• Your car or motorcycle. Buying and… selling. (Warning: info may be out of date)

    Buying a car. Within the range of 10000 NIS you can find, for example,

    • 11 years old Peugeuot 205, 6th owner, mileage 250000km looks probably, 9000 NIS
    • 14 years old Fiat Uno, 4th owner, unknown mileage (theoretically 127000km), 8000 NIS
    • 19 years old Subaru, 4th owner, unknown mileage (theoretically 200000km), 7000 NIS

    Between 10000 and 15000 NIS you can find

    • 14 years old Subaru DL, 4th owner, unknown mileage (theoretically 250000km), 13000 NIS
    • 11 years old Fiat Punto, 3rd owner, unknown mileage (theoretically 140000km), 14000 NIS
    • 8 years old Peugeuot 205, 3rd owner, mileage 180000km looks probably, 13000 NIS

    Between 15000 and 20000 NIS you can find

    • 9 years old Volkswagen Golf, 3rd owner, mileage 250000km looks probably, 19000 NIS
    • 13 years old Subaru DL, 3rd owner, unknown mileage (theoretically 140000km), 17000 NIS
    • 9 years old Fiat Punto, 2nd owner, mileage 190000km may be realistic, 16000 NIS

    Further information you can find at portal Yad2 and portal Cartel. Both of them provide thousands of advertisements of 2nd hand cars, all in Hebrew. Before buying make sure that you check your car in a reputable garage. In average assume 30000km/year for a larger car and 15000-20000km/year for a city car.

    Cars above 30000 NIS are sold also via Auto Centrum (Derekh Hevron corner Avraham Ben Ami). You get a short term guarantee.

    Selling a car. It may be very hard to sell your car, in particular if it belongs to the low end of the market (below 30000 NIS). Be prepared to wait few months for a private buyer or loose up to 50% of value if you decide to sell via a garage.

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    Subaru in his teens, popular among students.

    Buying and selling a motorcycle. Owning a motorcycle seems to be an interesting option, taking into account good weather condition (see section on cycling). On the other hand, nights are quite cold and traffic is really dense on most roads north from Beer-Sheva. Within the range of 20000 NIS you can find Suzuki GS 500 from 1999-2000 with 70000-85000km on the clock. It may look like a somewhat high price, taking into account that the price of a new Suzuki GS 500 in Europe is around 4500 Euro, that is approximatelly 24500 NIS (click here, in order to see a Suzuki dealer page in Warsaw).

    Besides the problem with high prices, unfortunately a good motorcycle garage in Beer-Sheva is yet to be discovered, or more probably established. People running Aluf Ofnoim (champions/masters of motorcycle, Yosi Habursekai Street, close to Big) are terrible barbarians .

    A scooter could be an interesting option for commuting inside of Beer-Sheva and occasional trips outside of the city, in particular if it is new and does not require any advanced service procedures.

    Selling motorcycles and scooters above 5000 NIS is very, very hard in Beer-Sheva and very likely will take few months. Two additional factors which has to be considered: high price of insurance (see below) and a good, locked parking place for your bike.

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  • Driving licence.

    Theoretically your foreign driving licence is no longer valid after one year from your entrance to Israel. This law seems to be ignored. However, as it is described below, you may want to do Israeli car driving licence in order to obtain Israeli motorcycle driving licence. For any reason, if you decide to get your Israeli car driving licence, then if you have a foreign car driving licence,

    • you will have to get free of charge an official form from Memsi (see photo below); Memsi is an office located just next to Central Bus Station, opposite to the Central Railway Station,
    • get your health test (in a doctor office, in the same building, next door to Memsi, it takes 5 minutes, 50 NIS), which means that the doctor signs on your Memsi form that you are physically capable of driving in Israel,
    • visit one of driving schools located next to the Central Bus Station. There are few small offices visible on a picture below. Decide for one of them, arrange your further driving classes, and take a bill for your practical exam. The cost of the exam is approx. 100 NIS, which you have to pay at a post office (free of charge) or in a bank (5 NIS charge in HaPoalim).
    • receive a written permission from Misrad Rishui (Licencing Office, see picture below), located near the corner of Rotschild and Shazar. Receiving permission means that an official from Misrad Rishui has to sign on your Memsi form, that your foreign driving licence is valid in Israel and your visa is OK, meaning that it is valid at least for few next months. As far as writing these words remembers, the official has to sign on the bill for the practical exam, confirming that you indeed had paid for the exam.
    • with the signed Memsi form you can start your driving classes (max. 3*40 minutes). Your driving instructor will tell you when you should come for the exam. The cost of the classes charged by the driving school is approximatelly 300 NIS.

    It sounds complicated, but indeed all these steps, with except of the classes, are possible to complete in one day or two days, mostly because all involved offices, with except of Misrad Rishui, are one next to another at the square where the Central Bus Station, Railway Station and Kanyon Mall are located. Just bear in mind, that Misrad Rishui should be visited early in the morning, around 8am, in order to avoid terrible queues.

    If you have a valid foreign car driving licence and want to do a motorcycle licence, first you have to get your Israeli car driving licence. Doing these, at each step inform the Memsi official, the owner of the driving school, as well as the doctor and Misrad Rishui officials, that you intend to do Israeli motorcycle driving licence. As a result you will carry two Memsi forms, one for car, and one for motorcycle. Both of them has to be signed at each step of the procedure. You will have to take approximatelly 15 motorcycle driving classes, 40 minutes each. The cost is approx. 700 NIS, if you do your Israeli car driving licence in the same driving school. If you have Israeli car driving licence, motorcycle theoretical exam is not required.

    Doing your driving licence from scratch, without a foreign driving licence, is probably possible for cars, but in the case of motorcycle it may be somewhat hard if you do not know Hebrew, because Misrad Rishui in Beer-Sheva has theoretical motorcycle exams only in Hebrew. Theoretically you can ask for oral exam. If you want to try, Memsi sells preparation booklets in Hebrew, English and Russian. Non-Hebrew booklets are good only for the car driving licence exam.

    Most people you meet on your way to Israeli driving licence may not speak English.

    Driving schools at Ben Zvi street

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    Memsi office at Ben Zvi street, just next to driving schools

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    Misrad Rishui building

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  • Obligatory insurance.

    Car insurance costs approximatelly 2500 NIS per year. There are many options avaliable on the market. For the best deal ask your collegues in the office and/or your scientific advisor.

    In order to buy motorcycle insurance you can either visit an insurance agent or go directly to pool (see picture below), located at KKL street in the Old City (Sun-Thu 8:00-16:00, phone 086232523). In contrast to an agent, in the pool they can sell you an insurance for any prescribed amount of time longer than a week. You receive a bill which has to be paid either in a post office (free of charge) or in a bank (in HaPoalim 5 NIS charge). One week insurance costs approximatelly 180 NIS, one month 450 NIS, half year 2500 NIS, one year 4500 NIS. Prices for motorcycles/scooters with engines smaller than 250ccm are roughly 20% lower. Prices for scooters with 50ccm engines are roughly 50% lower.

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