Amphibious car for sale: what the real ones cost, and what a jet car is instead

Amphibious car for sale: first, a jet car is not one.

Say it first, because many listings blur it: a jet car is NOT amphibious. It is a fibreglass jet boat with the body of a convertible. The wheels you see are part of the moulded body. It reaches the water on a trailer, down a slipway, by crane or from a berth, and it does not come back out under its own power.

A true amphibious car drives on the road, rolls into the water and retracts its wheels. That is a different machine at a different price. We do not sell one.

People arrive here from searches that mean different things: 'amphibious car for sale' and 'water car price' (the real thing), 'car that drives on water' (either), and 'boat that looks like a car' or 'boat car for sale' (the jet car). This page takes them in that order. If you need one vehicle for road and water, the first half is for you and the second is not.

Water car price: what a real amphibious car costs.

Our research found one maker of true amphibious cars with a published price: WaterCar, in California. Its website, read on 12 November 2026, gives these figures.

• Price: USD 135,000–175,000.
• On the water: 35 mph, about 56 km/h.
• Seats: six.
• Length: 19 ft 6 in, about 5.9 m.
• Wheels: retract once the car is afloat.

For scale, that price equals between 2.7 and 3.5 complete jet cars at about USD 50,000 each. You pay for a machine that has to work on the road and on the water.

What we did not find: a second maker with a public price list, a dealer price outside the United States, or used listings. That is not proof that none exist. Our research was about jet cars and amphibious cars were the comparison, so treat this section as a starting point and ask the maker for the rest.

Car that drives on water, or boat that looks like a car.

The car-shaped craft that operators rent out in Dubai, Miami, Jeddah and the Maldives are jet cars. They do not drive anywhere on land. From the dock they look like a convertible driving on water, which is the whole appeal.

Under the body sits a planing hull with a jet drive, the same layout as a personal watercraft. The driver has a steering wheel and a throttle. Typical figures for the class, from a Dubai guide published by dubizzle: 4.5–5.4 m long and about 2.0 m wide, about 544 kg, a 1.8-litre engine of 180 or 250 hp and 80–100 km/h. Those are class figures, not the specification of our craft, which comes with the quote.

You can try one before you think about buying. Dubai operators list a ride at AED 750–1,200 (about USD 204–327) for 30 minutes; in Miami the list price is USD 175–350 per hour. How a jet car works explains the hull, the drive and the controls.

How a jet car gets into the water.

Four ways, all ordinary for a small boat.

• Trailer and slipway. The craft sits on a boat trailer; you reverse down the ramp and float it off. The tow vehicle does the road part.
• Crane. Marinas and yacht clubs lift small craft in and out, and a new craft can be launched this way on delivery day.
• Berth. The craft stays afloat at a marina pontoon between rides.
• Floating dock. At a villa or a resort jetty the craft is kept on a floating dock.

After salt water, rinse the hull and the jet nozzle with fresh water. Plan the storage before you order: a jet car needs a place to live by the water, while an amphibious car drives home to a garage. That is its one real advantage.

Boat car for sale: it is registered as a boat.

Because a jet car is a vessel, the paperwork is marine paperwork.

• Dubai: registration with the Dubai Maritime Authority, and a marine craft driving licence for an owner who drives it (Khaleej Times).
• USA: an EPA-certified engine, a hull identification number and builder compliance under Coast Guard rules, then state registration. Florida asks anyone born after 1 January 1988 for a boater card.
• European Union: CE marking under Directive 2013/53/EU is mandatory. If a craft arrives without it, the importer carries the obligation to have it assessed.

We make no certification claim on this page. Ask for the certificate status of the craft and engine with the quote, before you pay anything. At customs a jet car is declared as a pleasure boat under heading 8903; duty and tax by country are in our import guide, and each rate needs a customs broker's confirmation.

Country detail: Dubai, Florida, Greece and Cyprus.

If you plan to rent it out, read the numbers first.

We found no rental price data for amphibious cars. For jet cars there is plenty, and it is less generous than the brochures. The first twenty to thirty minutes sell at a premium; whole hours sell for far less. In our illustrative scenarios a stand-alone craft pays back in 11–20 months in the base cases, in 3–5 months only at the best berths, and never if it sells less than about one hour per operating day. Not a forecast.

Run your own inputs in the ROI calculator and read the rental business page before you order. For private use, see buying a jet car for private use. To ask about either, send your country, city and how you will launch it on WhatsApp.