5 Ways Your Motor Mechanic Can Rip You Off

Some mechanics are non professional, others are just ‘Careful thieves’. Either way you don’t want to be in a business with any of the two types of mechanic. These two types of mechanic can frustrate you. Here are the top 5 ways your mechanic can rip you off. If any of this has happened to you before, then its definitely time to change mechanic

1. Charging for unnecessary repairs : I often hear that a mechanic diagnosed a problem, repaired it and surprisingly the problem still remains. They then re-diagnose it as a different problem and repair that. Sometimes, this repeats as the mechanic conducts the Ship of Theseus paradox in real life. Eventually, the mechanic repairs the original fault but charges the customer for all the repairs. As your gut is telling you, the mechanic shouldn’t charge the customer for the earlier unnecessary repairs.

2. Overcharging for parts or labor : Most mechanic shops have a simple markup on parts. They buy them wholesale, mark them up and sell them to you with the job. The problem is that few people know the amount the actual part should cost. They also charge an outrageous amount for labor.

3. Misdiagnosing something that is not faulty : Sometimes to increase their bills, mechanics will tell a customer non-defective parts need to be replaced. Your brakes need to be resurfaced, they’ll tell you to get them replaced. Other parts on the car can be repaired, they’ll suggest replacement. Like unnecessary repairs, unneeded parts being sold to you is also illegal in Michigan and many other states.

4. Joyriding your car. This goes on more often than you want to know. Does every mechanic joyride the car after a repair? No. But this is one of the things we are really learning more about with the advent of dash cameras. The problem is that if you catch the mechanic doing this and your car is undamaged, it is hard to get compensated for it.

5. Stealing from your car. I’ve heard of all kinds of things being stolen from customer cars while the cars were in for service. Everything from change in the ashtray to a wallet from the car while the customer was talking to the service writer. Stereos being pried from dashboards. Or customers who find performance parts removed from their engines. Cool wheels often disappear. Shops often ask customers to file insurance claims on these. But – as you might guess – that’s not how this goes. The shop is on the hook since they had control and possession of your car. We’ve covered this before.

So, if you have been ripped off by a mechanic in other ways apart from the above listed, share with us using the comment box.