Utahns have been ripped off by auto repair businesses for too long, and lawmakers and the state officials charged with protecting consumers from fraud are poised to clean up the industry if it won't do the job itself.
The automobile repair industry dodged a bullet this week when state officials pulled back a Senate bill that would have required even the smallest repair garage to be licensed and bonded by the state.The Utah Automotive Repair Act, sponsored by Sen. Blaze Wharton, D-Murray, also would have required garages to issue written estimates of repair work and to return replaced parts to customers.
"These people need to know that they shouldn't be in this industry if they're out to defraud the consumer," said Francine Giani, director of the state's Division of Consumer Protection.
Soon after the bill was written this week, Giani met with industry representatives then agreed to hold the bill and study problems in the industry for one year, she said.
The industry got a reprieve, said Wharton. "We're putting them on notice: They can take care of these problems or we'll run this and clean it up," he said.
Misrepresentation and fraud are frequent in Utah, according to Giani. A car owner may need one new brake and his mechanic will suggest replacing all four, for example. There are also problems with the way repair shops estimate costs for the work they do.
"There is overestimating and also a lack of estimating going on," Giani said. For example, a mechanic says it will cost $100 to fix a car, but the bill is $800 when the project is done.
More than one-third of all complaints to the division are about auto repair fraud, she said.
Gripes about car repair experiences make up about 8 percent of all formal complaints to the Better Business Bureau, according to director Bill Beadle. It's among the top three concerns for consumers, he said.
Conflicts about home improvement or remodeling projects are prolific complaint generators too, and seasonal or one-time conflict issues usually vault into the top three. When mortgage rates drop, for example, Beadle's staff is flooded with calls from consumers who want to know how to get the lower rates.
People complain about car repair performance, costs and how fast they get back their wheels. "It's very frustrating anytime our transportation is inhibited," Beadle said. "We're tied to the automobile in this town."
Wharton doesn't have any real horror stories, but feels vulnerable with car repairs. Like a lot of people, Wharton leaves car repair businesses wondering if he's been taken. "I'll be driving away and think, `Did they really change the oil?' "
Car repair businesses throughout the Salt Lake Valley don't like the sound of the Utah Automotive Repair Act. Many of the big, corporate shops already have the bonding and staff to minimize hardship if Wharton's act were to become law. Smaller garage owners say they couldn't afford the time or money this kind of state supervision would require.
Small businesses already have enough paperwork, said Kay Prout, office manager for Auto Tech Inc., which services five or six cars a day. "We're paying out a lot already."
It's just another example of Big Brother sticking his nose into an industry that doesn't need it, said Wendell Lee, co-owner of Alpine Foreign Repair, 341 E. 900 South. "I personally feel people are capable of taking care of themselves," he said.
Shopping for a mechanic is like shopping for an attorney or any other kind of professional. "You find someone you trust, you check around, you talk to people," he said. "People don't need the government to do that for them."
Lee runs a small shop. He and partner Bob have one employee, so there aren't extra employees to absorb extra work that could be generated by the Automotive Repair Act.
"It's nonsense; just more paperwork for us. I already work 12 hours a day."
Under the act, it would be a class B misdemeanor for any person to do auto repair work without a license.
"People know what they need. They know if they want a written estimate. They know if they want to keep the part or not," Lee said.
Lee is most concerned about the licensing requirements. What does it mean? Will mechanics be tested?
Giani said she will see how the year of study goes. Some in the industry actually want to go further with regulation than the proposed act allows, which came as a surprise to Giani. It's possible that mechanics could be certified.
If talks with the industry don't work and complaints continue to escalate, Giani said she will ask Wharton to file the bill next legislative session.
"It just gives us a much bigger hammer. It allows us to be more specific to the violation," she said. "I believe it will allow us to get the the heart of the problem."