4 ways your car mechanic could be ripping you off

Latest Figures Reveal Car Scrappage Scheme Has Been A Success
Getty Images | Matt Cardy

3. “If you don’t get your oil changed, the car will die within a week.”

It’s always a good idea to be familiar with your owner’s manual (the most expensive book no one ever reads). If a mechanic is recommending “scheduled maintenance” that deviates extensively from what the manual recommends, you’re being messed with.

Some mechanics will try and pad your bill by recommending extra, unnecessary, expensive procedures. These can be things like engine and transmission flushes, Consumer Reports says, or they might try to schedule maintenance before your car is actually due for it.

Another huge red flag: if a mechanic makes everything sound like a five-alarm fire, something is wrong, says Larry Hecker, president of the Motorist Assurance Program, a nonprofit group that accredits repair shops.

4. “The check-engine light is on because your gas chromatograph is broken.”

First of all, a gas chromatograph is something chemists use to analyze compounds, so if a mechanic tells you this, smack them. But the point is, the check engine light (often referred to as the “idiot light” in the business) can go on for any number of reasons, and often it’s just that a cord that connects it to something else in the car has been jiggled loose.

ABC News did an experiment where they had an expert mechanic purposefully unplug a cord to disconnect the mass airflow sensor in the engine of a producer’s car. This is a very easy fix—literally all it needs is to be plugged back in. The car was perfectly sound apart from this. Then, they took the car to a number of shops in the New Jersey and New York area.

While some mechanics fixed it for no charge and without trying to pad the bill, others took advantage. One mechanic in New York fixed the cord quickly, but then told the producer that the entire mass airflow sensor needed to be replaced, for a cost of $300. After offering to fix it himself for just $190, hidden camera footage showed him simply spraying and rinsing the outside of the engine.

Moral of the story: if the check engine light is on, get several opinions.

Flickr | drewgstephens

About the Author

Jessica Suss

An aspiring food and health writer, native Chicagoan, and nut butter enthusiast. Jessica is also the creator of BiteMeBlog, but don't call her a foodie More.

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