Show ABSON'S LICENSING AUTO MECHANICS Babson Park Mass Better Business Bureaus and local law Jaw enforcement agencies all over the nation are receiving corn com plaints about the he poor performance performance mance or nonperformance of mechanics at repair garages and service stations Fraudulent Practices These complaints range from beefs a about bout carelessness ness in auto repairs to howls from those victimized by the practices of oC some repairmen who con motorists into okaying repairs or replacements not actually necessary and some some- sometimes times not even desirable One of the most frequent gripes concerns charges for work which subsequent investigation reveals had not been done nr aj all I Another grievance becoming more and more widespread na no- no notionally is the pro perty damage estimate This particular type of swindle sheet Is a very Important fact fac- factor tor in the Ciani price of acci- acci accident dent insurance Every padded damage estimate helps jack up the cost of all auto proper damage ty-damage insurance I Impact On Public Safety For ever every motorist who has been gouged deliberately by crooked garages there are perhaps a score or more who have been blen victimized by incompetent incompetent repairmen who either I have done sloppy work or orI have failed to car carI I I troubles correctly Often as not the quality poor work or wrong has complicated things for the unsuspecting mot mot- motorist motorist orist But apart from the incon incon- inconvenience and unnecessary cx ex- ex pease there is the impact on public safety No one knows how many accidents each i week are directly traceable to the misfeasance or nonfeasance of mechanics whom the non nond mechanically inclined motor motor- motoring ing public have trusted but It Itis itis is obvious that the humber Is large enough nough to be call for Cor a crusader of the persistence of ofa ofa a Ralph Nader State Supervision Law enforcement officers in several areas have lately been blen citing the need for legislation that would provide supervision supervision ion of repair garages and le- le leal e gal al redress for Cor those victimized by the sharp practices of re re- re repairmen Their argument is that the petroleum corpora corpora- corporations which largely control the service outlets are not policing these operations I In NY state this failure has hns led It'd to serious consideration of possible methods of licensing auto mechanics Reportedly there Is significant police sup port nort for such a move and public Interest In it has been growing In New York City a full full- blown campaign for reform of the repair gara garage e industry is being sponsored by the Citizens Committee for Metropolitan Af Af- Affairs fairs Probability Is that New NewYork NewYork York will enact enabling laws before beCore too long I Federal Controls Meanwhile federal officials are becoming more aware of this overall problem and of the acute need for protecting the public and the honest mechanics ics in the business from the Incompetents and the gougers ers At present Congress is studying the auto Insurance problem to determine whether Uncle Sam should exercise con con- control over underwriters In this field Senators and tives wm will he be reminded that one of the significant factors contributing to high auto insurance ance rates is the outright dis- dis dishonesty honesty of a sizable segment of the repair industry Make no mistake about it federal controls over such gar gar gar- garages ages and service outlets are coming possibly even fed frd federal eral licensing of mechanics UNLESS the industry does something about the problem and does it fast Little Littlemore Littlemore more than a year ago few of ofus ofus us expected that federal con Cols troIs over the automobile man man- mang industry would come so soon 01 or be so ex ex- ex extensive If the large solin g companies which ch operate operate T- T either directly or through chise the bulk of the nations nation's auto servi service ce sta stations cannot voluntarily bring about honesty and responsibility as well as competence on the part of mechanics they are going to tobe tobe be forced to do so by Uncle Sam And they will find that federal regulation will hurt pro fits |