Everyone needs a good auto mechanic from time to time. The question is where do you find a dependent?

There are so many stories of auto repair scams by auto mechanics that many people have trouble deciding where to take their vehicles for repairs. This is the story of a scam that happened in Flagstaff, Arizona, several years ago. The victims in this case were from out of town. Their Chevrolet Suburban’s radiator leaked outside of Flagstaff, and the owners had to tow the car into town to fix it.

The Suburban owner dealt with a mechanic at an Exxon station in Flagstaff a few months earlier and received a fair deal. The owner tried to call the same Exxon auto mechanic to request a tow truck, but he read an incorrect line in the phone book while looking up the Exxon phone number. When the tow truck arrived, he was from another auto shop. Since the tow truck was there, the owner of the Suburban agreed to let the tow truck driver take the car to his shop.

The owner of the Suburban was told by the auto mechanic that the car needed a radiator repair, which was once a common procedure. The bill came to almost $600. The owner resisted, but the mechanic assured him that it was a standard price. When the owner of the Suburban returned home, all the mechanics he called said the procedure should have been done for less than $200. Some stores would have done it for $100.

The victim of the scam called the Arizona Attorney General’s office to complain, but was told there was not enough money lost for the Attorney General to get involved. The victim gave up on the claim and she thought she would have to live with the $400 scam. A couple of weeks later the radiator had another leak. This time, the victim took her car to a trusted mechanic, who said a radiator recore had not been installed. The only repair the Flagstaff mechanic had done was a tack weld on the leak, a procedure that shouldn’t have cost more than $20 or $30.

One happy side to this is that the complaint to the Arizona Attorney General helped trigger an investigation of the offending auto mechanic in Flagstaff. The Attorney General sent a car with 100% working parts to the auto shop. The mechanic told the undercover investigator that several parts needed to be replaced. The store was fined $10,000 for attempting to rob the Attorney General’s office. Unfortunately, the State of Arizona kept the money from the fine. The victim of the Suburban scam did not receive a reward.

Here are some tips to help you avoid becoming a victim of auto repair scams and help you choose the right auto mechanic for your vehicle:

– Obtain a written estimate with details of all the repairs to be carried out

– Be specific about what you want the mechanic to do and what you don’t want the mechanic to do.

– Use a mechanic you know and trust whenever possible

– If you’re new to town, ask some of the locals to recommend a good auto mechanic.

– Check if the store is AAA approved

– Obtain a written guarantee

– Follow the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule and don’t let an auto mechanic stray too far from that schedule.

– Call for quotes from various stores before doing any repairs

– Read the bill carefully and ask about any questionable charges

Following these simple tips will help you avoid many of the problems car owners face when trying to choose an auto repair shop to do business with.