The 3 Biggest Scams We See In The Auto Repair Industry…

There are some problems in this industry and we all have to work together to be better. Changing some of these things will be a good place to start. Hope this helps! Enjoy!

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[kbach]

My daughter just got a quote from our local Midas to replace the both rear brake calipers, rotors, and pads for $1500. The mechanic told me that most of the $ was going towards parts and $200 for labor - he also said they are using after market parts. I bought 2 sets of Nissan calipers, rotors, and pads for $326 online. My daughter and I replace everything ourselves in our driveway, it took us about 2 hours. We also watched your video on brake jobs before we accomplished the work. Thank You

[mustangracer]

I me 35 yr. certified tech .. Fired from a dealer for NOT ripping off customers!!..
I did all I could to assure that the job was done well and that pissed off the 'big money' a-holes in mgmt.
Dealer closed 6 months later.

[Dcalvert]

I’ve fixed many machines that have had thousands in parts thrown at them. When I have it fixed in an hour and charge the customer pennys, they are stunned. For me, it’s all about the satisfaction of solving the problem and making the customer happy. The big jobs that cost thousands in labor will always come around, when it’s quick and easy I don’t screw anyone to make more money. Honest mechanics have more work than they can handle.

[scrappy]

Dealer tech here, we had lifetime alignments for a few years. You are correct, management won't pay us if the customer returns later on. So you know what the customer gets. Dealerships steal from everyone, not just customers.

[D-Marq]

If you work at a shop as a tech that won’t pay you to do an alignment under any circumstance, LEAVE

[grominwithrob]

I called a local garage and asked how much to change my front and read diff fluid in my 2010 Sierra. They quoted me $1000. I replaced the fluid with Amsoil, replaced the rear cover and gasket for about $200. I had 6 broken ribs at the time but I’m not paying some asshat $1000 for what I can do with better fluid and gasket and replace the cover in about an hour. I did the job in my drive way with broken ribs and all. Piece of cake. I haven’t ever used a mechanic in my 35yrs of car ownership and this garage just confirmed I have made the right decision.

[brianrosenlof]

As someone who likes to fix my own cars when I can, I've learned to greatly appreciate a skilled mechanics ability to diagnose, and absolutely believe it is worth the money. I'm good with taking a vehicle to a shop when I just can't figure out the problem, and once they figure out, if I can, I want to repair it myself. But, I'll absolutely pay them for their diagnostics with large helping of gratitude. At the end of the day, I'm just a parts swapper. I sometimes need the help of a qualified mechanic.

[thomasstrasburger]

It is good to see a shop owner that has integrity, tries to educate customers and improve the image of the automotive industry.

[donaldross]

Good video. I am a retired GM Master tech of 50 years doing alignments. Before the Dealership life I worked for one of those tire stores. We had one of those life-time alignment contracts. They were called a 'coffee cup alignment'. You pull it on the machine and get a cup of coffee. Pull it off and you are done. I did not last long because I did the alignments. After doing alignments in a dealership, I will tell you that most {90%} did not need an alignment, they needed the tires aired up. Most of the time we sold an alignment with new tires. Darn good idea. If your car drives fairly straight down the road and steering wheel is centered, it most likely is pretty close. Many of the new vehicle require the alignment to be VERY CLOSE! If not all kinds of lights come on. If you hit a pothole, bumped a curb, or was in a collision, check that four-wheel alignment. Tires are expensive, good alignments save tires. In the winter trying to drive a vehicle with bad alignments and tires cause loss of control and wreaks. I have said enough, be safe and plan ahead for bad weather. DAT's Don's Automotive Tips.

[dianemier]

Not free diagnostics, but free pre-purchase inspections.
We have been using the same mechanic for almost 30 years. We go to his shop for regular maintenance(oil changes) and for big things(engine replacement). Whenever we are looking to purchase a vehicle, he will give it a thorough once over for free.
We feel that he is in business to help people and make sure they are safe on the road. When our daughter's car needed repairs and she was short on funds, he helped her prioritize what was an immediate or safety concern and what could wait. We have referred tons of business his way. Unfortunately, small shops like his are hard to find these days.

We enjoy your content. Keep putting it out there.

[ginamiller]

I just experienced the biggest scam in the car industry- and it was on a new car purchase, not the service department. I went in to purchase a new car at the advertised price, but when I got there they told me that there was a $3000 charge they had to add for paint and fabric protection! Car dealers continue to earn their reputation as skumbags. I didn’t buy the car.

[sjsnopek]

The only time I remember being scammed was by a Ford dealership who said I needed new bearings on the front wheels of my Ford Ranger. This was a couple months after my regular independent mechanic replaced them. I took the truck back to my mechanic (without having the work done at Ford) and he said there was no problem with them. I didn't have any bearing issues for many years after that. I just assumed that the dealership was just looking for ways of filling up their mechanics time without regard to honesty.

[Jim-sdyq]

I’m glad that I was a mechanic back in the 70’s. Straight forward easy work. The flat rate left a little to be desired. The dealer was making money though. Not a problem. I could usually pull and build a transmission a day. I could also do one at home in 2 nights. But we had several small shops around here that were good at pulling and replacing transmissions that you could trust. They kept me busy for many years and I just flat priced the work to them. I gave them a decent warranty and backed it up. I left the dealer and worked at home for about 13 years. I gave it up when computers became standard equipment. I retired in 2012 and still do a few a year, but I feel bad about having to charge for parts at today’s prices. A TH-350 kit was less than $40 back then and was a quality product. Last time I ordered one it was $135 jobber price and quality is questionable. Sometimes technology isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

[jcnlaw]

This video confirms my decision to work on my own older (2004 - 2006) German cars for the past 20 years. I love diagnosing and sourcing the OE and OEM parts and successfully making the repairs. There are two local, independent, highly reputable shops in my area that will provide me with professional guidance, if needed (for no cost). I also trust them to do the repair fairly if it is something that requires skill or tools beyond my level (air conditioning, or diagnosing a problem beyond the capability of my OBDII scan tool.) Overall, having the ability and willingness to learn moderate level of car repair and maintenance has been an awesome journey and very useful lifetime skill. Love your videos! Keep up the great work!

[paulblanchette]

I had an experience in a major dealership chain that gave me pause. In the service drive, no matter what service you were having done, they had equipment to do a quick check on the alignment. The service writer quickly produced a readout (fortunately printed) that showed I needed an alignment. I agreed to have it done, but started thinking about it while the work was being done. When I was picking up the car, I commented to the service writer ( who was experienced, but new to this dealership ) that it would be interesting to see what the equipment in the service drive would say about the alignment now. He said let me put it on the alignment check again, and we will both know. Surprise! It showed that I still needed an alignment ! I immediately asked to speak with the service manager. His explanation was that the equipment in the shop was more accurate that in the service drive. I commented that your advisors are selling services based on faulty readings.He did not charge me for the alignment. I never went to that dealership again, or the dealerships that were owned by them. Do they not realize the results of their actions.

[jcnikoley]

If all auto shops were like yours, I wouldn't need to do my own work.

[carlgreen]

I've been in shops that had scammy techs. Some of these guys would keep worn out brake pads from different vehicles in their toolbox, then go to the customer trying to upsell them something they don't need. The worst of the worst would take the money and not even do the repairs. I'm a firm believer in building trust with customers.

[paulhenderson]

True story. I brought my Chevy Sonic into the dealer for an oil change, and the service writer came out looking like a surgeon who just lost the patient. "Oh sir, our tech looked at your car's automatic transmission fluid, and it's very dirty. You need a full flush. That'll cost about $500, but we recommend the $750 premium service which also replaces the filter". I replied "your mechanic should have his eyesight checked". The writer said "I don't understand sir". I replied "my car has a manual transmission".

[Retro.Revolution]

Please make more videos like this, the information is so valuable!

My brither recently went to a tire shop for an alignment and rotation. They said that both lower control arms are bad and need replaced, and that they cant do an alignment until theyre fixed. Well, that shop was quickly busted for being untruthful, because my brother literally JUST had one of the control arms replaced by our trusted local mechanic.

[diesel]

As a past service advisor at a dealership. What I hated doing was upselling the 15k service. Absolutely HATED it and my numbers were always down because I refused to sell a $400 service that includes a fuel system cleaner, brake flush, and other things a brand new vehicle doesn’t need. I even started telling my customers that they don’t need it but I’m being told to sell it to you. At that point I didn’t care about getting into trouble. Funny thing is, ALOT of those customers became my customers at another place. I will absolutely not sell or upsell anything that a customer doesn’t need. I will tell them about it at least. Something’s are a good idea to do at least once. But regardless, that’s my scam. 15k interval packages at dealerships.