Bogus
car repair prices PART 2. While Las Vegas is not looking too good for
auto repair right now, these types of car
repair scams exposed by the I-Team OCCUR EVERYWHERE...
Investigation
Part 2: Las Vegas Auto Repair Rip-Off!
 The
Channel 8 I-Team joined forces with the Nevada Attorney
General's
Consumer Protection Bureau for its first undercover car sting in more
than four years.
Late Friday, the attorney general's office filed a lawsuit
against several Purrfect Auto shops in the Las Vegas
valley.
Every before and after
story begins with pictures, and prior each Purrfect Auto pit stop,
investigators with the Bureau of Consumer Protection mark each car
part.
The oil
filter was
specifically identified with some very unique markings. Every squiggle,
stripe
and seal is photographed, and tiny video cameras concealed under
the hood and beneath the car add to the visual record.
At the
Purrfect Auto Center on Eastern near St. Rose Parkway , undercover
customer Rachel requested the 60,000-mile service.
A coupon
prices the
package at $149.95 to include oil and filter change, radiator and
transmission drain and refill; PCV valve and air filter replacement,
fuel injection cleaning and power steering flush. The mechanic
explained Rachel's six cylinder engine costs extra. She agreed to the
service for $189.95.
Right away,
the mechanic
pulled the car onto the pit, presumably to change the fluids. It sat
there for twenty minutes without a single drop spilled. The only time
anyone did get under the car was when this guy dropped his pen cap.
Almost $200
later with invoice in hand, Rachel returned to home base.
Deputy
Attorney General
Ernest Figeroua immediately recognized his artwork. Seals on both the
radiator and the transmission supported the video evidence that neither
was serviced.
Deputy A.G.
Figeroua: "The drain cock has the same markings right there, not
touched."
Under the
hood, marks remained on the PVC valve and on the air filter.
Deputy
A.G. Figeroua: "The only thing they did was make a
mess."
All told,
the technician
failed to change the oil and filter, and did not drain and refill the
radiator or the transmission. The PCV valve and the air filter also
were not replaced.
Learn what YOU can do to avoid scams inside ARREST the
Automotive Service Industry!...the most comprehensive
discussion on car repair scams available. Learn More
The I-Team's
cameras and
marks don't show definitively whether the mechanics cleaned the fuel
injectors and flushed the power steering fluid. Therefore, we gave them
the benefit of the doubt.
The I-Team
returned to the shop.
Reporter
Colleen McCarty:
"I'm Colleen McCarty with Channel 8 and we brought a car in here last
week and we've got a bill for services we paid for and didn't receive."
Purrfect
Auto's Jason: "How do you guys figure they weren't done?"
The I-Team
tells Jason about the hidden cameras and the marked parts.
Colleen
McCarty: "Why would it be that these things weren't done?"
Jason: "I
don't know what
to tell you as far as cameras on the car, no cameras on the car. I
really couldn't tell you what was done and what wasn't done, I'm not
the technician who worked on the car if the mechanic did not do it, I
will address the issue in a heart beat."
Colleen
McCarty: "We had hidden cameras all over the car. These things were not
done."
Jason: "I
really don't agree with it."
Colleen
McCarty: "So, you think they were done?"
Jason:
"Yes."
Jason chose
to reserve
judgment until he could see the car or the video. But he said if
something were missed, he would make it right.
The Nevada
franchiser for
Purrfect Auto sent this statement: "Each Purrfect Auto location is
independently owned and operated by an individual in the local area.
The events reported by Channel 8 pertain only to those locations
portrayed in the report and are being reviewed by the franchiser of the
Purrfect Auto Service System. The franchiser's policy, and the policy
of its franchisees, is to make sure that Purrfect Auto Service stores
provide honest and quality service to its customers at a fair price and
to satisfy all of its customers."
The I-Team
spoke with the
man who owns the Purrfect Auto shop on Eastern and St. Rose Parkway and
the shop on Rancho and Cheyenne from part one of this story.
He has yet
to agree to an interview or send a statement.
To watch Part 2 of this repair scam on video visit lasvegasnow.com
To learn more about eliminating repair scams Click Here
|
