An experienced mechanic has exposed one of the most common repair scams – and being in the know could save you hundreds of dollars.
Scotty Kilmer, followed by millions on social media, posts videos alerting users to mechanics charging drivers for unnecessary repairs. On his TikTok accounthe said garages often charge to repair oil leaks – even if they don’t really need fixing.
In his video, he took the example of an old vehicle: “It’s an old engine, you can see oil in various places, but when you look underneath, there is nothing dripping on the The mechanics will show you the oil all over the place and tell you that they will have to dismantle the engine and replace all these seals – and it will cost you 1000 euros”.
The former car repairman continued, “That small amount of oil isn’t going to harm anything. Ignore it. If it leaks on electrical parts like the alternator, you’ll have to do the repair. But if your alternator is dry and there is no oil on it, it is not worth spending the money”.
Scotty Kilmer claims to have seen this scam committed by mechanics thousands of times over the past ten years. “So if you don’t have oil leaking everywhere, and there’s no oil on the ground, leave your engine alone.” he concluded.
The video has garnered over 113,000 views on social media and many users have praised the former mechanic for his content. A user, himself a former mechanic, concluded “Thank you, it’s an old scam indeed”.