Car Repairs: Is Your Car Mechanic Ripping You Off?

By: James Ruppert
car repairs is your garage ripping you off?

Cars are an important part of many of our day to day lives, and when they go wrong they can cost a lot of money to fix.

The MotorEasy campaign, Lost In Translation, aims to end any confusion with garages and make sure that you only pay for the work that's needed.

To help you we've listed a few places garages can add money onto the bill and how to tackle them if you think you're being ripped off. 

 

Are My Garage Ripping Me Off?: Brakes

Brakes are vital and we all know that, including garages. It's an emotive part of the car and if they say there's trouble, to be on the safe side we'll always approve the work.

This is the point at which mechanics talk about percentages of wear and not many of us know how long that is going to last. Certainly, if you know the brakes were replaced in the last year or so it's unlikely that they would be worn out, so we would recommend a second opinion by giving the MotorEasy engineers a call.

 

Is My Garage Ripping Me Off?: Tyres

Garages may take advantage of a simple visit to swap a tyre to recommend all sorts of additional work, possibly related to what they're doing.

Adding unnecessary jobs is an easy way to make more money from you and it's best to assume that your car doesn’t need it.

Without any clear evidence, this is another case where a second opinion is vital.

 

Is My Garage Ripping Me Off?: Engine And Coolant Flushes

On the subject of extra work, engine and coolant flushes have been a popular way to charge for something that's totally unnecessary.

Indeed, charging for fluids by the litre is always going to cost more than from a bulk container.

Also, automatically replacing a flat tyre with a brand new one, when it could be repaired is a quick way to make a fast profit.

 

Is My Garage Ripping Me Off?: What Can You Do

The root cause of garage overcharging and general misunderstandings has to be the prevalence of car related jargon. The best that any of us can do is to constantly question what we're being told and ask them to always explain what they're saying. 
 

Head To The Lost In Translation Hub For More Garage Help

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