If you own or have ever owned a vehicle in your life, you’ve probably needed to get it serviced at some point. Cars are complicated feats of engineering genius that wonderfully work to get us from point A to B and utilize some complex machinery to get them to work.
With so many things to learn and keep track of in the world, not everyone is going to have the time and desire to learn their cars inside and out. Some problems a car can have might require large expensive tools that nobody really keeps in their house.
This is how mechanics make their money in the world. Handing off your car to someone who specializes in fixing and maintaining junk cars is easy and generally the only thing you need to worry about is the bill. You can leave your car at an auto shop and trust a mechanic the same way you’d trust a physician with your health or a chef with your meal.
Specialized working people have been the backbone of economies since ancient times, but you might not know mechanics might be taking advantage of your lack of knowledge when it comes to cars. Little lies and misdirection from a mechanic can end up costing you more money you don’t need to spend. Up charging has always been a tool to squeeze some extra profit from customers, but with proper knowledge you can protect yourself from a greedy mechanic.
If a mechanic has diagnosed your car as totaled, you shouldn’t worry about what to do next. There are tons of options to take, including websites online that will buy damaged or totaled cars.
Service Schedule
One of the biggest scam mechanics try to get away with is selling you on a set service schedule. A mechanic will tell you the best way to keep your car in top condition is to have you bring it to his shop regularly for maintenance.
This can make an uninformed customer feel trapped and forced to do unnecessary visits that can end up costing way more money than needed. Yes, a check every now and then can be great for your car, but visiting a mechanic too frequently is just a scam to ensure more money coming in every scheduled visit.
Synthetic Oil
Another card mechanics love to play is that synthetic oil is the only oil your car can take. Oil changes are vital to your car engine’s health and neglecting to change out the oil can outright kill your vehicle. Synthetic oil however, is not necessary at all.
A mechanic might tell you your only option is synthetic, but in reality although it is a bonus, synthetic is not necessary all the time. Your mechanic is just trying to make an extra buck because synthetic oil is so much more expensive than conventional.
Invisible Work
Sometimes, mechanics will find something actually wrong with your car and fix it up for you while it is being serviced. This is great and all but what if the work is not actually real.
A mechanic might tell you he did some work you won’t notice, and this is an immediate red flag.If you are going to be charged for something, make sure you know what it is if you really value money. Ask for specific details about the work done and make sure this work is real before you pay a mechanic for his creativity in coming up with invisible work on your car.
New Tires
When you are getting a tire changed, unless you’re at a used tire shop, you want to get new tires. Your mechanic will promise you new tires but the reality might be that’s not the case.
Your mechanic might have put on some old tire he has been trying to get rid and selling it to you for a new tire premium. Luckily, tires are generally marked with the date they have been manufactured so make sure to check it to see if they are truly new and not some 10-year-old tire he just sold you.
Cross Selling
It’s not a new idea that businesses are trying to make as much money as they can, and upselling and cross selling have been big strategies and techniques to do so. After all, once you have a customer on your premises, they are open to all sorts of attacks from you directly so why not play aggressive.
You might bring your car to a shop for an oil change and find out you need a tune up, new tires, an air filter, and some other work done on your car. A mechanic can even phrase the extra work as critical to your car, and that it might explode or something if you don’t pay them money for antifreeze.
The best way to keep a greedy mechanic from scamming you into paying extra is to be informed every time you take your car in. If you can find out or have an idea of what’s wrong, research what needs to be done and how much it regularly costs to do so. Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of and make sure you’re dealing with an honest mechanic.