There’s a lot of trust that goes into the driver-mechanic relationship—at least, that’s the hope.
In reality, many people are distrustful of mechanics. Seventy eight percent of drivers reported being “skeptical” of the advice put forth by those in the position.
A major reason for this distrust comes from the fact that many people aren’t aware of the inner workings of their own cars. This opens up the possibility that these drivers could be ripped off by someone taking advantage of that lack of understanding.
Numerous stories of mechanic ripoffs have sparked discussion over the years. For example, one user claimed that her aunt was quoted over $3,000 in repairs despite most of those repairs being unnecessary. Another mechanic alleged that, while working at an auto shop, he was encouraged to sell car owners products that they did not need.
Another TikToker fears she may have been ripped off while taking her car in for an oil change.
How an oil change became a $1K fix
In a video with over 704,000 views, TikTok user Kristine (@kristinescoolsillyacc) writes, “tell me why i brought my silly a** here to get my oil changed and they tell me my brake calibers are broken and my brake pads are melting?? and it's gonna cost $1k to fix? kill me now.”
It's unlikely that her brake pads truly melted. However, there are a long list of issues with brakes that could produce similar effects. In response to questions about what exactly happened, the TikToker later posted a video of the receipt showing all of the work that she had done on her car.
Immediately, commenters began to question whether this was a fair price for all of the work.
“Oh they played you,” wrote a user.
“I may have gotten scammed,” Kristine offered in response to another comment.
It’s difficult to tell if Kristine really got “scammed.” If her car truly needed all of the repairs shown on the receipt, then a price of around $1,000 might be fair; however, many commenters appear to be alleging that some of these fixes were unnecessary.
More commenters weigh in
Back in the comments section, users offered their methods for getting out of paying such high prices at the mechanic.
“I always ask ‘if my husband was here would I get the same price?’” wrote a commenter. “immediate studdering lmaooo.”
“i will never take my own car in to get work,” added another. “my dads gonna have to it bc i’m not trying to get scammed.”
Some just shared their own stories of overpaying at the auto shop.
“LITERALLY HAPPENED TO ME,” declared a further TikToker. “They got $800 out of me and all i went in for was an oil change.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Kristine via TikTok DM and comment.
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