Two Service Center Mechanic Scams That Are Easy to Spot If You Know Where to Look Under the Hood

Scam Alerts That Need Reminding

In earlier articles we’ve learned about how that car owners have to constantly be aware of how scams are perpetuated by some service centers and dishonest mechanics involving engine oil changes, transmission fluid servicing, and brake repairs.

While some scams are elaborate and beyond what many car owners can easily spot, two in particular are more common than others because they are simple to cause, simple to fix, and are simple to deny as a scam when caught by a knowledgeable car owner.

This is in light of two recent YouTube videos that are reminders to car owners that some service centers still rely on the old “pull the vacuum line and spark plug wire” scam to convince the unsuspecting car owner that their engine is in need of a tuning that can be done along with the originally requested oil change service.

To demonstrate how easy these two scams are to perpetuate---and fix yourself---here are two very short videos from the Scotty Kilmer YouTube channel that are a good lesson on common scam alerts that car owners need reminding of every now and then.

You Just Got Screwed Over

Here’s How Mechanics Scam You

And finally…

For more scam-related articles, be sure to check out the following links about "how to spot a used car being flipped after a hurricane” and “how car rental companies scam people out of their money.”

COMING UP NEXT: Police car modifications explained in this informative video.

Timothy Boyer is Torque News automotive reporter based in Cincinnati. Experienced with early car restorations, he regularly restores older vehicles with engine modifications for improved performance. Follow Tim on Twitter at @TimBoyerWrites for daily automotive-related news.

Photo by Joshua Aragon on Unsplash