What kind of damage unofficial workshops typically do to cars?
Going to an unofficial or uncertified workshop, the car owner often can get even bigger technical problems after the repairs are done. Sadly, these are not just urban legends, but a reality that many motorists have to face. What kind of damage do car service providers of questionable quality cause to cars, and what are the signs that your car might get even more serious technical problems in a particular workshop? Moller Auto experts, representing the Volkswagen and Audi brands, explain.
In Latvia, most cars have internal combustion engines. There are relatively fewer hybrid and electric cars on our roads; these are newer vehicles, and many are still under warranty, so it is natural that it is cars with internal combustion engines that most often get damaged in uncertified workshops.
The company’s experts point out, however, that over the next 3 years, these workshops are expected to become bolder, increasingly taking on electric and hybrid car repairs, even if they don’t have the right expertise, as part of adapting to the demand.
One screw is there, the other isn’t
Observations by the experts show that it is the undercarriage of a car that is most commonly damaged by unofficial workshops. And it is not just about technical defects. One poorly tightened bolt can put the safety of the driver and other road users at real risk.
The experts say they have seen car owners who went for a technical inspection, during which the technician gave them a wheel bolt. It is subsequently discovered that a service provider of dubious quality only put one bolt per wheel. There have also been cases where such workshops literally don’t finish their work, for example replacing the rear brake lining, but not adjusting the parking brake.
In the experience of the experts, just as many surprising cases have been linked to car engines. For example, once a car engine made a noise because, as it turned out, the workshop that did the previous maintenance had broken a sprocket changing the engine, and the vehicle barely ran as a result.
Mechanics who ‘know’ and ‘do’ everything
Today, technology is evolving at a lightning speed, and one cannot be an expert in everything. Decades of experience in car repairs often don’t help either, as technology has not only changed over time, but also has become more complex. For example, even properly replacing brakes today requires special computer software.
One must admit that repair workers in non-certified workshops often do not have the necessary knowledge about the technical details of the specific car make and model. Let alone having the right equipment and tools. They believe that one car brand is like another, fearlessly taking on repairs for both budget and luxury cars. Experts point out the absurdity of this, as the technical features of every brand and even model of cars vary considerably, and a thorough understanding and the right tools are essential for quality repairs.
Get service faster, get serviced longer
Most commonly, people fall into the clutches of uncertified workshops because they are looking for a service that is cheaper and is available more quickly. However, the experience of Moller Auto’s experts shows that unofficial workshops tend to be cheaper for a number of reasons: for example, they evade taxes, use cheap and low-quality parts for repairs, or hire a less skilled workforce. The queues at these workshops tend to be short, so their services are available faster, which is of course attractive to any car owner.
Using non-certified workshops, people typically end up paying twice, because certified workshops often serve motorists who come from another workshop with a problem in their car even more serious than what they had originally. The way it goes is that the repair mechanic tried to fix the car, but then told the client that they would still get the car to the dealer service, because they couldn’t do it on their own, didn’t have the right tools, etc. You can indeed get to service quickly at these workshops, but when you factor in the time the car ends up spending in repairs, it becomes clear that you will end up wasting an unreasonable amount of time. You might also have pay more, because it is only logical that the cost of repairing a car at two repair shops is significantly higher in the end.
Typical features of unofficial service providers
You can only properly repair or maintain a car if you know what services it was provided with before. If a workshop does not keep a database on the previous repairs carried out on the car, it is likely that the mechanics’ decisions for what improvements are needed are only based on assumptions, determining problems by feel. Remember that even a complete brake system check should be carried out after certain mileage. A mechanic cannot know this without keeping a register of clients. Unfortunately, that’s how most uncertified workshops operate.
An unofficial workshop will also have a superficial attitude towards the environment: all motorists should bear in mind that, if they visit such a workshop, their tyres and environmentally harmful fluids are more likely to end up in a forest or other remote location than at a recycling facility.
These workshops are also more permissive if the car owner wants to watch the repairs being done, allowing them to be close to the mechanic and the car, without even thinking that this could be very dangerous.