Submitted by mandyaffogato t3_z1a2r4 in Pennsylvania
EDIT #2: ok! This happened at AAA in Downingtown, PA. The QAO inspected my car with the mechanic, and confirmed that my car was improperly failed. The mechanic now knows they screwed up, and the AAA car service managers now know too. HOWEVER, the QAO told me I should not have taken my car to get a 2nd inspection. He said I should have directly contacted him after failing my inspection at AAA. According to him, since my car has a safety inspection sticker (from the dealership), the car has been tampered with and makes the next steps a bit more difficult. That doesn’t make much sense to me since I wouldn’t have known AAA was being shady unless I took it to the dealership to perform a 2nd inspection. Like, how would I have known to contact DOT after one failed inspection without any comparative? And I did tell the QAO that I’ve communicated to literally everybody I’ve spoken with from DOT & Parsons that I passed inspection at the dealership. Idk why it was a surprise to him today. He said he’s just the field guy but will turn this over to DOT for next steps.
I’ll leave it to him and the DOT to figure out what penalties if any should be given to AAA. I don’t believe they will tell me what penalties will be levied against AAA. At this point, in the short term, I’m just happy that they’ve been educated, and that DOT is now aware that AAA improperly failed my car for inspection and that I’m likely not the only one. AND I did go back in and get my refund, finally 😬
EDIT: Thank you all so much for sharing your perspectives and encouragement. Many of your comments validated what I already knew, but still the anxiety of impending confrontation has me🥴 I’m going back to the shop at 10am today with my husband and will just stay in my husbands car while they look at mine (thank you for that suggestion!) I should note: the state emissions dept called me last week and shared that this is when most people drop their complaints, because of the general inconvenience or awkwardness of bringing your car back to the same shop. I feel that. But I’m also pretty sure this place took advantage of my husband. My husband got his car inspected there a week before I did. We’re new to the state, and they told him PA inspections are notorious for being lengthy and comprehensive, and it can take a full DAY. They told him to plan to leave his car overnight. His is a 2009 car though, so when they told him he had $2k worth of repairs, a part of him begrudgingly believed it. He bit the bullet and paid, though he definitely was suspicious about the axle repair. He now regrets not asking any questions (e.g., are these required repairs for inspection, or your recommended repairs?; can you take photos of what specifically requires repair?; can you give me a work order or other documentation that indicates these repairs are required to pass inspection?) The QAO had a fundamentally different perspective on the criteria for inspections, and said criteria in PA is very lenient, and he’s seen some very beat up cars legitimately pass inspection. QAO said they can only take a complaint forward if the consumer refuses the repair. So, something for you to know/think about next time you get your car inspected! Also, i got in touch with my QAO after calling the Emissions Dept. Per their site, you can call 800-265-0921 (if you are within the 25 emissions counties) to report an issue, either safety or emissions related. From there, a company named Parsons will call you to get more info/documentation and, if they agree there’s something untoward going on, they will have a QAO reach out to schedule this audit. There may be an easier way to get in touch with you QAO, but this is the route I went. I will update this post after 10am 🤞
Original post:
I complained to the original shop and asked for a refund of the $30ish I paid for inspection. They said basically no, and offered to review the photos they took and call me back. They never called me back. It didn’t make sense to me that my car failed inspection, and I even told the dealership what specifically failed so they could take an extra look at that (my shocks). Dealership said my shocks were fine, and took a video of it.
I reported the incident to my Quality Assurance Officer, who was shocked that my car had initially failed inspection. After reviewing photos and a video from the dealership of my car, the QAO seems confident that the original shop was trying to take advantage of me. QAO was actually livid and eager to address this, and said these types of incidents give the industry a bad name.
BUT in order to actually get a resolution, I have to take my car back to the crooked shop so the QAO and the original mechanic can review why they failed me. Once the QAO sees my car with the original mechanic, he can then issue sanctions (whatever that may be).
I am oddly nervous to go back to the shop. I feel like I’m on their shit list, and I am going to feel so uncomfortable in their waiting room while they look at my car again. But I am also incensed that they tried taking advantage of me, and know that unless they’re held accountable, they will continue to take advantage of people who may not know any better.
Anyone else do this? What was your experience?
DBEuro t1_ix9ug56 wrote
Inspections pass or fail you are charged. I would do nothing if the car dealership passed it keep on driving.