AN EXPERT mechanic has issued an urgent warning over garages offering cheap MOTs – it might not be the bargain you think.
Former mechanic Dean, who shares advice on YouTube under the alias “BMW Doctor”, said that many garages advertise a knock-off MOT price without telling you about hidden costs.
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In a YouTube video, he said: “If you’ve ever gone into a £35 MOT centres, for instance, you’ll realise the reason they’re only charging that.
“You’re going to end up walking out of there with a huge bill for repairs as well to make you spend more on your car than just the £35 on your MOT.
“It’s the same with oil changes – when you see garages saying they do £30 oil changes, do not believe that c***.
“A lot of these garages are using very cheap filters and very cheap oil.”
Dean said there are a number of other ruses you should keep an eye out for.
Some mechanics even inflict new damage on your motor to make you fork out more for repairs.
Dean said: “They will, if you’re not too certain about a car, disconnect one of your sensors or the wiring from the ECU – and tell you that you’ve got a big problem with your car to make you spend money.
“A lot of the time it will be something simple which they know how to put back – for instance, your ignition coil wires.”
He added that the best way to avoid falling for this trick is to buy your own diagnostic scanner so that you have a full inventory of engine parts before visiting the garage.
Other dodgy workmen will even fake leaks to fleece gullible customers.
Pointing inside his BMW’s bonnet in a YouTube video, the expert mechanic said: “They’ll get oil in a little bottle and they will pour it all over your bits here and tell you you’ve got leaks.
“So, for instance, on the valve cover they’ll put oil all down here or on your shocks to make you replace the shocks.
“I’m being very honest with you guys – I used to work in garages and we used to do this a lot.
“And I’m telling you we used to do this a lot because this is the way we used to make money.”
Another scam involves mechanics finding faults where none exist.
Dean said: “What they usually say here is ‘We’ve replaced this part for you, but we’ve managed to find other things that are going to need replacing later on in the future’.
“Now, when they say ‘in the future’, what they’re saying is they want you to replace it now.
“That’s how they get more money. The more things they find that are faulty, that don’t need replacing immediately – they’ll tell you that they do so you panic and you get it done again.
“This is why it’s best to fix your own cars and just use garages for MOTs – garages will come up with all sorts.”
Finally, even more honest operators can be inclined to overstate their expertise.
Dean said: “A lot of garages do not understand most of the cars that go into their workshop.
“This is something I’m a very, very strong believer in – nobody can specialise in all makes and models of a car, it’s physically impossible,
“To specialise in all makes and models of cars throughout the years you need to be probably about 300 years old.
He added: “If a garage says they specialise in everything and do everything, that means they’re not a garage.
“A specialist is someone who strictly sticks by one brand and that’s it.
“Even German specialists – you cannot have a German specialist who does mostly Volkswagen and Audi and the occasional BMW.
“That is just physically impossible and that’s not a specialist.”
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