FLEECING THE MOTORIST: A SEVERE LACK OF SKILLS IN THE MOTOR INDUSTRY

I have been a reader of your great periodical for 30 years now; since I was a teenager in the '80s, watching the GSI/GTI battles at Kyalami before I started my career in the motor industry in 1990 as an apprentice auto electrician. I then spent the second half of my career as a technical trainer. This is the first time I’m writing to you because of two issues I feel very strongly about; the fleecing and rippingoff of the motorist and the severe shortage of skills in the motor industry. This issue was triggered by the letter from Mr Hunter in your August issue. My advice, for the next time, would be the following ...

• Negotiate the price for the service/repair upfront before you book your car in at the workshop; question any additional charges, such as consumables and sundries that are usually bogus add-on charges.

• Make sure the workshop has some accreditation like RMI, AAQA or Bosch, to name a few, so you have some recourse if you are dissatisfied with the service you receive.

• Remember, too, the motorist now has the much-awaited “Right to Repair” campaign on their side; giving you more power to negotiate not only price, but electing where to service your vehicle without invalidating your warranty, so you are no longer “married” to the OEM dealership. Perhaps your wonderful magazine could publish a story in the future explaining how Right to Repair works. Thanks for a great read each month. LERANT GRESK Via email [Hi Lerant, we appreciate your letter and apologise that we could not publish all of it. We do stipulate that you try keep your communiqués to 300 words. Nevertheless, thanks for your insight. Right to Repair is very topical and we plan to cover it soon. We’ll also try our darndest to run your full letter in instalments over the following few months. In the meantime, please accept a year’s subscription to your favorite motoring title with our compliments – editor]