If you’re looking to invest in a new car, there’s no time like the present. All of the big brands offer attractive deals during the Holy Month, luring customers with the promise of discounts, free gifts, attractive finance and insurance rates, extended warranties and souped-up service packages.
Here the team from Souqalmal.com, the region's leading price comparison website, roundup of some of the latest deals on the market this month:
Mercedes Benz
Gargash Enterprises is offering a host of special offers this Ramadan, extending across a number of its Mercedes Benz models. If you buy a new C-Class or E-Class, you’ll get complimentary services for the first two years of ownership. With a Mercedes Benz S-Class or GL Grand edition, you’ll receive one year’s free insurance, a five-year or 105,000 kilometre complimentary integrated service package and a three-year warranty.
Existing Mercedes owners can take advantage of special maintenance offers, with an AC inspection starting from Dh249 and brake fluid checks at Dh350. As an added bonus, customers servicing their car at Gargash Enterprises over the month of Ramadan will receive complimentary 24-hour roadside assistance for one year.
Lexus
Al-Futtaim Motors’ Ramadan Rewards package includes the opportunity to purchase a Lexus at 0 per cent financing for three years. They’ll also throw in a ‘special Ramadan gift’ on delivery. The offer is available across the 2013 Lexus range on all vehicles that are invoiced and delivered before August 10, however, this does not extend to pre-owned models.
Volkswagen
Al Nabooda Automobiles is marking the Holy Month by offering its customers five year's worth or 75,000km-worth of servicing free of charge, a five-year warranty with unlimited mileage, five year’s free roadside assistance and one year of free insurance. The starting price for a Volkswagen Jetta is currently Dh69,900, while the Passat starts at Dh83,900, the Tiguan at Dh99,900 and the Touareg at Dh157,900.
Kia
There’s a host of fancy gifts up for grabs when you buy a new car from Kia this month, including a 42-inch LED LG television, an iPad 4 and a Galaxy S4. You’ll also get free insurance and registration, free roadside assistance and a five-year/100,000km warranty. The company is also promising attractive finance rates and your first installment won’t need to be paid for 120 days.
Cadillac
You’ll be entitled to a complimentary “premium care programme” if you choose to invest in a new Cadillac during Ramadan. This will include service and maintenance for four years or 100,000km, guaranteed resale value, regional roadside assistance for four years and a four-year or 1000,000km warranty, with complimentary transportation if required. Prices start from Dh129,000.
Audi
If you buy an Audi before August 7, expect to get five year’s free maintenance and services, a five-year warranty, free roadside assistance for five years and one year’s worth of free insurance.
Honda
Honda is currently offering cash savings, free insurance, free servicing up to 20,000km and a gift worth Dh1,500 across all its models.
How about deals of car financing?
There are also plenty of attractive car financing offers around this month so if you do decide to invest in a new motor, make sure to ferret out a good deal.
Al Hilal Bank, for example, is offering a starting flat rate of 1.99 per cent on new car finance and 2.49% on used car finance until August 25. HSBC is offering a starting rate of 2.25 per cent before August 31 on new car loans and Emirates NBD is offering a flat rate of 2.35 per cent.
MORE ON THE US DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
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Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst