Hi all,

If a mechanic "Certifies" a vehicle (a safety certificate) and the
vehicle does not meet the safety requirements, are they liable for
anything? I had assumed that if they certified a vehicle as safe and
it wasn't that they might suffer consequences like losing their
license or something. I don't mean if there's an accident, I mean if
they just didn't do their job and you catch them.

A friend of mine recently purchased a car from a place out in deep
Mississauga. They had advertised the car, a 1986 240DL, as $1995
Certified and E-tested and a drive and a visual inspection seemd to
indicate the car was in pretty good shape. When my friend went in to
pay for the car she was told there was a $475 "Administration Fee"
which would cover all of the costs of Certification and E-testing
(this stank of bait-and-switch to me but the location was so
impossible she agreed so she could pick it up on the next trip out
there).

About 10 days later I had the opportunity to drive the car and found
that the parking brake was completely non-functional. Closer scrutiny
by another mechanic revealed that the underbody was rotted out enough
to push one's finger through and they had just spray-painted it black.

The Ministry was a bit annoying, making her feel bad first ("Why would
you even buy a car that old?") and then telling her that their
regulations were out of date. They sent someone to look at the car who
contacted the certifying garage and told them to fix it. That's it.

So now she has to go all the way out there to poeple who ripped her
off in the first place and hope that they will do a good job this
time. Is that it? Can they not be fined or something? Does someone
have to die before the fraudulent certifier feels any consequences?

What about the dealer who charged her $475 and was supposed to take
care of this?

She wants to burn them all to the ground (figuratively) and I just
want to help her get some justice.

Thanks for any suggestions or answers you may have.
blurp