Recalls can affect hundreds of thousands of vehicles and cost the manufacturer tens of millions of dollars. Beyond even these extraordinary costs is the damage done to the manufacturer’s reputation. Needless to say, manufacturers will do almost anything to avoid a recall.
Whatever You Do, Hide the Recall
A secret warranty is a strategy that manufacturers use to avoid a recall. Under a secret warranty, manufacturers will pay for repair of a particular defect in a particular kind of vehicle, even after the warranty has expired-but only for those consumers who are sufficiently aggressive in their complaints. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. |
