Are Americans getting a square deal for the $65 billion they spend each year
\nto maintain their cars? To find out, a 1984 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera sedan
\n(one of the biggest- selling U.S. cars that year) with 20,000 miles on the
\nodometer was used.<\/p>\n
Under the supervision of a consulting mechanic and project editor, an
\nOldsmobile dealer made the car “like new”: engine tuned, transmission
\nserviced, new spark plugs, brakes, shock absorbers, struts, fan belts and
\nhoses.\tEvery vital component was thoroughly checked and, if there was any
\ndoubt, replaced.<\/p>\n
Then the blue-grey Olds was put on the road.\tBehind the wheel: a nationally
\nsyndicated automotive columnist and veteran of hundreds of road tests.\tThe
\nassignment: travel the country, pick repair garages at random and see how they
\ntreat a customer in need. A single spark-plug wire was pulled loose from the
\nV-6 engine just before each stop, thus making the motor run roughly.<\/p>\n
A loose wire is something that even a novice mechanic should notice.
\nReattaching it to the plug was all that was necessary to put our car in perfect
\nrunning condition. But many mechanics either didn’t spot the problem or
\nfraudulently “corrected” it by selling or recommending the wide array of parts,
\noils and solvents.<\/p>\n
What was discovered after stops at 225 garages should be a warning to every
\ncar owner. Here is the account of the 10,000-mile safari through America’s
\nauto-repair jungle.<\/p>\n
The engine was faltering as I pulled up at a large independent garage in Old
\nSaybrook, Conn., one morning. I told the mechanic my car “wasn’t running
\nright.”<\/p>\n
As he opened the hood, I heard the sharp cracking sound of a loose plug wire
\n“shorting out” against the engine block. Ignoring that symptom, the mechanic
\nslowly removed the oil-filler cap. With a grave look, he stuck a long
\nscrewdriver into the opening and placed an ear against the wooden handle. Like
\na doctor with a stethoscope, he listened to the engine.<\/p>\n
“You got a bad rocker,” he said. Beckoning me inside the garage, he staged
\nan impressive show-and-tell, swiveling the rocker arms (they open the engine
\nvalves) on a rocker shaft he had picked off the floor.<\/p>\n
He phoned about replacement parts, meanwhile congratulating me for coming to
\nhis garage. “You’re going to save about half over what a dealer would charge.”<\/p>\n
The repair would take three hours and cost $125 to $175. But, he warned,
\nthere might be other problems once he “got inside” the engine. I told him I’d
\nthink it over.\tI drove away, pulled off the road and pushed the wire back onto
\nthe spark plug, restoring the car to smooth running condition.<\/p>\n
FAIR GAME. That wire, about the length and thickness of a garter snake,
\nwould bite time and time again as I sought repairs at gas stations,
\ndealerships, independent garages and chain automotive outlets in 33 states. My
\nexperience made me acutely aware why so many Americans complain about their
\ntreatment in the nation’s 300,000 auto-repair shops:<\/p>\n
Only 28 percent of my stops resulted in a correct diagnosis and repair.
\nThree out of four times, I was either denied service, had to wait for hours (or
\ndays), or was victimized by dishonesty, incompetence or both.<\/p>\n
When a mechanic did work on the car, I got a satisfactory repair only 44
\npercent of the time.<\/p>\n
In the other 56 percent, mechanics performed unnecessary work, sold
\nunnecessary parts or charged for repairs not done. Worse, some of their work
\ncreated new engine problems.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake, I met a lot of good, honest mechanics, but their reputation
\nis unfairly stained by a large number who either don’t know what they are doing
\nor treat motorists as “fair game” or fools.<\/p>\n
My loose wire provoked a slew of remedies, including spark-plug cleanings,
\n“major” and “minor” tuneups, valve adjustments, correction of “fuel
\nstarvation,” carburetor adjustment and even transmission rebuilding.<\/p>\n
Among parts recommended were fuel filters, gasoline additives, catalytic
\nconverters, air pumps, engine control modules, distributor caps and rotors, and
\nvalve lifters.\tIn all, more than 100 useless remedies were prescribed, priced
\nfrom $2 to more than $500.<\/p>\n
One blitz of rip-offs began in Jacksonville, Fla. At five consecutive shops
\nthere, “cures” included a distributor cap ($30), a single spark plug ($8.93)
\nand replacing the end of the plug wire ($17.27)<\/p>\n
Deciding it was time to get out of Jacksonville, I headed north. In
\nBrunswick, Ga., a mechanic spotted the loose wire but attached it to a new plug
\n($17.36), replacing the one installed in Jacksonville just 65 miles earlier!
\nNext stop–Savannah, where two successive shops recommended tuneups for $184
\n(including new plug wires) and $101 (with new plug wires “highly recommended”
\nat extra cost).<\/p>\n
CHAIN REACTION. Big-city shops were much more likely to go after my wallet
\nthan small-town and rural garages were. The presence of nationally “certified”
\nmechanics did not guarantee good service–in fact, I got gypped in 50 percent
\nof the shops boasting nationally certified technicians. I received exellent
\ntreatment in some pretty crude garages. I got taken to the cleaners in some
\nfancy shops complete with coffee, courtesy and the latest technology.<\/p>\n
I found, too, that car owners are often victims of shoddy repairs that cause
\nother problems. When a Kansas City, Mo., mechanic replaced (unnecessarily) a
\ngas filter, he forgot to reinstall the spring that holds the filter in place.
\nI limped into a garage in Salina, Kan., where a mechanic found the spring lying
\non the manifold and also discovered that my carburetor air-cleaner gasket had
\nnot been reinstalled.<\/p>\n
There was a monotonous quality to the majority of my encounters with the
\nchiselers or incompetents. Occasionally there were breathtaking instances of
\noutright fraud. One of these began early one morning in Tucson, Ariz.<\/p>\n
As I pumped gas at a service station beside Interstate 10, a wiry fellow in
\nwork clothes sauntered out and hunkered down on the other side of the car.
\nThat’s nice, I thought. He’s checking my tire pressure.<\/p>\n
“I see you’ve got new shocks,” he said. “Good! But your coil springs are
\nbent.” Coil springs do wear out, and may bend under extremely rare conditions,
\nbut this was definitely not the case with our low-mileage car.\tThe attendant
\nsaid he just happened to have a set that he could install for $125.<\/p>\n
I drove away without the new coil springs, but I couldn’t help thinking about
\nhapless motorists who might have been frightened into having them installed.<\/p>\n
FISHING FOR PROFITS.\tAnother memorable encounter took place in San Antonio,
\nwhen I pulled into a transmission repair shop.\tThe owner test-drove the Olds
\nwith me in the passenger seat.\tAs we climbed a hill, the car seemed to be
\nstraining. I looked down and noted that he had one foot on the gas and the
\nother on the brake. “boy, it ain’t got no power at all in second gear,” he
\nsaid. “It’s real obvious the clutches are burnt.” His solution: rebuild the
\ntransmission for $395 to $495, “depending on if I can save the torque
\nconverter.”<\/p>\n
One device the motorist with engine trouble is almost certain to run into is
\n“the scope”–an electronic engine analyzer. In honest, competent hands, the
\nconcept is great–you let the high-tech detective with its switches, dials and
\noscilloscopes sort out the problem. Trouble is, these devices vary in
\naccuracy, and their operaters vary widely in ability to interpret them.<\/p>\n
At a national retailer’s auto-care center in Biloxi, Miss., two mechanics
\nplugged a hand-held computer into an outlet under my dash. The computer was
\nsupposed to “interface” with the car’s diagnostic system and print out the
\npotential source of the problem. The mechanics worked for an hour, never
\nbothering to look for a loose wire.<\/p>\n
Finally they produced a printout indicating, they said, that I needed a new
\ndistributor cap and rotor. The loud snapping sound (of the shorting plug wire)
\nwas, they claimed, coming from the fuel-adjustment solenoid on the carburetor.
\nI paid the scope charge of $16.93, returned to the car, lifted the loose plug
\nwire and asked one of the mechanics if this might be the problem. Shrugging,
\nhe turned and walked away.<\/p>\n
The good mechanics I met used the scope intelligently, usually to quickly
\nconfirm that my loose plug wire was the only problem. But often the scope was
\nnothing more than a fishing rod to pull in profits on unnecessary repairs.<\/p>\n
In Hays, Kan. at another large chain-store auto center, two technicians
\nfiddled with the car for an hour trying a new distributor cap and rotor,
\napparently not noticing the loose wire inches away. They hooked the car to an
\nengine analyzer, but still couldn’t spot the real problem. They said the
\ntrouble was a bad leak in the intake manifold.\tThey were clearly groping, but
\nat least in this case it cost me only $5.73<\/p>\n
It seemed apparent from many encounters that some mechanics are intimidated
\nby the newer “high-tech” cars. They assume that any problems with them must be
\nexotic, and they forget to go back to trade-school basics, such as visually
\nchecking for loose wires and hoses. The scope is assumed to be the high-tech
\nanswer, but in inept hands, these machines often hinder rather than help.<\/p>\n
A NEW CURE ALL. At a service station near the Pennsylvania Turnpike in
\nCarlisle, Pa., three employees gathered to look under the hood of my car. They
\nnever started the engine, but immediately decided to replace the fuel filter.
\nOne of them also said the distributor cap and rotor “might” be the problem. I
\nrefused the $90 estimate for the cap and rotor. But this encounter–in which,
\nI must emphasize, the mechanics never started the engine– still cost me $25.44<\/p>\n
As I progressed on my trip, I found that fuel filters have become the modern
\ncure-all for engine troubles. Filters are a critical component of modern fuel
\nsystems, but barring unusual circumstances (a tank of bad gas), they should
\nlast 15,000 miles or more.<\/p>\n
I stopped at a station in Baker, Calif. Without pausing to listen to my
\nfaltering engine, the mechanic said, “I know what your problem is.” He began
\nreplacing a filter installed a few days earlier in Laramie, Wyo., so I asked
\nhow the “old” one looked. He blew through it before observing sagely, “It’s
\npretty well clogged.” I left the station $11 lighter, my engine still stumbling
\nand the plug wire still dangling.<\/p>\n
At a gas station in Lordsburg. N.M., two mechanics mused on any number of
\nills, for my poorly running engine. They quickly began changing–you guessed
\nit–the fuel filter. A silver Ford van lurched to a stop nearby. A woman got
\nout and announced, “My truck’s broke.” One mechanic threw open the hood.
\n“Sounds like a fuel filter to me.” He was busily installing one as I refused a
\n$200 estimate for replacing my air pump and distributor cap.<\/p>\n
SMALL RIP-OFFS. As I headed out of Lordsburg, I recalled something I had
\nheard a man say in a repair shop waiting room in Massachusetts: “Oh, I know
\nI’ll probably get taken. I just hope it isn’t for too much.” Sad to say, many
\npeople seem prepared to pay a hidden incompetent or fraud tax on repairs.<\/p>\n
But millions of others don’t even dream they are being victimized. Whether
\nit’s a fuel filter, oil additive or “phantom” plug cleaning, these $20 or $30
\nbites can add up. For an unscrupulous garage, running enough of them through
\nthe cash register is a lot safer than going for a huge swindle that might bring
\nlocal authorities onto the scene.<\/p>\n
I found such scams especially prevalent at stations along interstates, where
\nthe chance of a traveler coming back to complain is almost nil. The easiest is
\nthe phony repair. In Beaumont, Texas, a garage owner said with good humor,
\n“Eighteen dollars and seventy-five cents is all I can do to you” for replacing
\na plug wire. But he had merely re-attached the one I had loosened.<\/p>\n
In Tucson, my wife took the car, with the plug wire loose, to the auto center
\nof a national retailer she has grown to trust.\tSomebody reconnected the wire.
\nBut she was charged $29.99 for a “carburetor adjustment” and a timing check.
\nThe carburetor on the Olds was factory-sealed, and should not be adjusted.<\/p>\n
SPARK-PLUG SABOTAGE.\t“Here’s your problem,” the smiling mechanic in a Salt
\nLake City garage told me. He held up a spark-plug wire. It had a “bad cut,”
\nhe said, that was causing our engine to misfire.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the wire WAS cut–freshly cut. There was a neat half-inch-wide
\nincision clear around the insulation, which had not been there when I pulled
\nthe wire from the plug less than a half-hour before. The mechanic had replaced
\nthe wire with a new blue one, and the car ran fine. Bill: $24.75.<\/p>\n
At a garage an hour northeast of Las Vegas a few days later, I walked to the
\nback of the car while the mechanic peered under the hood, and I could see his
\nelbow working furiously as he tugged and twisted something. “I found your
\nproblem,” he announded triumphantly.<\/p>\n
He held aloft the same blue wire that had been replaced in Salt Lake City.
\nBut the end that fits over the spark plug had been broken off.\t(Try breaking
\nthe end off a plug wire sometime–you really have to work at it.) He repaired
\nthe wire for $15.30.<\/p>\n
By the end of my trip, I found it difficult to account for the range of
\nprices I encountered. I found a set of plug wires with a five-year guarantee
\nin an auto store for $15.99. A set at an Olds dealer in Tucson cost $53.76.
\nEstimates for a set plus installation charge ranged from just under $50 in
\nOmaha to $82.60 in Wheeling, W. Va.<\/p>\n
THE “PREVENT” DEFENSE. The most important weapon you have is knowledge of
\nyour car. Read the owner’s manual. Understand the basics. Does your car have
\na carburetor or fuel injection? Four cylinders or six? Have a mechanic point
\nout the basic under-hood geography so you can check your oil and coolant
\nlevels, spot a loose wire or hose. Follow a regular maintenance plan–oil
\nchanges and such–to PREVENT trouble. A Department of Transportation study
\nshows that the three leading causes of on-the-road breakdowns are bad tires,
\nrunning out of gas, and cooling-system problems. All three could largely be
\navoided by a “check before you drive” inspection.<\/p>\n
*When you find an honest, competent garage, patronize it regularly.<\/p>\n
*Insist on a detailed written estimate and the assurance that no extra work
\n will be done without your permission.<\/p>\n
*Be specific in describing your car’s symptoms.<\/p>\n
*When precautions fail: Complain. Notify authorities.<\/p>\n
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