Mechanic charges woman $1,000 for $100 repair, Auto Tech reveals

As many drivers have lamented on TikTok, it’s hard to find an honest mechanic.

And it seems TikToker Menjicar (@menjicar) is using this sad fact of life to his advantage – and actually as a way to promote his own services.

In a viral TikTok, the auto technician says he was able to save a customer almost $1,000 after another store tried to sell her a brand new part and service she didn’t need.

After performing a diagnostic on the car, a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu, he assessed that there was more than likely a problem with the vehicle’s throttle body. Instead of immediately ordering a new part and being told it would need to be replaced after receiving this error message, Menjicar decided to take a look at the vehicle’s throttle body to see what the problem was.

It turned out that all it took was a cleaning.

“This lady went to another store and they were going to sell her a part she didn’t need. Luckily, we fixed it for less! » he wrote in a caption of the clip.

@menjicar This lady went to another store and they were going to sell her a part she didn’t need. Luckily, we fixed it for less! #automotive #mechaniclife #carfix #chevymalibu #cars #autotech #mastertech #fixcar #toyota #ladyscammed #mechanicscams #shadymechanic ♬ original sound – Menjicar

“They were about to charge this lady $1,000 to fix that check engine light,” he says. “Chevrolet Malibu, with 49,000 miles.”

He said it had something to do with intake air flow and they were going to sell him a complete set of throttle bodies.

“But let’s check this out,” he said, pushing the lever to open the hood before the clip cut to an image of the part the other dealer was trying to sell him, priced at $321.06.

“Let’s see…this thing, look how dirty it is,” he points to the part in question and gets to work on the vehicle.

After cleaning the part, he put it back together. “Brand new. Obviously, put it back,” he says, putting the throttle body back into the woman’s Chevrolet Malibu. “Put the hose back,” he snaps the extra part into the vehicle.

“Now when we play with the throttle body, you always have to reset it, right here, reset the throttle body, because if you don’t do that, the car won’t idle properly,” he explains . “Click Reset, and that’s how we’re done. Check that the check engine light is now off and the car is idling.

It then moves to another screen, which shows the pricing structure of the other auto mechanic shop.

“That’s the amount they would have charged him right there,” he said, pointing out the figure of $1,052.99 for the 2020 Chevrolet Malibu.

“And this is the amount we’re going to charge him,” the man said, pointing to a new screen that simply reads: “Labor – $100 TO CLEAN THROTTLE BODY.” »

Viewers have their say

People who responded to his video praised Menjicar for his work.

“It’s hard to find honest, hard-working mechanics like you!” » one person wrote.

Someone else said they ended up having the same problem and were charged a similar price by a Chevy dealer. “Dang had the same problem and paid $1000 at the Chevy dealership, wish I saw this video sooner,” they wrote.

Others wanted to know if resetting the throttle response was even necessary, speculating that the car would essentially readjust itself.

“Would the accelerator bottle relearn itself if it traveled a few miles if you didn’t have a scan tool to reset?” » we asked.

While Menjicar says this could very well happen, it’s almost always better to just reset manually.

Another user said they just didn’t understand why the first dealership the customer went to didn’t look at the part first and then try to clean it.

“QUESTION: Why didn’t they just clean it first? I just don’t understand why they just didn’t clean it??? they asked.

The Daily Dot has contacted Chevrolet and Menjicar via email for further comment.

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