Consumer Reports: High Prices and Poor Repairs Lead Top Auto-Service Gripes

These are the main reasons that car owners become dissatisfied with auto repair shops.

<CITE sizcache="63" sizset="123">By the Editors of Consumer Reports</CITE>
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Prices that are too high and an inability to perform repairs properly are the main reasons that car owners become dissatisfied with auto repair shops. That's the findings of recent subscriber surveys conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Other common reasons are that a shop took longer than expected to complete the work or owners had to bring the car back because the repair didn't "hold up."
Every year in our Annual Auto Survey, we ask car owners how satisfied they were with auto repairs performed by dealerships and independent shops in the previous 12 months. This year, we got responses on 168,000 vehicles. As in past years, most car owners prefer taking their vehicles to independent shops rather than dealerships for repair work. Those who prefer independents the most are owners of Chrysler, Dodge, Jaguar, Jeep, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo vehicles, who, as a group, tended to be less satisfied with dealership repairs than owners of most other brands.
Common Complaints
For the first time, we also re-contacted 5,400 of the respondents and asked about their specific repair gripes. Of that group, about three-quarters were either completely or very satisfied with their repair shop. But of the 27 percent who weren't, 38 percent cited high prices as a reason. This is a more common complaint for dealerships (42 percent) than for independent shops (32 percent).
The second most-common complaint is even more troubling: over a quarter of the unsatisfied group said their car's problem wasn't fixed properly, this gripe was reported at the same rate at dealers and independent shops.
Other gripes: Twenty-one percent of those respondents said it took longer than expected to complete the work, and 18 percent said they had to bring the car back because the repair did not "hold up." Again, dealers and independents shared the blame for these complaints almost evenly. There was a slight difference between the two types of repair shops in owners who felt the staff had treated them poorly, with 8 percent citing dealerships and four percent citing independents.
<TABLE class=datatable1 border=0 width=383><COLGROUP><COL width=344></COL><COL width=31></COL></COLGROUP><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom align=left><TD align=center>Reasons for being less than 'very' or 'completely satisfied' with a repair</TD><TD align=center>%</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Price was too high</TD><TD align=center>38</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Did not fix problem properly</TD><TD align=center>28</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Took longer than expected to complete the work</TD><TD align=center>21</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Had to bring car back because repair did not 'hold up'</TD><TD align=center>18</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Price was more than originally estimated</TD><TD align=center>11</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Car was not clean when I picked it up</TD><TD align=center>8</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Sold me unnecessary parts or service</TD><TD align=center>7</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Treated poorly by staff</TD><TD align=center>6</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Had to wait more than 30 minutes after being told car was ready for pick-up</TD><TD align=center>4</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Did not honor my warranty</TD><TD align=center>4</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Staff tried to take advantage of me because of my gender</TD><TD align=center>3</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Did not honor a coupon or advertised special</TD><TD align=center>2</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Other</TD><TD align=center>21</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD colSpan=2 align=right>Base: Those not highly satisfied with a repair in past 12 months.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Click to enlarge picture





Why People Fire Their Mechanic
Sometimes, this dissatisfaction led owners to switch shops. Of the re-contacted subscribers, almost a quarter revealed that in the past five years they'd had a vehicle repaired at a shop they no longer use, with almost half of that group citing a dealership, a third saying it was an independent shop, and a fifth citing a franchise chain similar to Midas or Sears.
The top reasons for switching shops were similar to those above. Half of the group said the shop didn't fix the problem properly. About a third said the price was too high. Almost a quarter reported they had to bring the car back or that the shop sold them unnecessary parts or service. And one fifth said the staff treated them poorly, the shop took longer than expected to complete the work, or the price was more than originally estimated.
One other red flag for repair shops: A sizeable 30 percent of female respondents who stopped using a shop said they felt the staff tried to take advantage of them because of their gender.
<TABLE class=datatable1 border=0 summary="Reasons for no longer using a repair shop" width=383><CAPTION></CAPTION><COLGROUP><COL width=341></COL><COL width=30></COL></COLGROUP><TBODY><TR vAlign=top align=center><TD>Reasons for no longer using a repair shop</TD><TD>%</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Did not fix problem properly</TD><TD align=center>50</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Price was too high</TD><TD align=center>34</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Had to bring car back because repair did not 'hold up'</TD><TD align=center>23</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Sold me unnecessary parts or service</TD><TD align=center>23</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Treated poorly by staff</TD><TD align=center>19</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Took longer than expected to complete the work </TD><TD align=center>19</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Price was more than originally estimated </TD><TD align=center>19</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Staff tried to take advantage of me because of my gender</TD><TD align=center>8</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Car was not clean when I picked it up</TD><TD align=center>7</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Did not honor warranty</TD><TD align=center>7</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Had to wait more than 30 minutes after being told car was ready for pick-up</TD><TD align=center>6</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Did not honor a coupon or advertised special</TD><TD align=center>2</TD></TR><TR vAlign=top align=left><TD align=right>Other</TD><TD align=center>23</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Tips for Getting a Repair Performed Right

• Describe the problem fully. Give the shop as much information as possible. Write down the symptoms and when they occur. If possible, talk directly to the mechanic who will be working on your car.
• Don't offer a diagnosis. Avoid saying what you think is causing the problem. You may be on the hook for any repairs the shop makes at your suggestion, even if they don't solve the problem.
• Request a test drive. If the problem occurs only when the car is moving, ask the mechanic to accompany you on a test drive.
• Ask for an estimate. And have them contact you for approval if the repair will cost more than the estimate.
• Ask for evidence. If you're not comfortable with the diagnosis, ask the shop to show you the problem parts. Worn brake pads or rusted exhaust pipes are easy to see. Don't let the mechanic refuse your request by saying that his insurance company doesn't allow customers into the work area.

 

This was great info to pass along to my wife, who is a service advisor at a Volvo dealership. Also noticeable was that people don't use Chrysler, Dodge, Jaguar, Jeep, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo dealership - and those companies struggle to sell cars. The big sellers did not make the list. Good service is the key to good sales

 

What Dealership was this Lou so that I don't go there

 

I'd rather not say Justin. But there's not many GM dealerships around us. Just beware of tactics like that if/when you go to any of them. Because it seems to be standard practice at GM dealerships now. Ever since GM reduced the number of dealerships a couple years ago, they all have to justify their existence. And selling people on more service is one way to pad their numbers.

 

Oh okay I don't go to GM dealerships anyway. As much as people may cringe my family has been dealing with Rose City Ford for a while and they've been pretty good for bigger issues and I never let them do more than what I ask for.

 

How come people never tell about the good service they get from mechanics. The only thing you ever hear about is bad. People take for granted the fact that there are people out there to fix their crap for them. I love how they complained it cost too much and took too long. Im sorry, but if you cant fix your own car how do you know what it costs and how long it should take to repair it? I understand there are places out there that do rip off their customers, but Im sure the only ones who get ripped off are the people who are so oblivious to what is going on that they just agree to whatever and then complain about it later.

 

I found my mechanic about 10 years when he worked for Caddlaic. He now runs his own shop, he lets me pay what i can when i can. If he says the repairs are going to be 100s of dollars I trust him.

 

I'm looking for that in Windsor so I keep asking people around here... Lou any suggestions?

 

In my area I use Danny's transmission shop when I can't do the repaid myself. He treats me well and his prices are fair.

 

Just because I'm not currently able to do all my repairs myself doesn't mean I'm oblivious and agree to whatever. I didn't agree to any of the stuff I mentioned because I knew it wasn't needed. But I'm sorry my comments upset you.