DOHA: Owners of several second hand car showrooms across the Salwa Road say that they would be hit hard by the proposed amendments in the traffic law that bans display of cars in public places for the purpose of sale.
According to the draft law, automobile showrooms and auctioneers will need a special permission to display cars in open grounds and roadsides for sale.
The Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning in collaboration with the Traffic Department recently launched a campaign against used car show rooms on the Salwa Road that were using visitors’ parking areas to display their cars. Several show room owners and managers believe that the new law would make the situation worse for them.
They say that the new regulations are proposed at a time when their business has started recovering after a long lull caused by the massive renovation works on the Salwa road.
“Most clients had left the showrooms due to the road works. Now the situation has improved, but we are worried about the new law. Most shops don’t have space to park even 10 cars,” local Arabic daily Al Arab quoted a showroom owner as saying.
“We hope the Traffic Department would take this point into consideration. The Salwa road has now more space and parking a few cars will not obstruct traffic,” he added.
He said sales have improved, mainly with new customers coming from the neighbouring GCC countries. There is more demand from customers in Qatar as well.
He said the Salwa road renovation works had shifted the focus of the business to the used car auction area at Street 10 of the Industrial Area.
“Customers who shifted to the Industrial Area are now coming back to our shops because they find it more secure and safe,” he said.
People who want to sell their cars need not have to bother about the procedures. They can just hand over the car along with the key to the showrooms. They will sell the car and complete all the related formalities. Such comfort is not available at the Industrial Area auctions, he added.
Most showrooms charge a fee of QR2000 for this service.
“This amendment in the traffic law will have a negative impact on the sale of cars. There are rumours that all used car showrooms on the Salwa Road will be shifted to a far off place in the Industrial Area. If this is true, this will affect hundreds of people working in these shops,” Mustafa Al Masri, another show room operator was quoted as saying.
“Earlier we used to sell 30 to 40 cars per month but now it has come down. Some Saudis have started to visit the showrooms looking for cars. The shops now depends on such customers,” he said.
Some showroom operators expressed the fears that they would end up with hefty fines even without their knowledge since inspectors in civil dress will be able to monitor violations of the law.
The Peninsula
