“Is My Battery Any Good?” a Field Test of Fraud in the Auto Repair Business

Poor performance and fraudulent tactics in the automobile repair business consistently head the list of consumer complaints in the United States. Numerous studies have attempted to determine the extent of dishonest acts in auto repair work, but they have suffered from methodological difficulties. This paper is based on examination of 313 repair facilities to whom a battery was presented for testing. Characteristics of honest and dishonest facilities are compared; so too are the attitudes expressed by their managers. A weak association was found between honesty and the size of a business and between honesty and the dealer's view of the severity of punishment. The battery test is said to offer a notable opportunity for continuing and comparative studies of the work of auto repair facilities.