Jeddah police have shut down several workshops for selling and installing defective car parts.
The workshops were closed during raids on more than 40 workshops and stores in Jeddah’s industrial area recently, said First Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq, Jeddah police spokesman, on Friday.
Al-Bouq told Arab News that the police department has a special team that deals with these types of violations in the automobile industry.
He said most disputes between motorists and workshop owners are resolved at the police station.
However, if the police find that workers are unqualified, they are referred to the Ministry of Labor along with their sponsors. The same fate awaits those workers found not working for their sponsors.
Al-Bouq said the police department also takes action against workshop owners if they repair vehicles that do not have proper registration documents.
He said there have been many complaints from car owners recently that workshops are installing car parts that do not have certificates of origin.
Many drivers say that the situation has worsened because the city lacks regulatory and consumer protection bodies.
Fahd Al-Ghuraibi, a car owner, said: “When my car stopped working, I went to a workshop in the industrial area that specializes in the sale of imported used car parts at prices much lower than car dealerships. However, after installing a used part at a cost of SR4,000, I since had to replace it four times at the same workshop because the parts were defective.”
Al-Ghuraibi said he eventually reported the workshop owner to the police.
Abdul Fattah Sabri, a mechanic, believes that used parts are a good option because they are imported from countries where they are manufactured and are sold at lower prices. Typically, these parts do not cost more than SR5,000 depending on the model and the type. Mechanics should be able to differentiate between good and bad parts. Nonetheless, it is always better to buy new parts, but consumers should be prepared to pay more than SR20,000.”
Samir Sayrafi, a worker at a shop selling used car parts, said spares imported annually from the United Arab Emirates, cost between SR1,000 and SR1,500, and are sold in the Kingdom for between SR3,500 and SR5,000. Most of the demand is for Japanese and American car parts, he said.
Police shutter workshops selling defective car parts
