CTV新調查揭露汽車修理欺詐

來源: 移花接木於 2011-04-09 19:24:42 [檔案] [博客] [舊帖] [給我悄悄話] 本文已被閱讀：次 (18986 bytes)

多倫多CTV W5節目調查僅僅12家汽車修理店，用一兩2006malibu與一輛CRV. 將電池正極擰鬆，送入修理鋪，說明車有時啟動有問題，並需要全車檢查服務。汽車消費者保護協會調查多倫多較有名的維修連鎖店及獨立的維修站。結果隻有一家能夠糾正問題，並不收額外費用。四家加收其他修理費用但他們都發現問題並擰緊螺絲，七家沒收額外費用隻有一家發現問題。2003年的一次調查有一半的修理店能糾正問題不受額外費用。有些技師的態度是把修車當成尋寶，沒問題說成有問題多收錢，有些技師敷衍了事，因為他們的收入除了8小時工資還與修車數量有關。

New investigation uncovers repair shop rip-offs

TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

A 2002 Honda CR-V like this was used for the investigation.

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Service Tips for Consumers

• Replacing lubricants and fluids more frequently than required by the automaker appears to be a money-making strategy at the chains APA visited. Look up the fluid replacement intervals in your owner's manual and stick to them.

• Motor oil treatments and fuel injector flushes were all the rage in 2003. The APA was happy to report that no shops recommended them this year.

• Ask for your old parts back. It's the law in Ontario, and only one shop gave the APA shoppers any trouble in this regard. Ask for the parts up front, so that the service writer is aware you'll be scrutinizing them.

• A free inspection is likely a bad idea, as it puts you behind the eight ball right from the start. Counter personnel and some mechanics receive financial incentives to upsell your free inspection into a paid service. You're better off paying them for their time.

• Get a second opinion and/or three repair quotes if you have the time. The APA study revealed extraordinary variability between shops.

Apr 08, 2011

MARK TOLJAGIC

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

It's a tiny sample size — just 12 repair shops in Toronto — but an investigation for CTV's W5 program yielded an embarrassing surfeit of incompetence and deceit in an industry that hypes its professionalism and integrity.

The pro-consumer Automobile Protection Association set out to learn just how well service writers and technicians can diagnose a repair by taking them a nondescript 2006 Chevrolet Malibu and 2002 Honda CR-V that had been secretly rigged with the simplest no-start condition: a loose battery connection.

The results are grim: only one garage corrected the problem and didn't go looking for unnecessary repairs.

Just one.

It serves as a stark reminder that motorists have to keep their guard up when taking their vehicle in for service.

The investigation is the subject of a W5 report airing Saturday at 7 p.m. on CTV.

The APA sampled well-known Canadian service chains as well as independent repair garages.

Of the 12 repair centres, four performed unnecessary repairs beyond the loose battery terminal and charged for their work. All four did, however, identify the loose connection and correct it.

Of the seven shops that did not do unnecessary repairs, only one actually found the loose battery terminal. A hidden W5 underhood camera revealed most technicians performed an incomplete inspection and overlooked the loose positive terminal.

The results are considerably worse than those of a similar APA probe in 2003, when half of the Toronto shops corrected a loose cable without performing additional repairs.

Repair cost variability was the highest of any APA repair investigation, ranging from no cost for a general inspection with no recommended repairs at three shops to a gut-wrenching $2,271 bill at another.

Both test vehicles had been thoroughly serviced and were in excellent mechanical shape prior to the garage visits made last December.

An APA mystery shopper drove to each garage and complained that the vehicle would occasionally fail to start. The shopper also requested a general inspection of the vehicle, explaining it was purchased recently and the driver did not know much about its service history.

“The repair diagnosis should normally begin with a verification of the battery and charging system that would readily identify the loose cable,” says APA president George Iny.

Instead, some technicians went on a treasure hunt looking for lucrative work — despite the fact the APA vehicles were otherwise flawless.

Worse than the lack of competency some technicians demonstrated during the videotaped inspections, Iny says, is the industry's unrepentant attitude and willingness to blame the victim.

Two national chains essentially told W5 that it is the customers' fault if they approve unnecessary repairs, as their shops only “recommend” them.

“We say the customer is relying on the expert,” counters Iny. “Their consent is obtained based on a cocktail of truths, half-truths and outright deceptions.”

In part, Iny blames the sales incentives that the chain service centres promote internally to boost profit margins. In addition, many technicians' paycheques vary according to the number of repairs they make, rather than a standard hourly wage.

The APA's sample is too small to rank the service chains with any accuracy.

What the investigation and W5 report do reveal is that consumers have to be vigilant at the service counter and carefully consider what they're agreeing to in terms of the recommended service work.