2000 v70xc Aargh, yet another crooked mechanic.

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 01 Jul 2015, 17:26

Took my car for a front end alignment to a Mr. Tire that is about a mile from me. When the car is in the bay the mechanic comes into the waiting room and checks me out. I remember thinking "That was weird". It turns out he was checking me out to see if I looked like a sucker. Evidently I do.

Fifteen minutes later I get led out to the car by the asst manager and told my outer tie rods are worn out. If they let go, they say, you wouldn't be able to steer the car! It's a bad safety issue! (So scary!) The mechanic shows how badly they are "worn" by reaching up and twisting the tie rods front to back. We can replace them for you for $450, they say. (That's more than twice the going rate in my area, btw).

What they didn't know is that I know there is nothing wrong with my outer tie rods because I had the car up on stands just the day before and I had checked them. The driver-side inner tie rod has some play, but they didn't mention that.

I am standing there stunned! A classic scam. I don't yell or laugh in their faces because I want my car aligned. So I tell them to just align it.

I go back the next day and raise hell with the manager and the front-end guy is fired on the spot.

The really annoying thing is that the con artist came out into the waiting area, looked at me, and apparently decided I was just a doofus who could be ripped off. That really hurts! lol.

Post by **dosbricks** » 01 Jul 2015, 17:57

Well, there is the bright side:
1. You saved $450
2. You know your car and how a tie rod functions
3. You got to see justice done
4. Rather than a doofus--consider yourself an undercover mechanic. Because the big question is how much of that money would have gone into the till as a regular tie rod job, and how much would have lined the pockets of the asst. mgr. and the alignment guy.

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 01 Jul 2015, 18:05

instarx... Undercover Mechanic. I like it!

Cees Klumper · Post by **Cees Klumper** » 01 Jul 2015, 22:54

Good going. Don't take offense, who knows how this guy determines who's knowledgeable and whose's not. Clearly he was wrong so not the best of crooks.
On the flip side, I wouldn't be convinced about the 'firing on the spot'. Maybe that's just a ploy as well and the guy was 're-hired' the moment you drove off. Anyways this story confirms that there are multiple benefits to tackling basic jobs ourselves.

Post by **regent** » 02 Jul 2015, 06:40

i would not spend time questioning that crooked mechanic's profiling skills, nor his learning curve - or even the ploy - which IMHO is a highly probable outcome.
The benefits - that is what I enjoy most of all - the final step in every repair procedure that I follow reads: "Get myself paid"

JRev · Post by **JRev** » 02 Jul 2015, 08:34

instarx, surely you must feel guilty for the guy losing his job? he may have a little kid at home and he was stuck in a rut trying to make money, now he won't be able to feed his kid, or get them birthday or Christmas presents.

Disclaimer: I'm not sure if the crooked mechanic has kids so if he was a crooked mechanic and enjoyed ripping people off then I would say he deserved to lose his job.

Post by **abscate** » 02 Jul 2015, 08:48

If I found an employee of mine cheating a customer they would be sent home for a week without pay while I investigated and dismissed on conclusion of guilt. Like the employee, the customer has a family and kids at home, and they come to us with an expectation of honesty and trust.

obayha · Post by **obayha** » 02 Jul 2015, 11:10

Please provide self portrait or picture, to determine if the Doofus profile fits or not.

Either way it was a good catch. It's a good/bad feeling talking to someone that is trying to scam you.

Post by **cn90** » 02 Jul 2015, 11:48

It is always collusion at the shop.

The manager probably told the mechanics to scam the customer, this way the mechanic gets a bonus and the shop manager gets a cut too.
In 99% of the time, they get away because people who bring cars to shop are generally not mechanically inclined or knowledgeable about car.

Imagine how many thousand people are scammed everyday.

This time, the mechanic made a mistake (picking the wrong target) lol...

Post by **erikv11** » 02 Jul 2015, 12:17

C'mon, I think that statement is inaccurate for a lot of shops. I have to disagree with such a broad generalization.

Yes there are plenty of crooks working in auto repair (and elsewhere), but I have also been able to find many good people. You just need to find them, that is the continual challenge.