- Details
- Category: Fraud Alerts
- Published: Thursday, 24 September 2015 07:40
- Written by Robert Siciliano
- Hits: 73393
- The mechanic says he fixed the problem.
- The problem still persists.
- You take the car back and he “diagnoses” the “real” problem and fixes that.
- The problem still exists.
- The game repeats but finally the issue is corrected, but you get charged for the first two “repairs,” which never had to be made in the first place. The mechanic scammed you, and this is illegal.
- What an easy way for a mechanic to make money and get away with it, especially if the “something wrong” is a small repair. He can really clean up if he pulls this stunt on dozens of customers.
- A version of this is to find something out of place or not working optimally and tell you it needs to be replaced—even though a repair will fix the problem.
- This is illegal in many states.
- It’s so easy for a mechanic to do this. How do you know that the four-hour job wasn’t really a two-hour job?
- Do you know how much a shock absorber or new brakes should cost?
- Though prices for the same product vary from one shop to the next, consider yourself scammed when the charge is way over the norm.
- You also shouldn’t pay a mechanic for his inexperience. If he honestly took four hours to do a job that should have taken two hours, you should not be charged for the extra two hours.
- Get a price and labor estimate before authorizing the work. AND GET IT IN WRITING.
- Yes, mechanics have been known to steal valuables including performance features of the vehicle. Even taking a candy bar is illegal.
- The shop may tell you to file an insurance claim. They’re scamming you because this isn’t how it should work. Since they had possession of your car, the onus is on them that something is missing.
- Don’t leave valuables in your car.
- In your car, that is.
- After the work is completed, the mechanic takes your wheels for a spin.
- They owe you to fix the damage.