(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
DOHA: Owners of new vehicles that are within the warranty period can now get them serviced or repaired at workshops of their choice.
The dealer now has no right to dictate terms and designate workshops for the service or repair of a new vehicle.
The new terms apply not only to showroom-fresh vehicles but also to those that are old but with unexpired warranties.
In other words the fresh terms allow customers to freely choose the garage to carry out maintenance or repair of a vehicle within the warranty period.
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce conducted an extensive study of warranty booklets of car dealers that showed the use of restrictive clauses and ambiguous terms.
The Ministry then asked them to remove expressions that might deny warranty coverage to owners who choose third-party workshops for car repair or service.
The Ministry has urged consumers to examine warranty booklets to ensure that car dealers are complying with the amended terms.
Violations can be reported to the Ministry on the hotline 16001 or email: or the Ministry’s application on mobile phones: MEC_Qatar.
The Ministry said customers must though carefully choose where to carry out maintenance or repair of a car within the warranty period and retain all receipts with them. Repair records and date of maintenance as instructed by the manufacturer should be carefully preserved if maintenance is carried out at a third-party workshop.
Some 22 car dealers in the country all of them reputed distributors of showroom-fresh cars have given a written undertaking of compliance.
They have pledged to comply with the provisions of Law No 19 of 2006 which aims to promote competition and prevent monopolistic practices.
The dealers were asked by the Ministry to follow a Nine-Clause Initiative to ease warranty terms for the benefit of customers.
All the above dealers must furnish details of amended warranty terms to the Ministry which has a Competition Protection Department for approval.
Any changes to be made in future to the terms already approved will need prior approval of Competition Protection Department.
A car dealer must now also allow a vehicle owner to use materials such as oil filters or spare parts of original specifications provided the spares are accredited by the manufacturer.
Dealers will avoid warranty coverage only for spare parts that do not meet technical requirements and shall not revoke warranty coverage for other parts.
In the event of damage to the parts of a vehicle as a result of maintenance in violation of technical requirements the dealer is obliged to submit the proof of violation.
The dealers will not be permitted to add the cost of maintenance or repair to the sale price of a vehicle to the exception of pre-approved promotional offers.
The ministry said in a statement yesterday that the new measures will provide incentives to car dealers to improve their performance boost competitiveness and improve the quality of services provided at their workshops.
With its statement the ministry also attached the list of the 22 local car distributors that are all big names.
The Peninsula