A mechanic is getting called out on TikTok for being shady. Turns out there’s much more to the story.
People are notoriously distrustful of mechanics. Most car owners have had their own run ins wttith dishonest mechanics, from getting overcharged or having another problem pop up shortly after going in for a repair. One woman said her local auto shop tried to charge her $1,000 just to fix her check engine light. Another said a repair shop tried to get her to pay $750 for something that didn’t even require a repair.
It’s no wonder people are on the defense when it comes to mechanics. That seems to be why people gave no benefit of the doubt to this mechanic.
In a trending TikTok video, Morales (@morales_automotive), a Florida mechanic who owns a mobile repair shop, recounts in a mocking tone that a customer asked him to install their power steering pump.
Halfway through, the person asked him if he was able to fix the problem. “Was that it?” the customers asked.
“I don’t know. You just asked me to install the part. That’s what I did. We’ll find out,” Morales said.
A common customer mistake
Meanwhile, Morales noticed the water pump was loose, and the leak the customer noticed was from coolant, not power steering fluid.
But, since the customer just came in with a specific repair request instead of letting the mechanic use his expertise, it seems they may still go home with the same issues.
“You gotta love it when the customer provides their own parts and diagnosis their own problems,” Morales said in the caption.
People in the comments section had mixed feelings.
“So….. no one should go to your shop… got it. way to take someone’s money for no reason,” the top comment read.
“This is all bc mechanics take advantage. Do the right thing and show him the actual problem,” a person wrote.
“He did what they wanted. being cheap will always cost you more in the long run,” another chimed in.
Despite these commenters’ opinions, Morales’s Tampa Bay area shop has 4.8 stars on Google from 149 reviews. They even got the following stand-out review a week ago:
“In the day and age of shady tire/lube shops and the ever-corporatization of local American businesses, Morales Automotive Repair moves against the grain and embodies everything your local mechanic should be: honest, reliable, and affordable.”
That’s a big jump from what you see in the video and comment section. Here’s why.
How the mechanic actually addressed the problem
In a follow-up video, Morales addressed the people coming after him.
He said he doesn’t have time to give a full back story in every video he posts and that TikTok is meant to entertain people, so he only told what he thought was the most entertaining (and controversial) part of the story.
He added that the person whose car he was working on is a “very good” customer, and they changed the water pump and power steering and got his leak fixed.
In an email to The Daily Dot, Morales went on to say that the customer only wanted the power steering pump installed since they were “sure” that was the issue. During the installation process, Morales noticed the other issues and notified the customer, but the customer said they’d take care of those problems later.
But their car broke down on the side of the road (since Morales was right about those other problems). Instead of leaving them hanging, Morales went back and did a roadside service for the out-of-towner who was still an hour and a half away from home.
“Anyone else would’ve just said tough luck, but I went ahead picked up the part picked up some coolant and did a roadside service for him,” Morales explained.
The customer was happy with his work and left him a five-star review, he said.
@morales_automotive You gotta love it when the customer provides their own parts and diagnosis their own problems. #mechaniclife #mobilemechanic #mechanic #carproblems ♬ original sound – Morales Automotive
“At the end of the day, you don’t know the truth behind the story, you don’t know what’s going on, but yet you guys wanna say I’m garbage. ‘Nobody should take vehicles to your shop,’” Morales said.
“I know what I’m doing, I’m doing honest work, and I [get] a good reputation behind what I do,” Morales said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Morales for comment via form submission on his site and TikTok comment.
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