SAMACO launches 4 new special service programs for Volkswagen vehicles in Saudi Arabia

Sheikh Mohammed Sharbatly, Vice President of SAMACO, said "The four new programs will be available on the newly launched 2008 model Volkswagens. These will give the VW owners the chance to enjoy services that were not yet available in the Saudi market until now. With that said, SAMACO would like to place VW ahead of all its automotive competitors."

He stated, "These programs were put into place only for luxury cars in the Saudi market. We are launching the programs with VW's new strategy that is focused on placing its cars in the level they deserve, and corresponding with the growing popularity of this car in the global market."

He also added, "Around SR 300 million have been invested by Volkswagen on the development of the service centers in the Kingdom and another SR 50 million is being invested in order to offer premium and advanced services for VW car owners. All this has been extended from the SAMACO vision, 'to become the biggest European automotive agent in the kingdom by the year 2010', which will put the Volkswagen brand among the leaders in the industry."

Mr. Fathi Allam, the VW's Regional Sales Manger, said, "VW decided to reward its customers by providing services at the highest possible level and adopting programs that have been highly successful in the markets outside this region in order to offer customers the added value they are looking for, especially with the rising demand on the VW vehicles in the Saudi market on the 2008 models, including the Toureg, Passat, Jetta, Golf, Eios and Beetle."

Mustafa Sabra, the General Manager of Volkswagen at Samaco explains the four new programs, "There is the Super Service Package, which is divided into two parts. The first is the Silver package, which is automatically provided upon the purchase of a 2008 VW model. The car buyers obtain periodic maintenance service for 60,000 kms or two years free of charge, which ever occurs first."

He adds, "The second within the Super Service Package is the Gold package, of which buyers of a 2008 VW model will pay some additional amount on the cash price. This will cover the VW maintenance up to 120,000 kms or five years, whichever occurs first. Discounts on products and services will be determined based on the model. After five years, the package will provide not less than 50% of the value of maintenance cost."

Mr. Sabra further explained, "The second program to be presented by SAMACO is the Buy Back Policy to ensure that the company will buy back any VW 2008 model, up to five years after its original sale at the highest possible resale value with the ceiling of 45,000 kms for the first two years, and 20,000 kms of each of the subsequent years. In case the car exceeds these mileages, the deduction rate will be 0.75% of the price of the car in every 1000 km increase, a maximum of 10,000 km. Having said that, the car will need to meet some conditions in order to apply the policy. One of the conditions is that the car should not have been involved in any major accident. To benefit from this program, the owner of the vehicle must have had purchased the Gold package of the Super Service Package during the original sale. After five years or the 120,000 kms, SAMACO will act as a third party in selling the car. The Silver or Gold packages will be transferred to the new owner upon the selling transaction."

"The third program is Road Side Assistance; this program will be able to provide assistance 24 hours a day. A toll free number has been assigned, 800-897-3930, for any VW owner facing any problem on the road.

"The fourth one is the Car Replacement Program in which 30 cars throughout the Kingdom will be available for the VW customers while their car is under maintenance. Within the second half of this year, the number of cars available will be increased to 50."