A mechanic charges a woman $1,000 for a $100 repair, Auto Tech reveals

As many drivers lamented on TikTok, it’s hard to find an honest mechanic.

It appears that TikToker Menjicar (@menjicar) uses this sad fact of life to his advantage – and indeed as a means to promote his own services.

In a viral video on TikTok, the auto tech said he was able to save a customer nearly $1,000 after another store tried to sell her a brand-new part and service she didn’t need.

After performing a diagnostic on the vehicle, a 2020 Chevy Malibu, he estimated that there was likely an issue with the vehicle’s throttle body. Instead of immediately ordering a new part and being told it would need to be replaced after receiving this error message, Menjicar decided to take a look at the car’s throttle body to see what the problem was.

As it turns out, all I needed to do was clean up.

“This lady went to another store and they were going to sell her a part she didn’t need. Fortunately we fixed it for a cheaper price!” he wrote in a caption of the clip.

@menjicar This lady went to another store and they were going to sell her an item she didn’t need. Fortunately we fixed it at a cheaper price! #the cars #mechaniclife #carfix #chivimalibu #cars #Automotive_Technology #mastertech #Fix the car #Toyota #ladyscammed #Mechanics cameras #shadymechanic ♬ original sound – Menjicar

“They were about to pay this lady $1,000 to fix that check engine light,” he says. “Chevy Malibu, with 49,000 miles.”

He says it had to do with intake airflow, and that they were going to sell it a complete throttle body kit.

“But let’s check it out,” he says, pressing the lever to open the hood before the clip cuts to a photo of the part the other dealer was trying to sell for a retail price of $321.06.

“Let’s see…this thing, look how dirty it is,” he shows the part in question and starts working on the car.

After he cleaned the part, he reassembled it. “Brand new. Obviously, put it back in,” he says as he puts the throttle body back on the woman’s Chevy Malibu. “Put the pipe back in,” he installs the extra piece in the car.

“Now when we mess with the throttle body, you always have to reset it, here, reset the throttle body, because if you don’t do that, the car won’t move properly,” he explains. Click Reset, and we’re done. The check engine light is now off and the car is idling smoothly.

It then goes to another screen showing the pricing structure from the other auto mechanic shop.

“That’s what they were going to charge her for, right away,” he says, pointing to the $1,052.99 figure for a 2020 Chevy Malibu.

“This is how much we’ll charge her,” the man says, displaying a new screen that says simply: “Business — $100 for a clean throttle body.”

Viewers weigh in

People who responded to his video praised Mengekar for his work.

“It’s hard to find honest, hard-working mechanics like you!” one person wrote.

Another person said they eventually had the same issue and were charged a similar price from a Chevy dealer. “Dang had the same problem and paid $1000 with the Chevy dealership. I wish I had seen this video sooner,” they wrote.

Others wanted to know if resetting the throttle response was necessary, anticipating that the car would essentially reset itself.

“Would the same throttle bottle learn again if driven a few miles if you didn’t have a wiper to reset it?” someone asked.

While Menjicar says this can very well happen, it’s almost always better to reset manually.

Another user said they simply couldn’t understand why the first dealer the customer went to in the world wouldn’t first look at the part and then try to clean it.

“Question why didn’t they clean it first? I don’t understand why they didn’t clean it???” they asked.

The Daily Dot reached out to Chevrolet and Mengekar via email for further comment.

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