A Carnival for my shuttle business, handled end to end

I run a small shuttle business out of Aqaba and I needed a reliable seven-seater. The Kia Carnival is the obvious choice here — durable, comfortable, and parts are easy to get. I asked Korea Car Master to find a clean diesel one and handle the whole thing, because I don’t have time to manage an import myself.

They found a 2021 2.2 diesel with 76,100 km, silver, with the dual air-conditioning that matters in our heat. They walked me through the seating layout and the engine spec on a call so I was sure it fit shuttle work, and sent photos and a video. They were honest about some wear on the driver’s seat bolster — fair for the mileage — and they showed it to me rather than hiding it.

The money was clear: ₩36,500,000, about $27,000 FOB, an agent fee of $750, and freight to Aqaba of around $1,250. All of it agreed in writing before I paid a deposit. No part of the cost appeared later as a surprise, which is more than I can say for a broker I used years ago.

Here is why I give four stars and not five, and it is only fair to be honest: the sailing took noticeably longer than the first estimate — about two weeks longer — because the vessel schedule changed. It was not their fault, and they had warned me up front that shipping dates are a range, not a promise.

What kept it from becoming a real problem is that they stayed in contact the whole time. They told me about the schedule change as soon as they knew, gave me the new vessel and ETA, and answered every message while I was anxious about a van I had already paid for. Good handling of a delay still costs you the delay, though, so my advice is to plan a buffer.

When it finally arrived, the Carnival was exactly as inspected and went straight into service, where it has been reliable since. I would use them again — I’d just build two extra weeks into my plan and not panic if the ship is slow. For end-to-end handling of a working vehicle from the other side of the world, they did right by me.