roadside scam

In Canada (at least) there is an organization called the Automobile Protection Association (APA) that does these scam checks on a regular basis and records and reports the results. Some of the scams uncovered are downright scary.

In the USA we have the Consumer Protection Agency which honestly needs to be overhauled. Worked with Channel 4 and Al Sunshine here in Miam years ago on the automotive scams. Yea, had my short time on TV.....Scams are a dime a dozen so to speak in all aspects of our lives. The old axiom "Buyer Beware" still applies today.

OK..... so why is it our Florida Governor has proposed doing away with licensing for auto shops and mechanics? Since this is a "right to work" state I am not allowed to ask for a plumbing license from ANY plumber so I wonder how this will work out for the auto shops?

OK..... so why is it our Florida Governor has proposed doing away with licensing for auto shops and mechanics?

Probably a little political lobbying.

Your real protection in body shops is your insurance company fraud division and the clams adjuster.  That is true in all states even ones with draconian licensing laws.

Since this is a "right to work" state I am not allowed to ask for a plumbing license from ANY plumber so I wonder how this will work out for the auto shops?

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So how does your plumber prove he really is a qualified plumber??  He has to do it some way to work on my plumbing.

As to auto shops, the mechanics can be certified by the national whatever or by the manufacturer, i.e., Mr Good Wrench.  Neither has anything to do with state licensing.  If not, I would not go there.  The state still should have some form of Consumer protection somewhere and the ability to enforce good practices.  Sad to say there are too many crooks out in the world.

That is scary. An unqualified plumber fixing a leaky sink is one thing, an unqualified mechanic changing my ball joints or brakes is quite another.

When I was mechanicking, all parts changed were kept to return to the customer, except fluids of course. We would, however, keep a fluid sample if it was something unusual.

I remember a readers digest scam inspection years ago.  The car was thouroughly gone over by a mechanic before doing the test. They had their own people check it out prior to the investigation and found that they were charged for spark plugs that had not been replaced - before even starting their report!
They did mention the names of the places that found and fixed the "problem" with no or minimal charge.

I have had the "air filter is dirty" tried on me as well.  I do all my own service, so I knew better. It was only serviced by them that time because it was a "complimentary" oil change by the selling dealer.

What's worse is the original post in this thread.. Without licensing the state has only fraud rules to jail these criminals with.  WITH licensing they can suspend/revoke the license.

It has happened.

In Florida, there are so many illegal shops that the counties do not have the resources to enforce the current laws let alone new laws. There are certain groups of people running repair shops out of their backyard where I live. The legal shops are spending big dollars for licenses, permits and EPA compliance and really cannot compete with the illegal shops. Remember the campaign to buy American. The price was cheap on the foreign made items so Americans bought the foreign made item. Now Americans are paying dearly for that decision.

GW you are so right about the mechanics and their backyard shops. I hate the govments interference but My thoughts on the plumber apply to other trades as well, if this you career choice them get at least get a  journeymans liscense and prove to me you are serious but if it is just your hobby then don't bother calling yourself a plumber the rest of us know better. I wonder why I went to apprenticeship for 5 years and have carried 3 licenses for over 30 years. I take my job serious and will sign my name to every piece of work. Sorry I got carried away.....I'm not as concerned about a plumber as an electrician.....people die from improper wiring.

Forums like this and word of mouth referrals are the best way to pick repairmen. Some of the worst mechanics that I have dealt with are in major dealerships. Stay away from the freightliner dealer in OKC. Major ripoff!! The good mechanics open their own shops in their backyards and move to larger facilities as business grows.

Wow - a scam indeed. We went to AZ this past winter and had a tire blowout. On our way home in March, we pulled off and exit ramp into a small place to eat and a guy came running at us yelling something about our tire. Naturally we were already paranoid from the trip out. My husband checked everything out and we continued on. Nice to see this thread and see the guy for what he was. Why do people have to be such jerks?!

Mary Jane said:

We went to AZ this past winter and had a tire blowout. On our way home in March, we pulled off and exit ramp into a small place to eat and a guy came running at us yelling something about our tire. Why do people have to be such jerks?!

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Mary Jane
I have been following this thread with interest, and was not going to add to it, but now, since reading your post I have no choice. After the Quartszite rally, we drove up to Northern California to visit relatives. Upon leaving a MacDonalds in Needles and heading for the Interstate 40 on-ramp, a man came running from the far side of the road waving his arms and yelling that we were about to lose a trailer wheel. He advised us to pull into his garage parking area and he would check it out. Naturally I did, but, before I could shut the van off and get out his helper had wheeled a floor jack out and started to raise up the axle. As I got out he explained the problem. The tire had seperated somehow and was not safe to go any further. I ran my hand around the tire tread and felt absolutely nothing to indicate a problem. His helper was now at the ready with an air wrench to start pulling the wheels off. I politely thanked him for his concern and asked him to lower the jack and remove it from under the trailer. I also told him I was only going a short distance and would check it out at short intervals.
He was not happy, but, he realized that I was not too happy with them either.
This trailer has returned to Ontario, received normal wheel bearing and brake service and we are now in S. Carolina. That incident was about 4000 miles ago.
It was obvious his garage was having a slow day because we were his only (almost) customers, but, out-of-state plates shouldn't be an open invitation for a scam.
I probably should have taken him to task, but frankly, we just wanted to get out of there.

Dave

Many years ago I had my car at a Sears AAuto Center for an oil/filter/lube job. The mechanic called me over and shook the wheel and told me I needed "new ball joints". I declined and took the car to another auto place. I asked the mechanic if I needed new ball joints :-[, his first statement to me was..."you must have been at Sears". It turned out that the ball joints were not in need of replacements. ;D

Some related reading here.

I really find it amazing that all of us have had such similar experiences. All I can say, is if the price of gas soesn't keep us from going back to AZ after Christmas and some guy comes running out at us, pointing at our tire.......that poor devil is going to get it. 

Tom said:

Some related reading here.

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I have read it, its a great info about this scam.

The first article refers to the scam I described in my earlier message; It cost them $millions in fines and other corrective stuff they had to do.