When you know as little about cars as me, its hard to feel like you’re NOT being scammed on auto repairs.

And even when the mechanic tries to explain the maintenance your car needs, they might as well be speaking a different language!

But even with my extremely limited knowledge of cars, even I know when a mechanic is trying to take me for a ride… no pun intended.

And TikTok user @royaltyautoservice says one of the most common “scams” in the repair industry involves a common problem for car owners: the check engine light!

Curious to see if you’ve fallen victim to this all-too-common scam?

Check it out!

Don’s video starts with one of his employees asking him a question I’m sure we all would like to know the answer to: what is the biggest scam auto repair shops pull on us?

“I’m sure everyone with a car has had this happen before…. the check engine light comes on, and they go in and have testing done, and the shop tells them the car needs something, like an oxygen sensor.”

But Don clarified that it wasn’t the part itself that was the scam, it was. the fact that the part didn’t actually fix the problem you went in for!

Don said the “scam” comes in when the shop “fixes” your car, only for the check engine light to come on the next day, or sometimes even before you leave the shop!

“This is where it goes bad, but you needed that part. But now you need this part right?”

And while Don admitted he didn’t think shops were doing these types of fixes intentionally, he said mechanics need to be better trained to correctly identify the problem in your vehicle.

So Dave ended his video with a warning to all car owners. “If your check engine light came on in the last six to seven days, it’s one thing wrong with the car. Two, three, or five things didn’t break on the car at once.”

But Dave was quick to say if you’re the type of person that waits six months after the check engine light comes on to go to the shop, all bets are off!

“Hopefully if the shops do make a mistake in diagnosing, they just eat it, and gain the trust of the customer. Oh well, they ate that part, but they’re not charging you for it!”

Check out his advice for yourself!

@royaltyautoservice

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♬ Storytelling – Adriel

TikTok rushed to the comments for more advice about their check engine lights.

But the comments quickly devolved into an argument over what truly was the biggest scam in the auto industry.

Which this user argued was the cabin filter, which was free to remove, but 50 to replace!

Finally this user said the biggest scam didn’t occur in the shop, but in the dealership!

Honestly, if my check engine light goes on, I think I’m just gonna pray for the best.

If you liked that story, check out this one about a delivery driver who gave two weeks notice… so his employer disabled his truck when he was 300 miles from home!