Huge demand for car repairs, maintenance services in Qatar as mercury soars

While some businesses experience a slowdown during summer, many garages and car service centres in Doha are witnessing a windfall as demand for various repairs and services surge, it is learnt.
A number of mechanics working at Doha’s Industrial area told Gulf Times that they have received a huge number of service requests from regular and walk-in customers daily – a trend they hope happens year-round.
“Summer is really a peak season. Just outside of our garage are three vehicles waiting to be fixed by me today, and I wish it is winter so can I easily do the job. But honestly, in this temperature, it will take days before I could finish all of them. I expect more to come in the coming days and weeks,” said Filipino mechanic Richie, who was checking a car’s air-conditioning (AC) system Friday.
He said many customers seek various services such as AC repairs, cleaning, compressor replacements, and engine tune-ups, overhauls and repairs, in addition to changing oil and filters, and door locks fixing, among others.
According to Richie, many customers also avail of a number of services for preventive maintenance at least a month or three weeks before the sweltering summer months to ensure their vehicles are in optimal condition.
“Car owners know that they need to see us before it gets hotter because vehicle systems normally get affected by extreme temperatures and they want to avoid the troubles and inconveniences while using their vehicles,” he said. “However, many drivers get to know the problems only when the temperature rises, particularly the car’s cooling systems.”
He added that the summer season also provides “an opportunity for people in this industry” to get employment as the demand for mechanics and support staff increase.
This was echoed by a long-time expatriate and Pakistani mechanic in Qatar, noting that they hire additional staff to attend to more customers. Otherwise, he said they tend to decline other requests from new clients due to the huge workload they already have.
“We want to help more people, especially those who are on a tight budget but we only have a few options because most of the time they want us to do the work immediately,” he said. “We can only refer them to other garages here, which I think are also dealing with a lot of customers during this season.”
Besides garages, several stores selling automotive parts and accessories in Doha’s Industrial area also witnessing a steady influx of customers looking for a variety of items such as engine belts and hoses, compressors and condensers, oil filters, engine oil, radiators, coolants, and batteries.
An employee of a popular store in the area said they often ran out of stocks of a number of automotive parts during this period, and are prompted to seek the help of other shops.