THE Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) has criticised the latest survey into garage standards by What Car? magazine, denouncing the results as "wholly unhelpful".

What Car? carried out an investigation which involved qualified inspectors being sent to a random sample of 30 garages across the country, including two in Kent. The sample included 10 independent garages, 10 main franchised dealers and 10 fast-fit outlets.

The inspectors took cars with common defects, such as low levels of brake fluid and coolant, under-inflated tyres and faulty lights, to see if the mechanics would identify and correct the problems.

Independent garages performed the best, identifying 93 per cent of the faults. The main franchised dealers, who often charge a higher price based on a superior standard of service, failed to notice 17 per cent of the problems.

The worst-performing garages were the fast-fit outlets, failing to spot 21 per cent of the defects. One garage missed all seven of the faults.

But Matthew Carrington, chief executive of the RMI, has hit out at the scope of the survey, claiming the results are not representative of the whole industry.

He said: “Samples of 10 independents, franchised dealers, and fast-fit centres can in no way characterise the standards of a sector many thousands strong.

"Obviously we do not condone bad service by any garage, and clearly those that failed to provide an excellent service need to look at their practices, but to make a judgement about the whole industry from these isolated examples is wholly unhelpful.”

The research comes as efforts to raise motor industry standards through new codes of conduct are experiencing problems.

Plans by the RMI to have its CarWise Code approved by the Office of Fair Trade have been cancelled. The RMI accused the OFT of “ruining” the plans.

Mr Carrington added: “It is a shame the OFT's handling of the whole enterprise led to its collapse.

“We are committed to raising standards within the industry in the interests of consumer protection and are actively working towards this objective."

But What Car? magazine remain unconvinced and wants more to be done to raise standards of service and guarantee the safety of drivers.

David Motton, the magazine’s editor, said: “When your car is serviced, you should expect that the job will be done to a high standard. This is not happening.

“We are very disappointed that the Government-backed CarWise scheme has fallen by the wayside. If you buy a car on credit, the finance company must be licensed with the Government, so why shouldn’t garages be properly regulated?

“Getting your car serviced properly can make the difference between driving a safe car and one that is more likely to be involved in an accident.”