Driving pleasure, financial pain

Costly repair bills from dealerships cause rising consumer concerns

Despite widespread use of authorized full-service dealers, consumers are increasingly concerned about the big bills they receive after taking their cars in for maintenance and repair.

It can be a financial setback to buy even small authentic spare parts from dealer outlets, usually called 4S shops in China.

"The 4S shop charged me more than 2,000 yuan ($321) for a key," said Wang Nan, a middle school teacher in Tianjin who lost the key to his car in November.

"That is really a high price considering the key is not high-tech like those for luxury cars," he said.

"A key like mine would sell for no more than 200 yuan at other stores," Wang added.

Those other stores are garages not authorized by automakers. They outnumber authorized outlets by a factor of nine-to-one in China, according to local media, yet they are hobbled by manufacturer policies and even government regulations.

So consumers return to authorized dealers, but even industry insiders can feel the pinch.

The China Business News newspaper reported that Feng Yancheng, head of an auto research institute in Beijing, was given suspicious diagnostics after he took his SUV in for maintenance at a 4S outlet.

The staff told him that the fuel pump should be replaced and the transmission drained and refilled at a total charge of 17,000 yuan.

"They told me that it is not a suggestion - I 'must replace them according to the regulations'," Feng said.

"I have been in the industry for many years and I know for sure they do not require replacement."