The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "auto repair" ...
-
NC Auto Inspection's-Failing the Test
Every year, North Carolina auto owners must take vehicles to private garages for state-mandated safety and emissions testing meant to prevent traffic crashes and curb pollution. Drivers cannot put a car on the road legally unless it passes inspection. A review inspection data showed the program is undermined by unscrupulous garages who do a volume business, passing unsafe cars, and by other who take bribes or cheat customers with uncessary repairs.
Tags: auto owners; emissions testing; unsafe cars
-
2008 Auto Issue
Two groundbreaking stories in Consumer Reports' annual auto issue used sophisticated survey techniques to help people cut through the hype of spending money on their automobile. The first story, "What that car really costs," looked at new owner cost estimates that help consumers asses how much they are going to spend. The second story used owners' actual experiences with buying and using extended warranties to show that they are usually a bad deal.
Tags: car costs; consumers; automobiles; auto maintenance; auto repair; cost estimates; buying cars
-
Auto Disrepair
The authors investigated the auto repair industry and possible means for remedies when consumers are unhappy with repairs done on their cars. There is little regulation in the industry; that leaves both consumers and merchants vulnerable.
Tags: mechanics; Florida; auto repair; consumer complaints; industry regulation; FOIA
-
Fatal Assumption
Expert auto repair surgeons lure customers into thinking they have a safe car by creating dummy airbags covers, but the bags are not inside. The tape exposes the case of a 50-year-old woman who was in a car accident and her air bag never deployed. The airbag had been cut out by the dealer who sold her the car. Dealers save thousands of dollars and that could cost lives. Many other cases like these are investigated by the news team. The tape shows how to tell a fake from a real air bag. It also holds a few of the liars accountable for making buyers think the cars have air bags.
Tags: TAPE; airbag; car; automobile; auto; auto dealer; car dealer; car accident; accident; fake airbag; Washington State Patrol Fatal Incident Report; Department of Licensing; collision; car crash; missing airbag.
-
Taken for a Ride
When your car breaks down, how do you know whom to trust? How can you tell if a mechanic is being honest? The news team went to 50 auto repair shops across the Valley in Phoenix to find honest mechanics and the ones who want to take you for a ride. This turned out to be the largest consumer investigation in the market. They used a 2002 Toyota Corolla as a test car and went to all the shops to have it checked to make sure it did not need any repairs. The car had three cameras hidden under the hood and beneath the car to show the engine and other areas that would be inspected. The researcher wore a hidden camera and as she visited big name chains and small independent shops. Shops recommended unnecessary repairs ranging from $30 to $800. After the three-month investigation, some shops corrected their mistakes when confronted, other just would not offer explanations and some did not correct their mistakes.
Tags: TAPE; car; car repair; car repair shop; mechanic; certified mechanic; dishonest mechanic; auto repair shop; vehicle inspection; scam; hidden camera; undercover; auto repair industry; consumer; consumer investigation; auto dealer.
-
N.J. does little about car repair crooks
The Record reports that "New Jersey drivers have little protection from auto-repair rip-offs," and that the state's office of consumer protection -- despite an announced shake-up -- remains "lackluster and ineffective."
Tags: fraud; complaints; better business; consumer protection
-
Deadly Driving: Safety Agency Puts Motorists at Risk
In an eight-month investigation, The Detroit News examined the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and found "the federal agency created 35 years ago to make vehicles safer is failing consumers, leading to at least 3,100 deaths and 18,000 injuries each year." The agency also fails to find defects in cars and trucks and fails to force recalls for repairs.
Tags: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; federal agencies; NHTSA; auto safety; automobile recalls; vehicle defects; auto-safety issues
-
Ten Things Your Auto Insurer Won't Tell You
SmartMoney magazine reports on the most common ways in which auto insurance companies can and do hurt their customers. Some of these are: inflating the cost of the insurance policy; determining premiums on the basis of credit rating; pocketing customers' deductibles; policy cancellation or nonrenewal without any explanation; sending customers to faulty direct-repair shops; not informing customers about their right to diminished-value claims; delaying claims payments.
Tags: insurance; cars; automobiles; driving record; credit history; credit score; premiums; marital status; deductible; body shops; GM; Geico; Allstate
-
Pain in the Ass
Patterson investigates a claim that the American Service Station, a chain of automobile repair shops, is ripping people off by lying about parts needed and overcharging them for service.
Tags: cars; business; auto repair shops
-
No title (id: 13746)
KSTP goes undercover to investigate allegations of store salesmen and managers ignoring company guidelines and overcharging customers hundreds of dollars each for auto repairs at Minnesota's Firestone stores. The investigation revealed that Firestone stores were regularly cheating customers with not only unneeded work but with arbitrarily inflated prices. (November 1, 1996)
Tags: Grover Raziq Hill Paidar Firestone car repairs Contest entry Fraud 8 pgs. TAPE