One week before Tet, most automobile maintenance and repair garages in Hanoi are running at full capacity. In some areas, cars are seen queuing up on pavements and roads, causing congestion on small streets.

As garages all have become overloaded, customers have to make bookings and pay a deposit.

Xuan Hieu, a worker at SHITEK Center on Tran Thai Tong street, Cau Giay district, said the number of customers has soared by three times.

“We have been overloaded for several days. Customers have to queue up for their turns,” he said, adding that in general, customers have to wait three days.

Customers mostly order services of car washing, interior cleaning, polishing, ceramic coating and paint protection filming.

“Car washing is one of the most popular services at the end of the year. However, we can only serve 27 cars a day at maximum. We strictly follow a 11-step process to ensure high quality,” he said.

A representative of Ha Thanh Garage also confirmed that customers have to make a booking or even pay in advance without having to wait.

At Thanh Duong Garage in Cau Dien, the number of customers has doubled compared with ordinary days. According to Nguyen Manh, the garage manager, the garage usually provides maintenance services to 25-30 cars on average, while the figure is 50-60 now.

“We posted a recruitment announcement two weeks ago because with eight technicians, we still lacked workers. The garage opens from 8 am to 4 pm. But now we have no break time and have 1-2 extra working hours in the evening,” he said.

He said the service fee remains unchanged, despite large custom. One has to pay VND80,000-200,000 for car washing service. However, he will have to pay higher for car part replacement.

Regarding the maintenance fee, Hieu said the fee is VND450,000 and VND1.2 million for a common car, while the fees will be higher for luxury models.

On auto forums, members exchange views on how to maintain cars in the most economical way.

Manh advised car owners to think in advance about what kinds of services they need, because garage workers may give wrong advice and tell car owners to install unnecessary accessories.

He went on to say that there are many chemical products used to polish car interiors. If cheap chemicals are used and improper cleaning is done, the life expectancy of some car parts will be shortened. Car owners should visit prestigious garages to have their cars maintained. 

Chi Bao

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