Chris Medhurst

I was involved in the obligatory Doha traffic accident last week.

I have dutifully obtained the necessary police report and been in touch with QIC who seem unbelievably helpful for this part of the world, but was a little shocked to find that Saad Buzwair Automotive no longer hold the Volkswagen-Audi franchise in Qatar.

Apaprently it is now with QAC, that deal with Mitsubishi and Kia.

I phoned the body shop and they have told me they have no parts in country and will take at least 4 weeks to source from UAE or Germany. All this with a 'you'll be lucky mate' attitude when asked if they would provide a courtesy car for the period!

I suppose seeing as I made the choice to move to the middle east I will have to deal with these apatehtic attitudes, but what concerns me a little more is if the extended warranty and 3 year servicing package that came along with the vehicle will still be honoured under QAC.

Anyone else in the same boat, having recently bought a new VW? If anyone's found anything out it would be great. Or any experiences taking VW's to QAC for spares / repair would also be welcomed.

Cheers

Chris

britexpat76

You are unfortunately in the shit mate. I have had numerous problems in the last few weeks with them and they don't care. Your service package and warranty are fine but at the moment don't expect anything to happen quickly. I have stopped buying VW's until it is rectified, probably early next year as they are not worth the hassle.

Chris Medhurst

Yeah,

Learnt that today. I took it up to the mitsubishi bodyshop on 18th Street in the industrial area as instructed. Argued like stink for a courtesy car but no joy. Spoke to QAC customer care lady again and all she advised me was to keep going to the body shop 'maybe i'll get lucky'!!

The manager fo the body shop was really helpful, he's taken photos and sent to QIC so they can do the insurance survey. They're going to order the parts and call me when they're in so I only have to leave it then.

Funny how no one seems to give a monkeys, either police, or QAC about me driving a car around for a month with one brake light, one tail light, one reversing light and one rear indicator! Seems like lunacy. Think I'm going to have to limit my motoring excursions to daylight hours only.

At the risk of sounding like a grumpy old f@rt I have already emailed VW in Germany. Cant believe a compnay their size is allowing this to happen, must be a lot of customers left in the lurch. The motivation for the change if you believe reports was so that their brand image and presence / sales in Qatar could be INCREASED!! This must be setting them back a long way. The Tiguan I was considering for the mrs can take a running jump at the minute!!

Chris Medhurst

Oh and thanks for the info regarding service / warranty. That is at least peace of mind for me and even though the pain in the rear over the next few weeks is not enjoyable, that was my bigger concern to be honest.

Nice one,

Cheers.

norsk

If Doha is anything like Dubai then having a few lights out on the car is not going to get you pulled over. In fact it won't even stop your car passing the annual check before registration here....

In terms of VW they won't take responsibility as they use agents in each market. If the agent doesn't do what he's supposed to they might slap their wrist, but not much else they can do (at least not in the short term). Besides Qatar is a tiny market for them..

Chris Medhurst

Hi Norsk,

Yeah I am under absolutely no false illusion that my email will make any impact whatsoever. And agreed, Qatar is a tiny market for them. But having said that all their press releases state they have made this change so that they get a larger market share, so they obviously care enough about the market here to make that decision in the first place.

I just thought that at least somebody should point it out that if this is their aim then they are going about it in slightly the wrong way!! Plus it makes me feel slightly more warm and cosy inside to have a bit of a whinge, even if it does end up straight in the bin!! Give it 8 weeks (optimistic??!!) and a fully repaired car and I'm sure I wont really be that bothered either....but got carried away in the moment :-)

Jim Smith

It's a long time since I lived in Doha (81-84) but is it worth a trip around the breakers yards to see if a suitable cluster can be found? Maybe it is common to a number of models? You will probably get ripped off there too, but may give you piece of mind?

flares

I get a VW ad at the bottom of the page when I open this thread!

not by luck I realise...by some clever program

norsk

If you just need clusters then why not make the call to the stealers for VW and Audi (Al Nabooda) in Dubai and ask them how much and do they have them in stock? You will need to know the part numbers though..

Parts Department (VW dealership)
Tel.: +971 4 7041111

Parts Department (Audi dealership)
Tel: +971 4 3847777

It doesn't matter which one you call (not sure if they have different stock) as the VAG parts are all cross-brand.

Chris Medhurst

That's awesome info, thanks very much Norsk, much appreciated. Unfortuantely my bang means I need a light cluster, rear bumper, whole new hatch (boot) lid and rear 3 quarter panel.

My mum and dad live in abu dhabi and I'm heading over for the grand prix on the 30th. My dad has a VW there so knows the dealer pretty well. I may well pop in whilst i'm over and see what the situation is as the body shop here keeps telling me Abu Dhabi is where the parts will eventually come from.

Maybe I can get them all checked in as excess luggage if they're in stock!! Ha ha!!

Despite all my venting on here and obvious frustration I think I'm just going to have to accept i'm in this one for the long haul, kick back and let it all run it's course. I know full well how things work here so really shouldnt get myself worked up with complaints etc!! Old habits die hard and all that!

Thanks for your help.

britexpat76

The Manufacturer got canned by the Dealer, though I like their take on it. Something to do with a wad of cash and a Sheikh.

If you are doing the work through Insurance you wont be able to source the parts yourself - You have to rely on the feckless arse in the Dealership here who doesn't give a shit.

Chris Medhurst

Ha Ha!

Love it. Too true. Yeah like I say think I've made the decision to just go with the flow, as annoying as it may be. I have the mobile number of QAC's 'customer care' lady (customer care ha ha!!!). I think regular calls to her and being aenough of a pain in her neck will make sure she does everything to expedite the process. She has said as soon as they know the part numbers she can chase their delivery from Abu Dhabi but I still dont hold up much hope.

Fixed by Christmas?? Maybe a realistic target to hope for! Thanks for all your help though guys.

It wouldnt surprise me if SBA binned volkswagen. Audi doesnt seem to sell as well here as it does in the UAE. Britexpat - do you know if SBA had porsche and Lambo as well - Surely those franchises are worth a bob or two here? I work on C-Ring road just next door to where the lambo show room used to be which is shut and wondered if they were all part of the same deal with it all being VAG.

britexpat76

Lamborghini has relocated to the Pearl (Not SBA) and Porsche is Al Boraq a separate company here.

SBA have opened their own workshop called QA in the Industrial area, same staff but equally as slow and shite. I had a car there all last week was told they had completed the work and sent it back after paying with only 1/3 jobs complete..................

NBK and Porsche have the best workshops here the rest are useless.

Chris Medhurst

Ahh I see, good info.

QAC that my car is with are part of NBK arent they? Stands to reason that their merc operation would be a lot more slick than their mitsubishi one though. Dont see many locals driving round in lancers. They know which side their bread's buttered!

britexpat76

Mitsubishi Used to sell 700 cars a month here............They now sell 100. Says a lot about the product and the company selling it.