Avoiding dealer rip-offs

>> Auto Check Canada inspection helps
car leasers escape being burnt

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Ken Selcer

Age: 49

Occupation: President of Auto Check Canada

Bio: This feisty Dollard resident had been working in the glamorous auto body industry for 18 years before starting up Auto Check Canada (www.accdirect.ca) in 2005. The former owner of the L&R auto body shop in scenic downtown Ahuntsic, after selling his business he began working for an American-based company doing inspections on end-of-lease vehicles for the big auto manufacturers, soon noticing that, “We were writing an awful lot of invoices. People were getting hit with a lot of costly dealer repairs when they returned their vehicles.” Sensing opportunity, he birthed Auto Check, a company that will inspect your leased junker and inform you of what does and doesn’t need to be done to it repair-wise before you return it to the dealer to get ripped off. “We save people a lot of money.” He drives a sensible 2004 Volvo S80.

So how will Auto Check save you money? “People often simply return their cars to the dealer and aren’t even present for the evaluation because, you know, they just don’t have the time, and later they get hit for these huge repair bills. Because once you’ve returned the car to the dealer, that’s it, you’re done. And even if you are present for the inspection, how do you know what’s normal wear and tear and what’s repairable according to that particular auto manufacturer’s guidelines—and they all have quite different guidelines. We’ll tell you exactly what you’re required to repair and direct you to garages that’ll do great work at a great price for you. Not having these repairs done at the dealer, paying for original parts and the dealer labour rate, well, that will save you a lot of money.”

How aware are most consumers of these guidelines when they first lease their vehicles? Blissfully unaware. “They’re mailed to you later in an information pack, so you generally only know what’s expected once you’re returning the vehicle, not at the beginning of your lease.”

Isn’t this practice kind of a scam? Don’t the dealers always find a way to hit consumers up with expensive “repairs” when they return their vehicles? “Well, yes, it is a way for them to get extra income, but I can’t say it’s a scam because I can’t prove it, but I do believe that yes, they take advantage of the consumer. Absolutely, no question about it. They have bad reputations for a reason. But that’s why we exist, because we know what’s going on, like the dealers know what’s going on, and our aim is to really inform the public and give them options before returning their lease. But if there is a problem, we will intervene for you, letting the dealer understand that we fully understand the legal guidelines, that they’ve been met, so why are they harassing our customer? Once they know that an independent company has already inspected the vehicle, they usually back off.”

Literary preferences: New York Times, Business Weekly, Newsweek.

Musical preferences: Pink, Jennifer Lopez, “vintage” Bee Gees.

Childhood ambition: To become an L.A. Dodger.

Words of wisdom: “Treat your leased car like it is your own.”

Comments: Dimwit@openface.ca