Many companies have began to use the catch phrase “Consumer advocate” to appeal to Americans since of fair play to cash in. They do this by setting up websites to provide information and then do not have actual people to assist consumers. Information by itself is not the total solution to the issue that consumers face of being overcharged for repairs to there cars. Consumers need help to navigate the information provided and support to back up that information that is real, not just virtual concepts. Consumer advocacy began as a movement to protect consumers from being taken, not just monetarily but subliminally as well. The term a wolf in sheep clothing comes to mind when we hear of some websites that are capturing people attention only to direct them towards the parent for profit companies commercial outlet for auto parts or repair facilities that they own or do business with to supply parts too. HAE does allow auto repair shop to interact with consumers to provide repairs, but HAE has “Hands on” oversight of this process to ensure the positive out come for both the consumer and the repair shop. Through this medium HAE has helped and gained the respect of thousands of consumers all over the U.S. It can be a great partnership between consumer and advocate as long as the consumer is the reason for the relationship and not the bottom line of the parent company selling parts or repairs. We would ask that you investigate any website calling them selves a “Consumer advocate” to find the source of that company and their motives for providing help. It’s kind of like knowing why someone is holding the door open for you, are they trying to help or just trap you inside?
Posts Tagged ‘cars’
Consumer Advocate? Really?
Friday, April 16th, 2010Actual Case of a Rip Off in Fayetteville NC
Thursday, September 24th, 2009We recently,September 23, 2009, spoke with an HAE Consumer Member who took their 2004 VW Passat to a repair shop in Fayettteville North Carolina. The car’s thermostat had failed causing the vehicle to overheat. now that’s were everything goes off the charts for rip off. You see, the shop quoted a price of over $450 to complete this repair. They said the labor time for this was 4.5 hours, we looked up the labor time on Alldata, mitchell’s and Chilton and the highest time was 2.5. Now, in explanation of the labor times, this shop to remain nameless, gave the following;
cooling system diagnosis 1.0
verify complaint .1
check coolant condition .1
check coolant level .1
pressure test radiator .1
TSB search (Look up codes in computer) .1
Visual inspection .1
pressure test radiator .1 (That’s right, twice)
inspect belts .1
check cooling fans .1
inspect for proper coolant .1
replace thermostat 2.5
That’s 4.5 hours of labor, for what? Ok, let’s set this aside for a minute. We also looked at the parts pricing model to determine why this overcharge occurred. The following are the prices as listed on the estimate:
Thermostat $50.57, this is twice the manufacturer suggested retail price at the VW dealership.
Coolant $30.90, where is the gold in this fluid? Every parts store in the U.S. has this item for under $15.
The conclusion we came to was the same as you are probably thinking, “They saw him coming!” These shops get away with this because of the previous lack of knowledge of auto repair the public once had to endure. HAE was founded to prevent this type of hideous, out right abuse of the consumer. For further details about the exact shop name and location you can email customerservice@honestautoestimates.com and request the information.
Where do labor guides get their repair times?
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009The most popular labor guides such as Alldata, Chilton and Mitchell’s purchase repair information from the manufacturers. The factory sets a time for every repair to the vehicle. They come up with most of these labor times by formulation not by actually dismantling the vehicle. This means that some labor times can vary from actual time, but the overall labor time is fairly accurate. The idea is that the more experienced the technician is, the faster the repair time. This is called the technicians efficiency rate and most shops like to see at least 130%, which means the technicians billable time net about 30% profitability. If the technician is given a job that is rated at 10 hours and does the job in 7, then he is available for more work that will overlap that 10 hours. This leads to profit because the technician will also work faster on the 7 hour job. Auto repair shops sell parts and time not repairs, which is why consumers have to be careful when analyzing estimates for repairs. An estimate for repair to your car has very few components, labor time, parts and sales tax. Other fees such as shop supplies, hazardous waste or any other fee is added by the shop to cover a specific cost the shop may incur while performing repairs to your car. These fees however are sometimes abused and are simply added profit.
Hey is it just me or did I really see………………
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009Maybe I am old fashion, but I think that auto repair should be auto repaired. So many times we take our cars to a repair shop only to hear, “We have to start with this and hope”, hope? Why not fix! With the level of computer intergration, most vehicles self diagnose. If a shops says this to you, look out wallet! They are telling you they are not sure whats wrong but if you don’t mind footing the bill, we can throw enough parts at the problem until it goes away. I know some problems are difficult to find, but dilligence can be a money saver. The key to getting a direct answer to “What’s wrong with it” is really a 3 pronged appraoch; 1) Technical knowledge 2) Tools 3) Technician. If you have these things going for you, there is a good chance you will only pay for the repair and not that shops training session on your car.
The real world of auto repair
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009In the real world of auto repair shops, the bottom line rules. As the economy has tightened up, many shop have found themselves struggling to make it. Some have turned to overcharging the customers they do get in just to make ends meet.
HAE does not recognize the reasoning of “anything goes, I have to stay in business.” The truth is that it is possible to stay open and NOT overcharge consumers. The key to it all is getting the word out that no matter how bad it gets you will not resort to “Ripping off” consumers. Association such as HAE, BBB and AAA can be valuable resourses for both consumers and repair shops. They can connect “Honest” shops with consumers who don’t mind paying “An honest days pay for an honest days work”. HAE offers shops the ability to connect with it’s consumer members only if they meet the standards set to protect the members. These shops must meet criteria including being subjected to “Mystery Shopper” estimates. HAE makes sure that shops treat every consumer with respect and honesty or HAE will make an example out of that shop.
HAE is considered by many to be the authority concerning auto repair rip offs. We spot them a mile away and expose them everyday to our consumer members so they are not taken. Shop who think “Profit above all” or “Do what ever it takes” will pay the price, but those shops that join HAE and GUARANTEE they will not overcharge will reap the rewards!
$4500 Cash for Clunkers, will not work!
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009Yeah the problem is that the cash for clunckers bill is not worth the paper it is written on. You see people who are driving cars that will qualify for this program do not have good credit or at least the credit it takes to buy a new car now a days. Most banks now require down payments from beacons of even 760. Those with scores below 670 are not even going to qualify, even with down payment from a “Cluncker Buy out plan”. This means that very few are really affected by this. The deal is for purcahse of a new car not used. The used car buyer will only get about $1500 at best, now that may help a little, but in reality we are just feeding the helpless to the lions. By that I mean the people foolded into trading their car to get the bail out money, have good enough credit to buy and can qualify for the $4500, are more than likely driving cars that are worth more than that anyway so it will not make any difference. The people that are buying used cars and can only qualify for $1500 assitance, do not have credit for new cars and that means they are relying on secondary finanacing (which was not as affected by the credit crunch because most is “In House”) that is at wildly high rates. These rates can go as high as 22%, so when I say leading to the lions, I mean causing people that might pay $500 to fix their current car they have no payments on, to trade that in for interest rates that are out of this world. The eventual outcome from all of this will be that these “Low credit score” people will not be able to keep the car because the payment is too high, they are also the group most likely to be laid off so they will have the car repossed and ruin their credit even more. Mean while the people with good credit are not going to buy because they can afford to fix what they have and will not feel any benefit from a $4500 assistance program because their car is worth more than that. End product, the governement annouces a plan that benefits very few and causes more hardship on those that need no more, but it all looks good on paper! If the government wants to help people and the car industry, work out credit issues so people can finance cars agian with little or no money upfront. Then get consession from the auto makers to lower the price to put them within range of todays budgets. Finally, take the bail out money going to the BIG BUSINESS and spread it around the country in SMALL BUSINESS, which always seems to save the country in times of hardship.
Motorcycles are a cars best friend!
Monday, May 18th, 2009When you are driving your car down the street and find yourself sharing the road with a motorcyclist, remember, they get great fuel mileage. Why is this important to the car owner? Easy, if those cyclists get great fuel mileage, they are leaving more fuel for you. This keeps the cost of gasoline down by conservation. The rules are simple when driving near motorcycles:
1) Watch for them when changing lanes
2) Allow a large gap when you are following, they don’t have bumpers.
3) Always signal your lanes changes to allow time for them to react.