Common Shams with Common Auto Repairs
This is an outline taken directly from the chapter "Common
Shams with Common Auto Repairs" from the book "Car
Secrets Revealed".
The best way to avoid automotive scams is to have a basic
understanding and knowledge of the service your car requires.
Once you understand what service your car needs you can then
make an informed decision as to how to repair your car in the
most economical way. If you know what your car needs and
have a general idea of the cost of the car repairs you will
then know if you are being ripped off.
Some of the scare tactics mechanics will use to part you
from your hard earned money.
They work because they are simple and very effective for
the mechanic to use.
Guilt works, protect yourself by knowing what they will say
before you hear it.
I went to one service center that specializes in tires,
rims, wheels and
front end alignments. I was told that my power steering
lines were coated in engine oil and they are going to be eaten
away very shortly since engine oil is supposedly corrosive to rubber.
What he did not tell me is that power steering fluid is more
corrosive than engine oil and even it does not eat the hoses
from the inside out so why would engine oil eat the outside of
the hoses. I was told that the work was going to cost me
about $1000 to replace several power steering hoses and
tighten up some valve cover bolts.
My father used to own an auto dealership and auto repair
shop so I was better informed than most people. The shop
manager and I hap a little talk about the mechanics
misinformation. The auto repair shop manager was very
interested since the mechanic was not only not qualified to do
this type of work, the shop was not licensed for it either.
It turned out that the mechanic was running this scam and
using the repair shops equipment to do the work. He was only
paying the money to the shop for the work that he was allowed
to do, while pocketing the rest.
Most people have been taken for an automotive ride at some
point in their lives were not aware of it. We want to
show you some of them scams and rip-offs you might encounter
out there.
 |
Some of the scare tactics you will encounter and how to
use these to your advantage. |
|
|
What you have to know about lifetime warranties on
automotive parts. |
|
|
The hidden charges and costs associated with your lifetime
warranty. |
|
|
How this information will save you lots of money when you
need to use your lifetime warranty. |
|
|
Some common scams the local muffler shop will try to use
on you to sell you an unnecessary muffler and
exhaust parts. |
|
|
How they will use these tricks on you and what you have to
watch for. |
|
|
What you can say to the muffler shop people so that you
will not be ripped-off and get the work done at the quoted
price if you choose to stay with them. |
|
|
Automotive brakes are a huge profit generator for the
repair shop and they can be a huge hole in your bank
account if you are not prepared before you go in for brake
work. |
|
|
You get a whole new set of brakes for your car by saying
the wrong thing to the mechanic. |
|
|
What you should be saying when you are looking for a brake
job. |
|
|
Some brake noises do not mean that you need an expensive
job, just some minor, inexpensive brake work. |
|
|
Which brake noises mean replacement and which brake noises
mean a complete brake job? |
|
|
How to tell the difference and avoid paying for work you
do not need. |
|
|
A brake job is usually expensive, be skeptical of repair
shops that charge low rates for brake jobs. |
|
|
How dishonest repair shops use inferior parts on your car
when they do a cut rate brake job. |
|
|
How a cheap brake job will cost you far more money than
you ever wanted to pay for car repairs. |
|
|
The expensive extras of a brake job that are not in the
quoted price, but are all part of proper brake work.
This is typical of lowball price quotes and the mechanic
will make you pay before you get your car back. |
|
|
How a mechanic will use vibrations in your cars front end
to sell you very expensive auto parts when you only needed
some basic maintenance work done. |
|
|
The classic transmission scam. What the auto
mechanic will tell you and show you. |
|
|
The transmission scam looks very convincing which is why
it works so well for the auto mechanic and the auto repair
shop. |
|
|
What you need to look for to know if your shop is being
honest or just trying to part you from your bank account. |
|
|
Most of the time you will just need some basic auto
maintenance work and not expensive transmission repairs. |
|
|
Another scam is when you pay for a transmission overhaul
when you only needed the shift linkage adjusted. |
|
|
This is a simple transmission repair that disreputable
repair shops make a huge profit on. In most cases
they do not even have to take out the transmission to make
the transmission shift linkage adjustment but you end up
paying huge dollars for an actual transmission rebuild. |
|
|
How to know if you only need valve stem seals replaced and
not a full valve job like the repair shop says you need. |
|
|
Another scam is where you are charged for a full cylinder
head rebuild when you only needed one valve replaced. |
|
|
There is an exception to this repair and a reputable
mechanic will show you the proof. |
|
|
We will show you a very simple, inexpensive, way to prove
whether or not your auto repair shop actually did the work
they say they did. |
|
|
If they did not do the work this will go a long way to
helping you get your money back. |
|
|
What you need to know about electrical system failures and
what the problem is most likely to be. |
|
|
How to know if you need a new clutch, or just a simple
clutch adjustment. The difference is hundreds of
dollars and mechanics love this one. |
|
|
When you get your cooling system checked make sure that
your mechanic follows these steps. This is another
great profit maker because of how they bill for time and
the work that was actually done. |
|
|
Why the low priced air conditioning service may not be as
cheap as it appears to be. |
|
|
What you may be paying extra for and how to avoid this
scam. |
|
|
Why your cars air conditioning may not be working properly
after you get it serviced. |
