A mechanic went viral on TikTok after he explained why some workers would intentionally provide expensive car repair estimates.
In a recent clip, user @d1no.jabn pretended to give an estimate to the owner of a 16-year-old car. He suggested that the driver come in for their car’s annual inspection—but the process was far from smooth.
@d1no.jabn moonlighted as both a mechanic and a driver. In the former role, he told the “customer” that their car needed various fixes. Among other things, he said the hooptie had an oil leak and bald tires. The cost for the repairs, @d1no.jabn said, was $10,000.
But there’s a catch: The TikToker suggested he exaggerated the price of repairs in hopes that the customer would say no. That way, @d1no.jabn said, his job would be easier. He called this the “I don’t want to do it” price.
“POV: You give a customer the ‘I don’t want to do it’ price and they agree,” he wrote in the accompanying text overlay of his clip.
He expressed shock, then, when the “customer” agreed to all the repairs and said they’d pay the $10,000 price. To showcase his surprise, @d1no.jabn fell to the floor dramatically. As of Saturday, @d1no.jabn’s clip had amassed more than 168,100 views.
High repair estimates
Many people have complained that car mechanics have attempted to rip them off or charge them more for repairs. According to carparts.com, some “shady” workers will pad the price of repairs to upsell additional—but unnecessary—services or to take advantage of customer’s ignorance toward cars.
For inspections, specifically, you might notice that a mechanic will start listing extraneous repairs or overstate the severity of existing problems to get you to pay more. This type of lying is considered unethical, but, in @d1no.jabn’s video, he suggested he lied because he wanted the customer to walk away.
While it’s not clear this happened, @d1no.jabn suggested that it’s drivers who own older cars who need the most work done and that no workers in the shop want to take on these projects.
How do I protect myself from getting scammed?
According to carparts.com, you shouldn’t back down if you think a mechanic might be inflating repair costs. Should you find yourself in this situation, they recommend getting a second opinion and asking for a detailed estimate in writing.
Above all, they said, keep a level head and take a deep breath.
“Take some time to cool off so that you can act rationally,” they advised. After that, they suggested getting a second opinion from a trusted mechanic or, depending on the situation, doing your research on car repairs.
“The bottom line is that you want to have a solid case before confronting your mechanic,” they wrote.
@d1no.jabn And it’s a 2009 VW Rabbit😭#fyp #bluecollar #serviceadvisor #mechanic #fyp #blowthisupforme #ilovemyjob ♬ original sound – d1no.jabn
Mechanics confirm that they’ll inflate car repair costs
In the comments section of @d1no.jabn’s video, several mechanics admitted to inflating the cost of repairs in hopes that the customer would turn them down.
“I gave a dude a f off price which was around 4x my normal price,” one said. “After he accepted that without thinking, I raised my prices and am way happier lol.”
“I have a Tacoma in my shop… 6k for repair and he’s like… yeah do it,” another shared.
“Customer accepted a 24k repair list on his 2017 Audi q5,” a third mechanic wrote.
Some drivers, meanwhile, said they’d rather pay more at the dealership than deal with a new car payment.
“Ngl.. If it was a car I wanted to keep I would try to talk to them about that and pay that,” one person said.
“Cheaper to repair than to replace,” another echoed.
“Cheaper than a new car,” a third user added.
And at least one viewer suggested that a sleazy mechanic had overquoted them for more malicious reasons.
“This is how the Toyota dealership prices me for things that were serviced barely 100 miles ago,” they quipped.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @d1no.jabn via TikTok comment.
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