I've had mechanics tell me my cabin filter is bad on a vehicle that didn't have one.
I've had mechanics show me how gross my spark plugs were in a diesel engine sedan.
I've had mechanics tell me I need new tires on a truck I had just replaced the tires on two weeks beforehand, and driven in mud.
I know more about my truck's issues than the guy who just did an oil change and casually glanced at a couple other things.
All that said, I still appreciate an actual mechanic (not the lube guy who started on Tuesday) telling me what they found wrong. You ever know when you might actually miss something.
But for real, fuck that spark plug guy.
Those are shit mechanics who are just trying to steal as much money as they can. I would avoid them and call them out whenever possible. I've had some good mechanics who go out of their way to save you time and some who have actually helped without charging extra. Not to say it's required but the stigma of bad mechanics has ended up being the way it is by having people oblivious to what happens under their car's hood.
My local chain does that bullshit upsell standard.
They'll even show you your CLEAN air filter in hope you're a sucker enough to say yes.
And they don't get in trouble if they just say "wow, look at this cabin air filter. Would you like us to replace it while we're working on your car?"
Yeah, I don't go back to places like that, I leave reviews, and I tell anyone who mentions car trouble "don't go to this place here"
There's a shop about 35 minutes from me I've been at for awhile now, they've saved me quite a bit of money over the years and the ONLY time I've had an issue with something, THEY contacted ME to ask me to come back in so they could fix a mistake.
Kinda scary how easily someone could get me with one of these.
Wait, I didn't think diesel engines had spark plugs
To be fair, I've told someone spark plugs on a diesel after I changed a few on gas cars.
They have glow plugs. I knew what I was saying, but it was a long day.
They go in the boom holes and help with said booms. Don't look at me because I'm not an English major. When I order parts I point to the catalog and grunt like a caveman, because my brain is smarter than my mouth.
fuck that spark plug guy
I had a diesel mechanic tell me that the diesel engine in my school bus needed new glow plugs. This was at least a more reasonable scam as diesels normally do have glow plugs, I just happened to know that my engine (a DT466e) doesn't have them.
Look at this air filter!
If you have a clogged air filter you will damage your engine. Most of the time slapping the air filter against your leg to get the dust out helps. If you see oil on it then there is a serious issue, that could have been from not changing your filter.
An old air filter will do one of two things. Make your engine run rough because it isn't getting enough oxygen, 1/3rd of what makes your car go forward. Or allowing dirt to get into your engine and that will 100% damage your engine. Imagine if you will, instead of lube you used grit soap. Please don't ruin your car over a $30 part. Filter is cheap, engines are expensive.
Change your own air filter. One of the easiest things you can do for maintenance. It's either clips or a size 8mm socket... usually. Then you don't have to pay some kid $100 for 2 minutes of labor. You'll feel better for doing something and you will also get better gas mileage. If the answer to when was the last time you changed your air filter is "I don't know" then it's probably time.
Last time that happened, I had just changed it two weeks before. I was more than a little annoyed.
Nickelback starts playing in the background
You laugh, but I never would've found out that my blinker fluid was low if the mechanic didn't tell me after changing my oil.
Don't waste your money at the mechanic, you can change your blinker fluid yourself!
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I change my own oil. However, I went to get my tired rotated and the guy tried to sell me some windshield wipers when I had just replaced them
You change your own oil, but don't rotate your own tires? Changing tires seems like the easier of the two, especially if you already have everything to lift the car?
"Easy" in terms of complexity, yes. "Easy" in terms of strength required to mount and dismount wheels (especially the big heavy ones on the SUVs so many folks have these days), no.
I just climb under the car to do it. I drive a Subaru so it isn't all that bad
paying for oil change
Even my automotive engineer friend who can basically repair his whole car alone often pays for his oil changes because of the convenience of not dealing with old engine oil and its disposal
In most places you can drop off used oil at your local auto parts store for free. It's still super easy.
The only vehicle I don't change my own oil on is my truck, which has off-road skidplates you need to remove first. I could do it, but I decided it was better worth my time to have a shop do it.
I stopped believing their shit when I took my car for an oil change the week after the cabin air filter was changed (confirmed visually).
I'll be damned if I didn't have a bad cabin air filter that needed replacing.
