10 Car Shop Tricks – Here’s How They Cheat Us out of Money!

We don't like being cheated out of money. When someone wants to sell us some goods or services much more expensive than their real value is, we can go mad. And this is what often happens when we come to a car repair shop.

You can say that dealers are the worst hunters for your money seeking to take hundreds of dollars from you for just screwing some bolts. Yeah, this is true for some dealers. But what about smaller repair shops? They don't offer any warranty, so they should be cheaper than dealers, right?

Today, we'll show you 10 common tricks that nearly all car repair shops use to cheat us out of money and sell the services at higher prices. And some of the tricks are just unbelievable.

We hope you will never pay more than a certain service now costs. But for this, you need to remember all of the following tricks!

1. Cheap parts instead of OEM ones

If you don't want to overpay the dealer, you will likely find some repair shop that can repair and maintain your vehicle. But these shops are not always responsible. A lot of them just aim to earn a lot of money.

One of the most common tricks is to make money from you to buy OEM parts that cost, say, $500 but actually to buy cheap aftermarket parts that may cost $150. In this case, $350 goes directly to the pocket of the mechanic or manager.

• How to deal with this trick?

First of all, you can buy all parts by yourself. We always recommend OEM parts and we recommend buying them from a dealer or an official online store.

Also, you may ask for a receipt from your car shop. They have to give you a full receipt with all the information on parts they used for repair.

2. Adding oil instead of replacing it

Oil changes don't make a lot of money for car shop owners and mechanics. They may feel it's unfair and try to make money in a different way. For example, they may take money from you for the oil and filter change but they will instead just add some oil or replace half of it to make it a little lighter.

Naturally, they will not replace the filter because you just can't notice it - there is no visual difference between the old and the new oil filter. What it can lead to? Your engine will not live long and it will get some problems pretty soon with such quality of maintenance.

• How to deal with a bad oil change?

The best solution is to watch the process of oil and filter replacement. Also, you may ask a mechanic to show the old filter and oil to you. Of course, they may take any other oil, but at least this will show that you care about the maintenance and want to be sure everything is done perfectly.

Also, check the oil on the dipstick after the change and see if it's fair and clean.

3. Imitating big problems with engine or transmission

Imagine: you come to the repair shop for a regular oil change and pay for simple maintenance. But when you come to fetch your vehicle, one of the mechanics comes to you looking as if he's a doctor who's going to tell you about the death of a relative.

This mechanic shows you some oil in a plastic bowl and points out some small metal parts. Then he says that the transmission (or the engine) is broken and needs total repair.

In this case, you are going to invest over $1,000 even if the engine or transmission are not really modern and technically complicated. In some cases, the bill may be really huge - up to $5K which is devastating.

• How to deal with such imitations?

Actually, you shouldn't just agree to a repair if you haven't noticed any problems and changes in the way your vehicle worked. First of all, you should go to another repair shop or to a dealer and ask for diagnostics.

Don't tell them that a certain repair shop just showed you bad oil with metal parts. Just ask to check the engine or the transmission and tell you if any repair is needed.

4. Spoiling your suspension parts

A good repair shop will certainly check the suspension of your vehicle during regular maintenance. This will help you know if something is wrong with your car. But if the mechanic will want some money, they may spoil some parts of your suspension such as silent blocks or other rubber parts.

After that, they will offer you their service to replace the broken part.

We also know cases when mechanics replaced normal suspension parts with specially prepared broken parts and then took money for replacement and repair.

• How to deal with spoiling issues?

Actually, the only way to deal with this issue is to choose a proper repair shop. If you aren't sure that the mechanic is good, just stand behind him or her and watch the entire process of diagnostics.

5. Wrong diagnostics

One of the most common problems is wrong diagnostics. It's not only about the poor quality of diagnostics in a certain repair shop but also about foxy mechanics who want to repair your vehicle even though it's not broken.

For example, after checking your car and finding no issues, the mechanic may say that the vehicle needs a shock absorber replacement. This is a costly repair that may take hundreds of dollars out of your pocket. But sometimes, these expenses will not be necessary.

• How to deal with bad diagnostics?

Dealing with this problem is hard. You will need to find a car mechanic or a repair shop you may rely on. In most cases, it's all about your own experience, but we also recommend choosing a repair shop according to reviews and recommendations. This obviously helps.

6. Used parts instead of a new one

Many repair shops don't tend to give you fill receipts representing all their services and parts they have installed in your vehicle during repair. This will help them use bad old parts instead of new ones.

For example, they may use bad arms, used suspension parts, or old engine parts that they have just bought from eBay or from a scrapyard located near them. These parts cost ten times cheaper than new OEM parts for your vehicle.

And yes, the car will still be OK, the problems will be solved. But how long will you drive your vehicle with no problems? Anyway, you'll face the same problems ten times earlier than you should.

• How to deal with the used parts problem?

First of all, you should make sure that the new OEM parts are there when your vehicle is going to be repaired. You may buy these parts by yourself or you may just make sure they are near your vehicle before the work starts.

Then, you need to make sure that these parts are used when the vehicle is being repaired. The best decision is to be there in the repair shop and to watch the process. If it's not possible, at least ask the mechanic to give you the receipt and the empty boxes that are left from new parts.

7. Not installing new parts during repair

Very often, small repair shops make a list of problems for your vehicle during diagnostics and then say that you need to pay a certain sum of money and to bring certain parts. You just pay money and these guys do nothing. They take all your new parts, resell them, and let you drive your car with pleasure.

This method is one of the most expensive for you. The vehicle is not even touched but you still pay hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars. Although this is the most cynical way to get their dirty hands into your pocket, you can easily deal with it.

• How to deal with the no-repair problem?

It's not hard. You need to ask the mechanic to show you or better to give you all the old parts that were taken off your vehicle when replacing them with new ones.

If your mechanic says that they have already thrown away your parts, tell them to get them anyway or to return the money. You can also call the police if you are sure they haven't installed anything new.

8. Expendable materials

One of the major problems when repairing a car is the problem of expendable materials. We mean different grease types, special oil, antifreeze, other liquids, fasteners, etc. Do you know how many fasteners one needs to fasten a certain part in the vehicle's suspension? No one knows and this is the reason for tricks.

Along with the main parts that were really used in the process, a mechanic may include in the bill some expendable materials and liquids that you will never check. They may seem cheap, but if they include a lot of these materials, you will have to pay a lot.

Also, these materials are hard to count. For example, the mechanic may have used just two drops of grease but they will include two packs of this grease in your bill and you will never know.

• How to deal with the expendable materials problem?

It's hard to deal with this problem unless you are a car mechanic. You won't probably know how much grease or liquid is needed for a certain procedure. But still, try to use your logic and ask about any suspicious figures in the bill.

Also, you may want to consult with some other specialists if you still think that the bill is suspicious.

9. Tricking with the transmission

Automatic transmission is a really complicated and expensive unit. If you need to have it repaired, sometimes, it's cheaper to just sell your vehicle and buy another one.

But car mechanics know that repairing an automatic transmission sometimes may cost just 2 or 3 hundred dollars. The problem may have occurred because of low fluid level or just because of software problems.

The transmission is hard to check and usually hard to repair, so nearly always repair shops will say that the trans is completely broken and needs total repair which costs thousands of dollars. But sometimes, they will just repair it for a couple of dollars and won't tell you anything.

• How to deal with such transmission tricking?

You can't do much in this situation. All you can actually do is have your trans checked in a different repair shop. Sometimes, a dealer will be a good choice because these guys have good equipment for diagnostics.

Compare prices and claimed problems in different repair shops to see which ones are trying to cheat you out of money.

10. Additional services in the bill

A lot of small repair shops have this problem: they have prepared a special list of services that don't exist or are never needed in vehicles and they keep including those services on the bills. For example, you may find such things as "steering wheel alignment" or "cylinder head cleaning".

Such services are not needed or they just don't exist. And sometimes they may "take" a lot of time which means they will be expensive on your bill.

Unfortunately, a lot of people get hooked and pay money for services they don't get. You need to know something about cars to understand the problem. First of all, just ask a manager to exclude this service from your bill.

• How to deal with the additional services problem?

Again, you should initially choose a better repair shop. If you can't find it, just rely on the reviews and opinions on the internet.

If you still get this problem, try to figure out what exactly they do and why it costs so much. Of course, you should also consult with a specialist from another repair shop to get a professional view of the question.

Final words

We hate it when drivers are made to pay more than they should in repair shops. Today, we've gathered the 10 most common and obvious things that should be checked twice in every repair shop before you pay money to them.

Be careful and never pay for something that wasn't completed properly. Also, check every new repair shop to see if they take money exactly for what they do. Rely on reviews and opinions - those are usually completely true.