werner@ut-ngp.UUCP (04/20/84)
[identified bugs are 'nicer' than the ones we don't know about] Taking Advantage - ABC on Sundays, 11:30am -------------------------------------------- Our local ABC affiliate carries this consumer-oriented show regularly. In a recent installment, the topic was car-repairs, and I thought you might be interested what they had to say (to my best recollection), as this was a 'hot' topic here not very long ago: In order to test the assumption that lots of shops don't do their job right, they 'rigged' a car, misadjusting the brakes it was, I believe, and then took it to various dealers to see what kind of work they'd do. The result was appalling. I don't recall the figures exactly, but I believe close to 80% wanted or did replace the master cylinder or, at least, overhauled it. They also interviewed car mechanics about their opinion, and 87% said that they think that rip-offs are common. Another figure given was, that there is a 99% probability that YOU have been ripped off already. Another statistic that they threw at me: of all repairs, 79% are needless, and in 89% of their cases, work needed was neglected. Apparently, a Ventura Firestone dealer is being taken to court by the local district attorney, because he had been doing fraudulent work, left and right, but I forget if that was in result of the program or rather that this was one of the shops they had visited. "Have you sued your car-mechanic, lately ....?" werner @ ut-ngp "oily fingers and bloody knuckles" PS: I think the program title is badly chosen and does not attract the attention it deserves (anyone at ABC here ???)