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Have you ever been scammed when you needed an auto repair in Colleyville, TX or anywhere else? Truth is, there are unscrupulous people in every profession. That means, no matter what else you do, it’s important for you to be completely aware of what’s going on around you. It’s crucial that you are paying attention to what people do or say and what your vehicle actually needs (or at least what makes sense). The difficult part is that, if you don’t really know cars, it’s hard for you to recognize these scams, so let’s take a look at the common ones.
Brand New Tires
If your tires are old and worn out then you likely do need new tires and if you’ve put a whole lot of miles on them that’s likely in Colleyville, TX. But if you just got a flat tire you absolutely don’t need to buy brand new tires. Instead, the only auto repair you really need is a patch and a refill on the tire that went flat. You could spend just a few dollars on that patch job or you could be spending hundreds on tires that you actually don’t need.
Additional Work
If you go to an auto repair shop in Colleyville, TXand you are planning on one service and you’re told you need more work, that could also be a scam. Now, it’s important to note that there could be a problem. For example, when an oil change is done most shops will do a quick inspection of the rest of the vehicle, which could reveal something else. But if it sound like suddenly you need an expensive replacement after you’ve just gone in for a small thing … you should definitely take it to another repair shop and see what they have to say to verify.
Dirty Fuel Injectors
The fuel injectors are part of the system that the gasoline runs through in your vehicle and the fuel injectors, even though they do get covered in gas, actually don’t need to be cleaned. Instead, you just replace them about every year or every 35,000, whatever your owner’s manual suggests. And you don’t need to worry about them being dirty in the meantime, the gasoline actually doesn’t hurt them (no matter what you might be told).
Dirty Air Filter
This is a very common one that many people will see. Now, a dirty air filter should be changed when it starts getting too bad, but sometimes what you’re being shown isn’t even your air filter. You want to make sure that you are looking at your air filter (you may want to actually ask them to be sure) and you shouldn’t need to replace it until you get to at least a year or 15,000 miles. This is a relatively simple auto repair as well.
Engine Flush
An engine flush is a process that’s used to get rid of a whole lot of dirt, debris and gunk that gets into the engine. But normal driving and normal wear is not going to cause that. In fact, the only people who actually need an engine flush are the people who just don’t take care of their engine. If you’re not getting proper oil changes and you’re seeing gunk backed into the oil then you may need this. Otherwise, it’s an expensive process that you definitely don’t need to worry about with your auto repair.
More Frequent Oil Changes
Take a look at your owner’s manual for how often the manufacturer says you should be getting an oil change. Most of them recommend every 5,000 miles or sometimes even longer than that. So, when you get that little sticker that tells you when to come back don’t necessarily follow its advice. You could be advised to come back in 3,000 miles. This might not be the auto repair shop trying to scam you. In fact, if they’ve been around for a while they probably remember when all vehicles needed to be serviced every 3,000 miles and that may be a holdover from those days. If you drive an old car that might be a good idea, but if your vehicle is newer, just check the owner’s manual.
Used Parts
You want your vehicle to be repaired with original equipment manufacturer parts if that’s what you’re paying for, and you definitely want to know if you’re getting new versus used parts, right? Well, make sure you inspect the materials that are being used on your vehicle and that you’re actually paying for what you get. If you opt for used parts to save some money on your auto repair that’s fine, but you should be getting exactly what you paid for, and that means if you paid for new you want to make sure you’re getting it.
Long-term Products
Some repair shops will also tell you that you can get things for your vehicle that will last ‘forever.’ These might be transmission fluids, filters, brake pads or more, but you should keep in mind that that’s absolutely not the case. These things aren’t going to last forever because as you drive your vehicle it’s going to start to wear. Those things will eventually have to be replaced as well and you may have paid a whole lot more for that product.
The most important thing about getting auto repair is making sure you find a shop that you can trust. There are plenty of great people out there in Colleyville, TX and you want to be sure that you’re working with them. So talk to them about the services that you need and make sure you’re aware of where the scams can come in. If you can get through your appointments without them trying any of these (or other) scams on you then you’re probably in good hands when it comes to your auto repair needs.