GARAGES illegally removing diesel particulate filters (DPFs) to try to cut costs are not only misleading customers, but aren’t actually saving them as much money as they may think.
That’s the message from motor parts reconditioning specialist DPF Clean Team, following a recent BBC investigation.
The investigation found one in 10 UK garages are illegally removing DPFs to save customers money, because the cost of replacing one is far higher.
Garages have also been known to remove the actual filter and leave the DPF casing in place, in the hope of bypassing the system.
Not only does DPF Clean Team believe the number of garages removing DPFs may be higher than one in ten, but it is warning garages that this illegal measure isn’t actually saving as much money as the legal option of DPF cleaning.
According to Cameron Bryce, director of DPF Clean Team, garages that are removing DPFs instead of replacing them are not just doing their customers a disservice, but themselves too.
‘Prior to a change in legislation, cars were MOT-tested on emissions levels and not whether their DPF was attached. Garages have a responsibility to inform their customers of this change and those removing the filter in the hope of bypassing the system are not providing great customer service,’ he said.
‘It is far more expensive to remove and remap the DPF than cleaning the filter. Cleaning the filter really is a cost-effective solution and can be done for just a few hundred pounds, rather than the thousands of pounds a new DPF is likely to cost, protecting customers against both expenses and the risk of prosecution.
‘You may think you are saving money by removing DPFs but the cost to your customers of being found without a DPF is far higher.
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