the Dubai showroom to see the car and sign. Most customers do this in one visit.
- Servicing is arranged through us, so you should be comfortable bringing the car to Dubai for the agreed service visits.
One more rule that people ask about often. A car on a private rent-to-own plan cannot be used for Uber or Careem. Ride-hailing in the UAE needs commercial plates through a limousine company. If your plan is to drive for an app, this is not the right product for you.
Questions people ask
Can I get a lease to own car in Abu Dhabi if I have no salary certificate? +
Is there really no payment at the start? +
Do I pay a big amount at the end to own the car? +
How long are the terms and where do I see prices? +
Can I use the car for Uber or Careem? +
Read next
- Rent to own a car in Dubai with no down payment: what it really costs
- How to get a car in Dubai without a bank loan
- Rent to own a car in Dubai if you are self-employed
- Rent to own or a bank car loan in Dubai: which is cheaper
- All 8 cars available now
Gleeven, Carborn Car Rental L.L.C, Dubai trade licence 1144437. Midtown Central, Majan, Shop 28, Dubai.