A MECHANIC has explained how drivers can spot three common motoring scams used by disreputable garages to rip them off.
Brits could be being fleeced out of hundreds for dodgy repairs or unnecessary work.
Expert mechanic Scotty Kilmer alerted drivers to three common garage scams[/caption]
He also shared some top tricks to beat fraudsters[/caption]
Drawing on his five decades of experience in the motors business, Scotty Kilmer alerted viewers to some of the most common tricks on his YouTube channel.
And he also walked motorists through some clever hacks they could use to protect themselves from scam artists.
First of all, he warned car owners to make sure that their mechanic has actually carried out all of the work they are charging for.
He claimed that a popular swindle is to claim to have replaced pricey parts but not actually do so.
For example, if a car had an issue with its oil filter, it would be a lucrative trick for the garage to replace the filter at a cost of about £20 but bill the customer several hundred for a full oil tank replacement.
Scotty urged: “Before you have them do the work, take a picture of the car and all the parts their talking about.
“And if you really don’t trust them, get some paint and put an X somewhere on the part.
“If you get your car back and the part still has that little X on it, you know they ripped you off.”
The car whizz’s other warning was for drivers to be wary of being charged for services their motor doesn’t actually need.
He added: “Learn a bit about your car.
“Take this Toyota… [the] coolant is good for seven years or 100,00 miles.
“If they tell you that it needs to be changed before then, go somewhere else.
“And lastly, people are always trying to sell alignments.
“If your steering wheel doesn’t shake…and your tyres don’t wear out weirdly, you don’t need a front-end alignment”.
Each of these dodgy charges could see you shelling out hundreds so it’s really worth doing a bit of homework before taking your car in.
Never be afraid to question the mechanic and get absolute clarity on what they are going to do to your vehicle before the work begins.
Ideally, you should be able to agree a quote for most services in advance and that should only change if they can give a valid reason why.
It comes after Martin Lewis’ MSE urged drivers to complete an easy questionnaire to help them knock hundreds off their car insurance bills.
