Garage Fraud Essay -- essays research papers

Garage Fraud and How to Prevent It   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Have you ever wondered why it cost you hundreds of dollars to get a belt changed on your car? The answer is simple: Auto-repair fraud. According to Norris and Engel’s book Auto Repair Fraud, the number one consumer complaint in the country is auto repair fraud. Americans pay more than 29 billion dollars a year to service and repair vehicles. According to a three year U.S. Senate sub-committee investigation into the auto repair industry, one-third of all car repair dollars, ten-billion dollars a year, is wasted on inadequate, inept, or corrupt service.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people are unaware just how much auto-repair fraud, or â€Å"garage fraud† takes place. It can take place anywhere from service stations who may perform light mechanic work, to a Garage which may fix tires, brakes, shocks, or transmissions. People can be taken advantage of in â€Å"garage fraud† in many ways. One way this can happen is by an attendant lying about labor, or the actual amount of time he spent on your vehicle. Another method is by huge markups on replacement parts, or cleaning and painting your old part and selling it back to you. Lastly, the attendant may lie about what is actually wrong with your car and charge you for something far more expensive.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   These frauds take place because many people leave their vehicles unattended at shops or can’t see what is going on inside the garage. Many times a p...