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Marriage and settlements: half of car service stations refuse to repair cars with customers' spare parts
About half of car service stations refuse to repair cars with spare parts brought by customers. Market participants told Izvestia about this. Those who agree take waivers from customers if the part breaks down or causes a chain of technical problems in the car. The reason for this behavior of service providers is the influx of defective parts purchased by car owners on online platforms. The proportion of marriage among them, according to experts, reaches 20%. Car service stations are afraid of lawsuits for substandard services from customers and do not contact such components. How to act in this case for workshop clients is described in the Izvestia article.
What are the services afraid of
Since 2025, there has been a surge in sales of auto parts and consumables for car maintenance on online platforms. According to the Eurorepar service station network, about 30% of customers now come to the craftsmen with their components and consumables. However, the high percentage of defects among the brought parts and the risk of subsequent breakdowns forces the craftsmen to refuse repairs to customers.
Today, about 50% of service stations refuse to work with other people's spare parts if they raise doubts about the quality, Dmitry Denshov, an expert at the Union of Car Service Stations, director of the Reikanen service station, told Izvestia. About 20% of service stations on the market declare complete abandonment of other people's spare parts.
In the first three months of 2025, the share of counterfeit or substandard components, such as brake discs, pads, filters, and technical fluids, increased to 20%, added Ilarion Demchikov, marketing director of the Emex information and trading platform. The growth is especially noticeable on non-specialized online platforms.
According to the Fit Service network, 37% of their car mechanics have encountered fraud in their work. Oils and lubricants are most often tampered with (54%), filters are in second place (35%), followed by spark plugs (33%), suspension and steering parts (19%).
It is difficult for counterfeit sellers to get into the warehouses of large suppliers of spare parts that service stations work with, but it is easy to get to online sites, said the head of the car service. XXAUTO.pro Maxim Bakhvalov.
Customers buy such parts because of the low price and the convenience of receiving them. Previously, you had to select car accessories by VIN. Now, ready-made kits for servicing machines of all brands are used in online commerce. It is convenient for a person to specify a car on a smartphone and receive a ready-made set of oil and filters for delivery, according to a market participant.
According to him, the cost of consumables is almost always lower there than in car service stations and even lower than the purchase price from the manufacturer, which attracts customers.
"Unscrupulous manufacturers have learned how to make fakes that are very similar to the original product," Tatiana Ovchinnikova, director of the Fit Service car service network, told Izvestia.
It is impossible to determine the quality of oil or filters from photographs, and the responsibility for their use lies not with the buyer, but with the service station, Maxim Bakhvalov added.
According to Eurorepare, if a spare part fails, a dispute may arise between the customer and the service regarding the causes of the malfunction. A defective timing belt, oil filter, or spark plug can lead to expensive engine repairs or replacement. The elements of the braking system (discs, pads) or steering (rails, tips) affect road safety, representatives of the network noted.
—A low—quality fuel pump spoils the injectors and the catalyst, a defective hub bearing leads to damage to the hub and the brake system," the press service of the Avtorus service station told Izvestia.
In the event of a breakdown or an accident, the cost of repair is sometimes comparable to the cost of the entire used car, that is, hundreds of thousands of rubles, according to market participants.
Car service technicians cannot assess the quality of consumables before installation, although according to the law on consumer protection they are required to do so and report the risk of breakage, Maxim Bakhvalov continues.
There are disagreements with clients that require legal registration and the conclusion of written agreements. But even then, there is a risk of lawsuits and legal disputes, which place an additional burden on small and medium-sized service stations. Therefore, in order to remove responsibility for possible breakdowns, customers are simply denied repairs, the market participant notes.
Large service stations have developed their own protection schemes against possible claims.
"The service immediately warns the customer that they do not give a guarantee for the delivered part," the press service of the Avtorus service station told Izvestia. — We cannot vouch for its origin and quality.
In addition, the order has a clause on the use of the customer's spare parts. If the craftsmen have doubts about them, then the document indicates that the provided parts do not meet the requirements. The client is informed that in case of a breakdown, he will have to pay for the repair of these parts and all systems damaged due to them. The amount of such repairs can significantly exceed the savings from the initial purchase of a cheap analogue, the press service noted.
According to the company, the client's signature under such a document protects the service station from possible legal claims.
Which parts are more often bought online
"Car service stations refuse to install the spare parts they brought with them for economic reasons," Yuri Valko, chairman of the Union of Car Service Stations, told Izvestia. — They make a mark-up on the parts.
Service stations operate with low profitability and after the introduction of a revolving VAT starting in 2025, they are fighting for survival, Dmitry Denshov noted. They cannot survive without a percentage of the sales of spare parts, he added.
Service stations usually buy parts from large network wholesalers through specialized online platforms: Emex, Exist, Avtodok, Autopiter, Euroauto, Moskvorechye, the expert specified.
Buying spare parts in the service does not always mean overpayment for consumers — partner or wholesale discounts are available for organizations, Alexey Ivanov, owner of the ALLIANCE TRUCKS commercial vehicle dealership network, told Izvestia.
However, other people's details are not always welcome. For rare (rare or simply expensive) car models, it is difficult to find spare parts from regular suppliers. They are usually bought and brought by car owners. But for such details, service stations, as a rule, do diagnostics.
At the same time, market participants note that respectable sellers are also increasing sales on online platforms.
For example, suspension and body parts, as well as automotive optics, are most often ordered from Ozon.
"We are attentive to the quality of our products and check the sellers' certificates of conformity," the marketplace's press service told Izvestia. — We additionally request supporting documents from sellers who sell products with the "original" badge and check the supply chain.
The company also noted that they respond to complaints from copyright holders and consumers and hide product cards if the seller cannot confirm the quality.
— In the first half of 2025, the growth in the turnover of automotive products exceeded 70% compared to the same period in 2024. The average receipt increased by 5%," Vasily Gavrilyuk, head of the Wildberries cars and automotive products department, told Izvestia.
Of the mass-market spare parts, sales of airbags, engine covers and clutch drive systems grew the fastest, with a 500-550% increase in turnover, he added.
Various consumables are also in the lead — air and oil filters, clips, pads. Car care products and accessories are the most popular: plastic restorers, interior fragrances, glasses and phone holders, as well as microfiber cloths, the marketplace noted. To help customers choose original products, the "original" icon appeared in the card, catalog and search, they added.
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