Mechanic admits to grubby act when it comes time for customers to pay the bill
A mechanic has confessed to overcharging customers by up to 50 percent if he thinks they know little about cars.
Nathan made the shocking confession on Wednesday in an anonymous radio show on radio station 101.9 The Fox Melbourne.
Presenters Fifi, Fev and Nick asked mechanics to call in and discuss the topic after seeing a TikTok video about a young woman crying after being overcharged.
Alice Bleathman said she had visited two mechanics to have her van repaired and was in tears, claiming they had charged her extra for poor service.
“Sometimes I hate being a girl,” Mrs. Bleathman said as tears rolled down her face.
“I know so many other women struggle with this. But it’s like they’re making fun of you because you’re a woman.”
Nathan admitted that he constantly inflates his bills – trying to justify making extra money from unsuspecting customers.
“This has been going on since I was a student,” he said.
Influencer Alice Bleathman (pictured) posted a video on TikTok in which she said she felt exploited by mechanics who did a poor job and charged her more money
‘When I was an apprentice I didn’t agree with it, but now I have my own business and the cost of living, rent and factories, you have to do it.
‘Otherwise you won’t make it.’
When Fifi pressed the mechanic with 10 years of experience to reveal exactly how he scams customers, Nathan revealed who the best ‘money makers’ are.
“The ones who make the most money are the reps who don’t pay for the repair and pass it on to the company,” he said.
‘Nothing is ever done with that. They just pay, get their money back and I add another 20-30 percent to the costs.’
Fev then asked if it was true that mechanics overcharged female customers.
The candid mechanic said he is careful when dealing with women because they like to have a man in their life who knows everything about their vehicle.
“Sometimes women come by and you sometimes add 10-15 percent to their rate,” he said.
“I’ll tell you what, the ones making the money are the corporate men who don’t know anything about their high-performance cars. So you can put another 40-50 percent on that.”
The revelation shocked the trio.
“So you don’t actually feel guilty when you scam people?” Fifi asked.
“No, not really. It’s an industry-wide issue. It’s part of the industry, unfortunately,” Nathan replied.
‘I have friends who have their own shop and do the same thing.’
The mechanic insisted he had done a good job but charged “another 10-15 percent on top of the cost” (photo of a stock photo of a mechanic inspecting a car)
Fev asked him if he ever ‘made things up’ and was shocked by Nathan’s answer.
“I would talk to you first and ask your insight into cars,” he said.
Fev replied, “Oh, so you’re trying to play me? Look what I know about cars?”
Nathan replied, “Exactly. Because if I do something and you can go home and check it out for yourself, you might think, well, what’s going on here…”
The technician also said he wasn’t worried about people coming back with a cheaper quote, because potential customers won’t come back if they find a better deal anyway.
Nathan says that in the 10 years he has been in the industry, one woman has returned with her husband.
“But you say, ‘Look here, look here.’ At the end of the day, it’s just smoke and shadows,” he said.