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23/08/2010
Consumer watchdog Which? has hit out at the "shocking levels of incompetence" among UK car garages, after an investigation found that 87% missed potentially dangerous faults.
The group sent cars - all of which had four "easy-to-spot" faults - to 62 garages. Which? says that only eight of these returned fault-free cars, while five failed to fix any of the deliberate errors.
In all, 48% did nothing about the brake fluid being at the minimum level, while 57% did not fix the blown rear reversing light. In addition, 68% of garages did not inflate the "nearly flat" spare tyre, while 21% did nothing to remedy the low air pressure in the rear nearside tyre.
Which? says that 40% of garages also charged for a product that was not actually supplied. The watchdog filled up the screenwash as an "honesty test" to see if garages would nevertheless try to charge for this small service. It found that nearly four in 10 did so - and while the amounts ranged from just 68p to £2.41, Which? says that this shows an "inexcusable dishonesty".
Which? also says that its investigation highlighted varying levels of performance between different industry codes; with garages affiliated to the Bosch Car Service scheme fixing 64% of faults, and those affiliated to the Motor Codes scheme fixing 60%.
Meanwhile, garages unaffiliated to any code addressed 43% of faults, while those signed up to the Good Garage Scheme remedied 39%.
Which? recommends that all codes of conduct should include "robust" mystery shopping, and is also calling for mechanics to be put through an industry-wide qualification.
Chief executive Peter Vicary-Smith said: "This is a worrying snapshot of an industry that desperately needs to clean up its act.
"Almost all [of] the garages in our investigation failed to fix basic faults.
"This could have endangered the lives of drivers and other road users and is simply not acceptable."
Sarah Sillars, the executive chairperson for the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said that she welcomed the call for an industry-wide qualification, highlighting its own voluntary Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA) scheme.
Sillars encouraged the industry to back the independent ATA scheme in order to "demonstrate its commitment to improving customer service within our sector and in turn elevate the status of a highly important and credible profession".
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