Mechanics say tinkering with law means more work

Thursday, Sept. 30, 1999 | 11:50 a.m.

On Friday people who have complaints against their auto mechanics will have new rights, including the right to mediation.

That's the good news. The bad news is that the mediation will be done by the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety, which has its hands full right now trying to implement a new computer program.

Assembly Bill 258 could be called the auto mechanic customers' bill of rights. And judging by from what supporters and detractors say, it's full of both good and bad news.

The law has provisions that require written estimates and dispute mediation if a consumer is unhappy with the repairs that have been done.

The law also requires, among other things, that:

Brian Kunzi, deputy attorney general for the Bureau of Consumer Protection, says the new law is a good one and will make it easier to prosecute some cases.

Mechanics say the law will require them to warehouse used parts and will be a nuisance to customers who may be required to return to the garage to sign an authorization that will allow a mechanic to complete the work.

"The law will be more of a problem for customers than for shops," said Jack McClary, president of the Nevada Association of Automotive Service Professionals. "Instead of being an enhancement to the consumer, it will be a burden."

"Most businesses that do repairs, no matter what it may be, are not required to give an estimate like the state is requiring us to do," Eldon Hardy, former president of the association, said. "I would say 99.9 percent of our customers are happy with our estimates -- it's a matter of trust.

"What they (the legislators) are doing to is making the process so complicated, so cumbersome."

Hardy said once the customers drop off their cars and leave, under the new law they may have to return to the shop to sign off on a new estimate if the mechanic discovers the problem is worse than he thought.

Mechanics may be able to get an authorization over the phone, but Hardy said he doesn't know if that would protect the mechanic if a case ended up in court.

"How do we verify phone authorization?" he asked. "I hate to get to the point were we have to have the customer come back out and sign a work order."

It's a matter of providing information and choices, Kunzi said.

The new law, he said, differentiates between estimates for diagnosis and actual repairs. The new law requires that when an estimate on a diagnosis is given, there also must be an estimate on how much it will cost for the mechanic to put the car back together if the owner decides not to have the work done.

"It's fairly significant, from our standpoint," Kunzi said. "The primary problem we consistently see in the industry is that people will take their car in for repair and they don't know what's wrong with it. They will sign a repair order that simply says diagnosis.

"What is happening, the mechanic calls and gets an authorization for repairs and then the consumer complains that they didn't authorize the repairs that were made."

By then a repair bill of several hundred to several thousand dollars is at stake, he said.

"Mechanics say 'but I have the signed authorization.'_thinspace"

The real answer to consumer complaints, Hardy said, is a simple binding arbitration process -- one in which the third-party arbitrator can make decisions that resolve the dispute.

As it now stands, he said, the Department of Consumer Affairs mediates, acting as a sounding board for both parties, but agency officials don't make decisions that are binding.

He said the role of a "sounding board" is good, but not as good as a binding decision that will keep cases out of court.

"If you're going to have an arbitration process, there should be a solution that will resolve the issue. That isn't in place now," he said.

Ronald Shutt, chief investigator for Consumer Affairs, said Assembly Bill 258 will shift the role of arbitrator from his division to the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety.

All garages will be required to register with the department, Shutt said, adding "Arbitration will be conducted by the DMV."

How that will happen, given the DMV's gridlock since it installed a new computer system this month, is another question.

"The pragmatic aspect, with our coordinating with the DMV, is still to be worked out," Shutt said. "But however it works, it will be in favor of the consumer."

Hardy said it remains to be seen whether the DMV's role will evolve into binding arbitrator or simply a different sounding board.

He would like to see the government out of the picture altogether and leave the Better Business Bureau, a private organization, to do binding arbitration.

Such matters usually end up beyond the ability of the Consumer Affairs department to resolve anyway, Shutt said. Shoddy workmanship generally is the complaint, and Consumer Affairs can't intervene in those issues.

"We refer the consumer to small claims court or to an attorney in those cases," he said. "If it's an issue other than workmanship, that's something we'd look at."

Shutt said cases seldom go to court.

"Usually, it's solved by mediation," he said. "Business when they are made aware of problems usually try to work it out."