BHPian wheelspinner recently shared this with other enthusiasts: Hey guys, So, I had a bit of a run-in recently that got me thinking – and a bit annoyed, if I’m honest! Our Dzire’s ride was feeling like I’d traded my springs for rocks. It was also shaking quite a bit, pointed out by my neighbour who observed my rear tyres slightly wavering. Took it to a garage I got recommended by someone, and the guy starts going on about the “suspension overhaul, control arms needing replacement, along with a full bush kit.” The price he quoted? Let’s just say my jaw hit the floor – and my wallet started to hyperventilate . Luckily, a buddy of mine suggested I get a second opinion. So I did, went to this other workshop, and they took a good look. They suggested a shock absorber repair, essentially replacing the struts. Now, I’m no mechanic, but this made more sense given how the car felt. And guess what? They did the repair, and the ride’s back to being smooth! What’s the punchline? The first guy was trying to get me to replace a ton of stuff that I really didn’t need. The control arms, suspension parts, and bush kit would’ve cost me more than three times what the shock repair actually did, plus hefty labour charges on top! Absolute daylight robbery. This whole experience got me wondering… what are the common scams or dodgy things other mechanics are pulling? I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s been through something like this, so let’s share our stories. Have you ever been overcharged? Had unnecessary parts “replaced”? Been given some ridiculous diagnosis that turned out to be wrong? Share your experiences so we can all be more aware of these dodgy practices. Maybe we can start some kind of “mechanic red flag” list? Let’s help each other stay out of those expensive and unnecessary repairs! Cheers, Wheelspinner Here’s what BHPian Samba had to share with others:Let me share a general view on how to deal with FNGs, their shady practices, incompetence & scams- I have grown up spending quite a lot of time with FNG mechanics from the Premier Padmini days back in the 90s. If you are not well versed with your car, do avoid FNGs & stick to the company service centers unless you are sure about an FNG who is honest & meticulous about the small details. Reasons- Most of the FNGs goof up with the exact fluid level or grade that is required for the particular car. Refer to the car’s owner’s manual or the service manual if you can get hold of one. Many FNGs lack modern pieces of equipment. Old or non-compatible equipment may further damage your car. The exact torque on which a certain bolt needs to be tightened is most often overlooked and they end up tightening it more than the required torque/specs. There is a big scam that goes on with the spare parts. For example, Duster AWD uses shock absorbers from Monroe. If you buy it from outside or from a website like Boodmo, it will cost you 5.5k per piece. Now if you buy the same shock absorber with Renault/OEM badging, it will cost you Rs 8k+. Now by paying 3k extra in the service center, you get a piece of mind of a 6 months/1 year warranty which you won’t get outside. Now coming to another point. Let’s take the Duster AWD as an example. Parts like the brake pads, shock absorber, and a few more components vary from other Dusters. If you give your Duster to an FNG who is not aware of these changes will end up getting the spares from a 110 ps or an 85 ps Duster which will eventually give up or won’t fit or will damage the car further. But if the owner knows about these minute details about his car he can definitely give his car to a FNG. Trust the FNGs who ask for your car’s vin number to procure the exact spare parts. FNGs use different types of spares. Refurbished spares, spares from scrapped cars, compatible spare parts made by local manufacturers, spares by branded manufacturers, OEM spares, and spares from the old lot or from the failed QC lot which they can buy for cheap or they repair a particular spare part instead of replacing. For example, one can change the steering rack or it can be sent to the lathe too! So the owner must be aware of what exactly is going on with his car. Another point is, that a guy working at a Renault workshop will easily open up a Duster than a guy who works in an FNG and deals with multiple cars from different brands. So a trained mechanic from a service center generally pinpoints the exact cause of the problem faster than the FNGs. But then there are many cases where the service center guys failed or gave a hefty estimate where the FNG guy detected the exact cause and sorted the issue at a very reasonable rate. Identifying which parts actually need to be replaced and which parts have been included to unnecessarily inflate the bill is important. The new cars always get software updates from time to time. These won’t be available in a FNG. The body shop is another important factor. For eg VAG/Skoda cars come with MIG welding, so in case of welding work is required and the FNG is unaware of exactly what welding is required on which parts like spot welding or MIG or any other, this can lead to safety hazards later on. The paint booth is another factor. Do they have a heat chamber or what quality of paint are they using? So, before giving your car you need to evaluate which will be more suitable for the kind of work you require. If you are well versed with your car’s minor details and you know you can guide the FNG mechanics on how you need your work to be done, then you can go ahead with an FNG. Now one may ask, are company-authorized service centers 100% trustworthy? The answer is no. As this thread is on the FNGs, I skipped going into that part.Meanwhile here’s what BHPian anjan_c2007 had to say in this matter:My elder brother had retired from the Army. He has been owning a Maruti 800 (1996 model) that has been with him since then. Later in his service life he would get the staff car. Hence the Maruti 800 was not used much. He gave the car to a local workshop recommended by me for a general checkup oil changes, fuel line checkup and so on. Post checkup the bill in five figures came to above Rs 10,000.00. I checked through and found that he has been billed for synthetic oil that was purportedly used to refill the engine. The normal oils cost about Rs 1100.00 ( Servo etc) to Rs 1500.00 ( the premium ones) for 3 litres. But he was billed for synthetic engine oil with the oil filter the total coming to around Rs 4,700=00. In the synthetic oil range the cost of a 3 litre can is below Rs 3 K. But he was given the astronomical bill? https://www.industrybuying.com/engin….ENG.721747566 The above is a link for Shell Helix Magna Xtra. 3 litres of this brand costs about Rs 4365.00, which I am sure was not the oil used. My brother had already paid the bill. I gave the workshop proprietor a piece of my mind and my brother instantly changed over to a better workshop. Maruti 800 with synthetic engine oil ? Tomorrow they could recommend it for even the Tata Ace. Hence, we need to be on the watch out from such predators.Here’s BHPian puneetakhouri thoughts on the same topic:So because of rats damaging the ECU of my Storme, the truck spent 6 months in different garages with different people trying to diagnose the issue unless one found it and fixed it. So sharing my experience and learning from it all.Always, always, always, carry spares and fluids yourself, if the garage is bringing spares, be very clear that you need to see the photos of the packaging before opening, and they have to be Genuine Parts. This is because as someone pointed out above, FNG will never stick to manufacturer specifications and add whatever fluid they feel is fine and claim it is alright.Be very clear that you do not have concerns spending money on the repair but will not accept shoddy work. Assurance of money prevents many of such folks from trying to replace parts or doing similar stuff. Somehow I have observed that when they are assured of money, they even kept my interiors very clean, they would put some bedsheets before putting any spares on the rear seat and all.Explicitly ask the FNG if they have ever worked on your particular version of the vehicle. For me, with a Storme, this was equally important because not many mechanics have experience working with Storme and one wrong part broken can lead to the car sitting in garage till parts arrive. Usually try going to a garage where you can see your model getting repaired. In Tata world, it is unspoken that if you come across a garage where your car model is standing, we go to that mechanic only. This is not a bad approach TBH.Try not to leave your vehicle at the garage for a long time. What I usually do is get to the mechanic, get a list of all that needs changes (along with justification), then ask him to order the parts / order parts myself. Once all parts arrive, will take the vehicle to them, get it repaired and then come back.Hope if helps.Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
