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From: werner@ut-ngp.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: ABC's "Taking Advantage" - car repair rip-offs
Message-ID: <523@ut-ngp.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 20-Apr-84 13:56:45 EST
Article-I.D.: ut-ngp.523
Posted: Fri Apr 20 13:56:45 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 21-Apr-84 02:25:01 EST
Organization: Comp. Center, Univ. of Texas at Austin
Lines: 36

[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 ???)