Code for car repairs encouraged

Press, 14 May 1985, Page 24

Code for car repairs encouraged

PA Wellington Acceptance by the motor trade industry of a code of practice for car repairs is long overdue, according to the Consumers’ Institute. The institute drafted a code in 1982 in consultation with the Motor Trade Association but it was never adopted by the industry. The code covered invoices and charging, quotations and estimates, guarantees, complaints, spare parts, and accessories. “It is unreasonable that the motor trade is yet to accept the code,” said Mr Dick Smithies, of the Consumers’ Institute, yesterday “If it were adopted, standards in the trade would improve, complaints would diminish and everyone would be better off.” Several countries had introduced similar codes, he said. Britain and some Canadian and American 'states ran them and an international code also existed.

According to the institute’s complaints service, car servicing and mechanical repairs too often

brought bad news for car owners. Three common types of complaints kept recurring, Mr Smithies said, but with better communication between owners and repairers and the adoption of a vehicle repair code they could be virtually eliminated. The areas are: • Extra work is done without notifying the owner beforehand. Job prices sometimes rise beyond their estimated cost because servicemen do work which was not discussed with, and not permitted by, the owner. The first he hears of it is when the bill is presented on picking his car up. • Some servicemen do substandard work which leads to the need for further repairs and demands for more payment, even though this may not be legally justifiable. • Jobs are sub-con-tracted to specialist repairers. When a problem arises the owner is told the garage is not responsible for the work of the sub-contractor and he has to approach the company at fault.