Responding positively to the nine-clause initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) to ease warranty terms, Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Company, the distributors of  Nissan and Infiniti in Qatar, has reduced  maintenance charges of all their vehicles with effect from today.
Other car agencies have acknowledged the initiative and are to announce discounted rates soon, the ministry said in a release yesterday. Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Company has announced discounts ranging  from 23% to 48%  on their own accord.
The initiative, which was launched by the ministry to boost competition among garage operators, was  aimed at offering consumers multiple options for the repair and maintenance of their vehicles. It also provided  an opportunity for specialised workshops to improve their performance  and  reduce  the prices of their services.
“In this context, a list of discounted prices has been made available by Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Company which includes deductions on all their current Nissan and Infiniti models that range from 23% to 48%. The total deduction value represents money saved by the consumer during the maintenance period (from 0 km to 120,000 km) ,” the release said.
The discounted price list has been approved for both Nissan and Infiniti vehicles by the  department concerned at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce. The ministry  praised Saleh Al Hamad Al Mana Company’s initiative on reducing maintenance prices and has also confirmed that inspectors from the ministry would  follow up on the extent of compliance with the  prices at  the company’s service centres.
The warranty terms that were applied by local car agencies prior to the implementation of the nine-clause initiative  introduced by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce had required vehicle owners to have maintenance and repair works done at the car agency’s workshop. “The practice had  contributed to a rise in the price of maintenance services,” the ministry said  but following the launch of the nine-clause initiative, consumers are now free to take their vehicles for service or repair works to any certified workshop of their choice with no effect on the warranty.”
Urging all consumers to  select properly from among the available options and in the case of choosing  third-party workshops  to retain invoices as proof of maintenance and repair works , the ministry  advised vehicle owners  to keep bills of spare parts and materials used, with the aim of presenting them to the car agency to demonstrate that repair works had been carried out in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines.
The release  also urged consumers to examine warranty booklets to ensure compliance of car dealers with the stipulated warranty terms and inform the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of any manipulation of the terms and violations through the following channels:  Call Centre: 16001,  e-mail: info@mec.gov.qa, the accounts of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce on social media networks: Twitter MEC_QATAR
- Instagram MEC_QATAR and the applications of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce on smart phones available on iPhone and Android devices MEC_QATAR