Marketplace

Testing Service Centres: Is Your Car Dealership Ripping You Off? (45x2)

Air date: Sep 22, 2017

When you bring your car to the dealership for service, how do you know what they recommend is what’s really needed? Marketplace rigs up “bait cars” and exposes aggressive upselling and careless inspections. Most people don’t realise "service advisers" who tell you what's wrong with your car aren't mechanics at all. They're actually salespeople. We interview a former service adviser who admits he was sometimes on 100% commission and that’s why he often felt pressured to recommend maintenance that’s not required. In one of our hidden camera examples, a consumer gets up-sold on brake repairs she doesn’t need, but she isn't told about a safety recall her car really needs: her Honda Civic has one of those faulty Takata airbags.