20 percent of workshops overseen by the administration are illegal or operating secretly, equal to one fifth. This problem disrupts the repair sector and also directly impacts drivers on Spanish roads, harming the economy, road safety, and the environment.
How to identify an illegal workshop?
Spotting illegal workshops is not always straightforward. That is why FEMPA and ATAYAPA collaborate closely with CETRAA to fight this issue. Their joint effort includes the My Trust Workshop interactive search engine, created by FEMPA with support from the Diputación de Alicante. It serves as a practical guide that helps drivers locate a workshop that meets all warranties and regulatory requirements to perform activities in line with current rules. Through this platform, users can find the workshop closest to their municipality that is authorized by the Generalitat Valenciana and complies with applicable regulations in all specialties, including sheet metal and paint. The platform highlights trusted workshops across the Valencian Community that guarantee adherence to the legal standards. The emphasis is on ensuring workshops meet the required legal criteria.
Having a reliable workshop is essential for proper vehicle care, since a vehicle should be serviced every 10,000 to 15,000 kilometers to stay in good condition.
An authorized workshop must display a badge in a visible area that indicates the type of activity performed. Technicians there are trained to present a clear quote and offer specialized services.
How do illegal workshops affect?
Workshop activity has fallen by more than 20 percent due to the rise in illegal operations. Many of these shops operate from private residences, chalets, or garages, making them hard to locate and inspect.
The presence of such workshops harms car repairs in several ways:
-
Consumers lose repair warranties and recourse when work is performed by unlicensed shops.
-
Road safety can be compromised if the quality of repairs and the materials used are suspect, especially when dismantled or non approved parts are involved and may affect safety systems like suspension, brakes, and steering.
-
Environmental harm arises from improper handling of toxic and hazardous wastes produced by these operations.
-
Occupational risk prevention is often unavailable in illegal settings.
-
Facility safety may not meet regulations and mandatory inspections are not performed.
-
There is unfair competition against compliant workshops that bear costs such as taxes, social security, risk prevention, insurance, training, and waste management.
Consequences for road safety
Having a vehicle repaired in a hidden workshop carries serious road safety risks and may void warranties and consumer rights, with penalties under the law.
-
Legally established workshops use proper equipment and tools suitable for various repairs, have access to vehicle technical information, use approved parts with traceability, issue accurate warranties and invoices, and provide ongoing training for staff.
For these reasons, only legitimate entities can ensure the correct use of tools, which in turn improves road safety by reducing accident risk.
Advantages of using My Trusted Workshop
The main benefit is a comprehensive finder for mechanical workshops in Alicante that also serves the entire Community. It allows users to quickly identify many qualified professionals for any maintenance or repair task. Additional information is available on the platform’s site.
The text reflects the ongoing efforts to promote legal and compliant automotive service providers and to raise awareness among drivers about the importance of choosing authorized workshops. The information aligns with regulatory updates and industry practices as of today, and it has been reformatted to be more accessible and actionable for users across Canada and the United States seeking trustworthy service providers.