Many Causes for Faulty Auto Repair: Consumers...

Many Causes for Faulty Auto Repair: Consumers lose $20 billion annually on faulty auto repairs. But 75% of that loss has nothing to do with fraud, according to a three-year study of the U.S. auto repair business.

Instead, consumers are more likely to fall victim to unskilled mechanics, inadequately equipped shops, poor communication and cars so complex that even the best technicians have trouble fixing them on the first try.

Auto repair problems head the list of the top 10 consumer complaints compiled by the National Assn. of Attorneys General, the organization that conducted the study and recently published its findings in an Auto Repair Task Force Report.

That ranking means trouble for auto makers as much as it does for consumers, said Keith E. Crain, publisher of Automotive News, an industry trade journal.

Consumers blame the manufacturer and the mechanic when a vehicle fails repeatedly, and they are likely to abandon the makers of their fault-ridden cars and trucks. The manufacturers then have to spend money on advertising and promotions to replace the lost customers, Crain said.

Many car companies are trying to bypass the problem, not only by improving product quality, but also by reducing the number of components that are subject to repair.