Half of parts are poor quality smuggled goods. Straight talk with the owner of the garage

It seems today the topic of Transcarpathian roads united the media, the officials of various ranks, and Transcarpathians indifferent to politics. This is understandable, because all without exception suffer significant losses due to bad roads. We talked with the owner of one of the Khust garages Roman Melnyk about the deplorable condition of cars and the amount of money spent by our drivers due to extreme driving on Ukrainian roads.

I thank Azarov …

– I am one of those people who can not complain about the government because of bad roads. The more damages to cars, the better for me – the man says. – But seriously … All my friends are also drivers. Some of them are richer, some poorer. One can afford to replace the damaged tire or suspension, for others it is a considerable problem for the family budget. So I am not so happy that my profession has become more popular than ever.

You have worked in a garage for 20 years. Was it difficult to switch from domestic to foreign cars?

– Foreign cars are a completely different level of quality. Entirely different technical approach. 20 years ago loose parts, gasoline dripping from KAMAZ’s was considered a normal thing …

So where do they make good cars now?

– One can not say that this particular country produces better cars than another one. Take, for example, Chinese cars. They are considered economical cars, because they require much less fuel than the cars made in other countries. But what is this saving attributed to? For a car body Chinese use tin sheets with the thickness of 1 mm. For the Russian car they used 2 mm sheets, for European cars, this figure is 3 mm, and the powerful American SUVs are upholstered with 6 mm thick tin. Accordingly, the heavier the car, the more fuel it takes. Russian "Volga" consume 12-14 liters per 100 km, American cars – 20 liters. But Chinese cars, despite their low-costness, wear out quickly.

How much is the damage caused by bad roads for the average driver?

– When driving on bad road driver spends about a third more fuel than it would be necessary for the same length of the repaired road. If you count, it turns out that our car owners buy gasoline not for 12 but for 16 UAH. And it is impossible to count the losses from broken parts and damaged tires. Depending on luck, the damage may be a few hundred to tens of thousand hryvnias a year.

Do you know about any lawsuites against "Avtodor" due to damaged cars?

– Recently, near Pistryalovo my friend hit into a pothole in the middle of the road. Front and rear tires cracked instantly. The man immediately called representatives of the insurance company, they drew up the act and sued the "Avtodor". However, there is little hope that they will compensate for damages.

Half of parts are poor quality smuggled goods …

How do roads affect the condition of a car?

– Of course they are a major factor of malfunctions. European manufacturers try to make a quality product – so that cars could go off-road without significant damage without spending too much gasoline.

What are other reasons of car malfunctions?

– One of the reasons is poor quality parts. For example, a European foreign car under normal operation on good roads will serve its owner for at least 10 years. Here, those who have imported cars from abroad, know – in less than a year some part of the car will definitely break. In Ukraine, a foreign car undergoes a real test drive. But the interesting thing is when you replace the damaged part. Because while a European part will serve a car owner, say, for a year, its analogue, replaced in Ukraine, will begin to falter as early as in two months.

And what causes this difference?

– Of course, I’m not a customs officer, not a civil servant. But I think the answer is obvious – the cause is smuggled uncertified parts. I have run the garage for 20 years and I understand a thing or two about this business. I can confidently say: at least 50% of auto parts in our market are poor quality smuggled goods. And everyone knows that, I did not made any discovery …
All major scams are run by high-profile people. This includes smuggling.

Novyny Zakarpattya.