U.K. garages criticised

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33424, 4 January 1974, Page 7

U.K. garages criticised

British garages hate been severely criticised for had work and overcharging, and this, plus increased costs, is said to be among the reasons for the boom in do-it-yourself car maintenance in that country. But the increase in home maintenance has led to the Automobile Association of Britain warning motorists to have their car checked

by an authorised garage at least once a year. Home mechanics do not hear of the latest service and maintenance information. the A.A. has said, nor do they usually hear of recall information, Meanwhile, Ford and British Leyland have both introduced servicing systems under which their franchised dealers guarantee all their service and repair work, generally for a month or 1000 miles. Criticism of British garages started in earnest

in 1970, when “Motoring Which?” the Consumers’ Institute magazine, said cars were taken to 47 garages, and not one carried out the full service. Three-quarters of them missed important points, and one charged $l6 for little more than topping up the radiator, the magazine reported.

In 1972, the A.A. magazine analysed complaints from 1169 of its members about garages, and found that two-thirds of them were justified. Eight out of every 10 complaints of bad workmanship were upheld, as were half the allegations of overcharging. Towards the end of 1972 “Motoring Which?” took popular cars to 48 garages, garages. Only one carried out the full service, as asked, and many did little more than change the oil. The standard of work was bad, prices varied widely, and some garages charged for parts which were not fitted. “The Times,” commenting on the situation, said: “A lot of the trouble may come down to a lack of communication. Most motorists have very little technical knowledge. Faced with a technically ignorant customer, an unscrupulous garage finds the way wide open to do its worst.”

Several million motorists now did their own servicing, the newspaper said, and many cars never went near a garage once the warranty had expired. “That may not be a healthy trend. but if ‘Which?’ finds 47 out of 48 garages incapable of carrying out routine services, who can blame motorists for going it alone?”