How to Avoid Auto Repair Rip Offs - WHLT 22 Connecting the Pine Belt

How to Avoid Auto Repair Rip offs

Have you ever taken a car in for a simple oil change and you end up spending hundreds of dollars worth of work under the hood, you could be getting ripped off.

Daniel Blithe owns Shotgun Dan's Auto Service in Petal, it's a small garage off a tiny road, but according to his business card he gives straight shot answers and no b-s.  "Well I try to get straight to the point with people; I try not to give them the runaround."

Blithe says he fixes what's really wrong and he won't rip you off.

 But rip offs happen more often than you think. So how do you know when you're being ripped off? "If you don't have major problems like your which engines just gone or your transmission's tearing up and it's some astronomical price, you need to think about it."

Blithe says if you go to a specialty shop like those who focus on tires don't let them tell you something is wrong with your engine... but it's all about your attitude when going into a mechanic's shop

"You kind of have to act like you don't really care if it's fixed or not, you kind of have to not put yourself in a situation you can be taken advantage of."

 Blithe says its women who get taken advantage of most often. "Try to present yourself, especially if you're a woman that you know something about the car or take someone with you that knows."

When a mechanic charges you to repair a car he has to factor in parts and tools. "You have to allow a shop to mark up a little bit because they have to warranty the parts, but double and triple. That's not going to cut it."

Blithe says the labor to do major repairs to your car should be charged at an hourly rate. "Go by the hour rate. 65 or 70 dollars an hour... that's kind of the going rate for a smaller type of shop." And it never hurts to call around to local repair shops for a second opinion. "Go to the guy that hurts when he messes up so he'll make it right," says Blithe.