Dubai: The fact that thousands of roadside workshops thrive across Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi suggests that they have generous patrons who are satisfied with their service.
But are they really good or are motorists just happy with them for their affordability? Let’s find out.
One place where one can find all solutions to a vehicle is Sharjah’s sprawling industrial area, where workshops of every type can be found. And more importantly, one can see all types of vehicles being fixed at these workshops. The same is true for workshops in Rashidiya, Ras Al Khor and Al Quoz in Dubai. Vehicles like Toyota Landcruisers, Lexus, Nissan Patrol, Chevorlet Tahoe or even a Mercedes and BMW are a common sight in the industrial area as well as at the roadside workhops in Dubai.
Auto workshop owners speak
Welcomes govenment’s move to regulate and standardise the industry
“This was much needed and I feel the categorisation and rating will help most of us. It will filter out the poor workshops and give customers the right information about good workshops. Because we operate from a small shop on the roadside, a lot of people think we are not any good, though most of us have a loyal customer base.,”
Mohammad Riyaz, owner of Shirin Auto Workshop, Sharjah’s Industrial area. He has been running his single-shutter workhop for 40 years.
‘Experience and skills of roadside mechanics is better than that of certified engineers’
“We have been in operation for several years and we do all kinds of work from mechanical and electrical to servicing and body work. We have a loyal client base and our customers trust us. If our customer were not satisfied why would they come back to us repeatedly? And how would we survive?” questioned Ahmad.
However, he admitted that all the tecnicians working in his garage are non-certified.
“A team of qualified and experienced technicians work with us but if you ask me about their formal education and training, they don’t have anything to show and they are not all certified. But, our mechanics are better than certified engineers because our technicians can find fault by just listening to the sound of the engine, whereas I have seen engineers struggle to locate the problems,” said Ahmad.
Raihan Ahmad, manager, AR Garage in Rashidiya
New system will certainly benefit the customer but the cost of maintenance will increase because of the rise in standards.
Suresh Babu, Manager of Denso Auto Service
Motorists speak
“For me, the the best place to fix my car is Sharjah’s industrial area. I know a few mechanics for a long time and I trust them. Whenever I have problems with my car, I take it to a small garage in the industrial area and I am satisfied with their job and they are 10 times cheaper than the agency.”
Ebrahim Al Amiri, Emirati
“There are specialists for every vehicle in the market. But it takes time to find out and build the trust. I think the agencies exploit the igorance of people and their fear of the unknown to their advantage, but with a little research, you can find the right mechanic. Initially, I didn’t know anyone, but now I know guys in Rashidiya, Ras Al Khor and Sharjah Industrial area who can fix anything professionally yet they are affordable,”
Mohammad Mattar, Egyptian, salesman based in Dubai
“I think it is an important move [Esma’s decision to formulate a new system with proper categories and ratings to bring in better transparency to the auto industry]. If a database is built as the authorities have said, it will help the motorists to research and look for suitable workshops. It will bring in greater transparency. Lack of transparency and tools to research are the reasons why many people are reluctant to approach independent workshops,” said Mathur, a long-time Dubai reisdent.
Rohit Mathur, Indian, accountant
Mutawassim Mohsin, engineer, Indian
Cost
There is no doubt agency repair is costlier when compared to regular workshops. Agency repair is good only when the car is under warranty. We are forced to do maintenance work with the authorised dealer during the warranty otherwise it gets void.
Quality
All types of repairs can be carried out at local workshops as they offer quality service at much affordable rates. The local workshops also use genuine parts and their labour rates and overheads are very less compared to agencies.
Reliability
I owned a Honda Civic for almost ten years. Once warranty was over, I did its periodic maintenance at non-agency workshops and I found them absolutely reliable. When you buy a new car, it is under warranty and these days most dealers also offer free service contracts. I would suggest it is best to do the maintenance with the authorised dealers when the car is new once the car is out of warranty, the maintenance can be done at any good workshop.
Hannan Haq, architect, Pakistani
Cost
The authorised dealers are expensive in comparison to regular workshops. It may be justified only for the owners of luxury cars as technicians at regular workshops may not be skilled enough. But for normal cars the cost is too high at the agencies and one can pay much less for the same repair work at regular workshops under your own supervision.
Quality
I think you can get same quality satisfaction if you find a good mechanic with proper equipment and skill level. If you actually look around, you will find a lot of workshops having that facility. Another factor is a person’s satisfaction level. Some people settle with just a quick repair while some prefer to replace the faulty part. But, over all if you yourself are vigilant enough then you can get very good quality of work.
Reliability
I would say the private workshops are reliable. One has to develop a rapport with the mechanic and they will happen when you get your car repaired at a place once or twice. If it worked well for the first time then definitely it will work for the next time as well. With time the mechanic will understand you and your car better and for that to happen you will have to stick with a mechanic for some time.
Allan Yousuf, sales executive, Lebanese
Cost
The cost of spare parts is usually the same everywhere but the labour cost differs. The labour charges at a regular workshop would be around Dh100 per hour, while at the agencies it will be anywhere between Dh300 to Dh500 per hour.
Quality
There are good quality non-agency workshops in town and I would suggest that it is best to carry out regular maintenance with one of these workshops, while major jobs can be done at the agencies.
There is no doubt the quality of work is much better at the authorised dealerships, but the cost is more than three times.
Reliability
It is absolutely perfect to rely on regular workshops to carry out periodic maintenance. I am regular with a couple of private workshops and I find them very reliable for all the jobs like body work, paint job as well as break and suspension jobs. But I would prefer to approach an agency for anything to do with engine or the gear box.
Besides, agencies take more time to finish a job that can be done in a couple of hours outside, which means more money per hour.
