MAKKAH, 11 January 2008 — A large number of overstayers are establishing illegal car repair shops at random in neighborhoods across Makkah, causing concern among legally-operating car mechanics who complain that the authorities are doing nothing to protect their trade.

Arab News monitored a number of Makkah districts and found that Al-Mansour district has the highest proportion of illegal car repair shops, followed closely by Zaharrin, Yemen and Ghareeb districts.

The illegal car mechanics, mostly Africans, are not afraid of the authorities and do a thriving business from early morning till late at night.

With an aim of investigating this lucrative trade, this reporter damaged his car’s bumper and approached an illegal mechanic, who had set up a workshop at a playground close to Makkah’s College of Education.

The football pitch had been turned into a huge scrap yard full of old cars and parts strewn all over the place. As soon as I pulled up, two African men approached me and asked if I needed anything. I explained I wanted to fix my bumper. Having looked at the damage, they said, “That’ll take 15-20 minutes and will cost SR50.”

I rejected the offer and began driving away, at which the men agreed to make the repairs for SR20. I asked one of the men if their trade was lucrative.

“It pays very well,” he said. I suggested they open a proper workshop and split the profits. They laughed. “It wouldn’t work. To start with, we aren’t legal residents and aren’t monitored by the authorities. If we went legal we’d be out of the country,” he said.

I asked him where he learned to fix cars. “I’m 28 years old and learned how to fix cars from my dad, who was also an illegal resident here,” he said, adding that he took over his father’s work after he died.

“Most of our customers are people who don’t have enough money to repair their cars at proper workshops. Mechanics charge an arm and a leg,” he said.

Mumadou Abdu, a Nigerian overstayer, said he has been in the Kingdom for around seven years, having come here on an Umrah visa.

“I’ve been fixing cars ever since I came here. It’s good money. We just change location every so often. We charge less than proper work shops and so a lot of people come to us.”

He added that since overstayer mechanics work in a clandestine fashion, a lot of criminals bring their cars to them. “They ask for all sorts of stuff. Some times they want to have stolen cars changed and the like. They come to us because they know we’ll never tell the authorities.”

I then left the football pitch and drove to Al-Mansour district — a short while later I removed my number plates and approached a mechanic and pretended to be scared.

“What’s up?” he asked. “This is my friend’s car; I’ve ran over a pedestrian and sped off. I want to change its color and make amendments to make sure the police don’t recognize it,” I said.

“It’ll take 24 hours and will cost SR3,700,” said the mechanic. “We can also give you new number plates if you want,” he said, adding that a lot of customers come and have the appearance of their cars changed. “I’ll just go get some money and will be back in a bit,” I said, driving away never to return.

Meanwhile, a customer at another repair workshop said he often gets his car repaired by illegal mechanics. “Most residents and violators go to them because it’s cheap. Also, the workers in these shops can secure spare parts cheaper than their market price. They’re usually stolen parts,” he said.

“They also buy cars, which have been involved in crashes and are too expensive for their owners to repair. The parts are then sold cheap,” he said.

Abu Abdullah, a legal car mechanic, expressed dismay at illegal mechanics and the authorities’ failure to keep a check on them.

“Legal workshops have a host of problems. We have to struggle to pay rent and pay wages, and are hassled by the authorities. The authorities visit us often to make sure all our papers are proper and legal. I’m surprised that they neglect these illegal workshops. They’re running our trade,” he said.

Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Maiman, spokesman for Makkah police, said that monitoring and arresting illegal mechanics is the job of the Traffic Department. “Traffic police are responsible for following up on car repair shops and making sure they are legal. This they to do through patrols,” he said. “A large number of people have been arrested. We’re still working to find a radical solution to this problem.”