How To Spot Auto Repair Fraud

Have you ever seen a person get suckered into paying more than they should have for an imaginary auto repair? Well, it happened to me. I won't use the name of the place here. All I'm going to say is that I was taking my vehicle in for a standard oil change and left this particular place about $1,000 later. I had been led to believe that there was more wrong with my car than there really was. Truth be told, my car was brand new and there was nothing wrong with it. Shame on me, I guess- but shame on those people for trying (and successfully) fooling another customer.

It is not unusual for car owners to end up paying a lot of money to have repairs made on their vehicles. Cars require a lot of maintenance and if this maintenance is overlooked the resulting repairs can be an extreme drain on finances. While many expensive car charges are perfectly legitimate and expected there are a few auto mechanics that will attempt to take advantage of the fact that many consumers expect to spend a lot of money on car repairs. Each year car owners are over charged thousands of dollars for vehicle repairs. In order to avoid being taken advantage of there are a few tricks that consumers must be aware of.

Be wary of "specials" on oil changes, tune-ups, and other regular maintenance services. Many unscrupulous auto repair shops will use these advertised prices to attract new customers looking for a deal. Once the customer shows up to the shop the mechanic will try to separate the car owner from their vehicle and then later tell the car owner that there are many things wrong with the vehicle in order to charge more for repairs. Usually, when a scam is under way the auto repair shop will attempt to frighten the car owner into having the repairs done immediately by claiming that they will face dire consequences if they attempt to leave before having the repairs made. Don't fall for this trap, however. If you are inexperienced when it comes to your knowledge of vehicles, don't allow someone else to take advantage. Bring someone with you who knows a thing or two about cars, this way they catch the employee in a lie and/or give you advice. If you can't bring someone, have your phone handy and simply tell the employee that you don't feel comfortable with making a decision until you speak to someone more knowledgeable about car repairs.

Another way to spot repair fraud in the making is auto repair shops being unwilling to put estimates in writing. Most legitimate auto mechanics have no problem with providing written estimates prior to beginning the work. On the other hand, repair shops that are hoping to use fraud to get more money out of customer than necessary will only provide a verbal quote. This will allow the auto mechanic to complete any work they wish (or charge for parts and work not completed) without the customers consent. When this happens most customers have no choice but to pay for the repairs they did not want.

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Top 5 Used Cars For Your College Freshman

If you're looking for reliable, used transportation for your college-bound child, check the following vehicles first - they are probably your best bets. And they're all under $5,000.

Geo Prizm, '95-'97

Chevrolet Prizm, '98

Honda Civic, '94

Ford Taurus, '97-'98

Subaru Legacy, '96

Here are some general tips when considering a used vehicle:

Before you shop

- Get your financing in place before choosing a car. Knowing exactly what you can afford will save you time.

- Be aware of the current "going rate" of vehicles before purchasing by checking automotive guides available online and in most bookstores and libraries.

- Consider all different outlets for used vehicles such as trade-ins at new car dealerships or private sales, not just secondhand car dealers.

General Advice when inspecting vehicles

Never buy a car without test-driving it yourself. First, make sure you are insured to drive it. Then, if possible, take it on a drive that covers a mixture of conditions: fast highway driving, slow urban driving, and twisting roads. Don't forget to check the reverse gear.

Before making an offer

- After the car passes your personal inspection and test-drive, there are a few more things to bear in mind before making an offer

- Ask to see service and repair history as well as repair receipts. Treat a denial that these receipts exist with suspicion.

- Check whether the mileage on the odometer corresponds with service and repair receipts.

- Check to make sure that the car's 17 digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN for short) matches the car's ID number on the registration document.

- Ask if it is permissible to have the car inspected by an independent mechanic. If it is (and you can afford the added expense), ask the mechanic to carry out a cylinder compression test to assess the condition of the engine and to estimate the cost of any repairs that he/she thinks may be warranted. You can then ask for the cost of these repairs to be deducted from the asking price.

- If you have a car to trade in, don't mention it until you have negotiated a discount for the one you want to buy.

Also, when buying a pre-owned vehicle, it may be worth investing in a warranty. Read the warranty small print very carefully, as some warranties exclude more than they cover.

Happy car shopping!

Ed writes for Plugged In Parents.

Please visit his column at http://www.pluggedinparents.com

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Car Ding Repair

A car ding repair is easy to do if you have a good auto ding repair kit. Such repair kits are not so expensive; about $30 and it’s really easy to used. Such automobile ding repair kids can be purchased at most stores selling car parts or car accessories. The task you have to do is to pull or remove glue from the surface on all panels of the vehicle and most of these cheap ding repair items for sale today are really working for this purpose if the dents or dings are not too big. For small and medium dents or dings, ding puller devices provides a simple, cost efficient removal. Fortunately there is no need to access the underside of the panel.

We see a trend today that more and more vehicle manufactures are using light gauge sheet metal in the construction of vehicles. In fact, it is not difficult to dent many new cars by simply leaning against them. The nice things about these dent/ding out, glue puller kits are that they give the do-it-your-selfers and car amateur enthusiasts a professional option to expensive dent removal services.

There are also different kinds of ding or dent repair kit and each of them offers a tool for specific damage. So you must know which repair kit you need for fixing your specific problem. This is no big deal however, because the only thing you have to do is to tell the sales person in the auto part or accessory store what you'll need to do and he or she will find the dent fix kit for your needs. To cover yourself completely, you can buy several of them, thus having a tool for any ding or dent problem your car might incur. If you purchase three different ding or dent fix kits, you'll have what you need for all types of dent repair.

How to use these kits? Here is what you do:

• apply a bead of glue to the pulling nib
• affix the nib to the lowest area of the dent you're going to fix
• the ding repair tool slips over the threaded stud
• a wing nut tool is threaded down pulling the metal up
• as soon as the dent is pulled out, a couple of drops of a release agent that normally is included in the kit is applied to the glue and the pulling nib will come right off.

These dent fix kits are inexpensive and easy to use and they will not damage your factory finish.

Terje Brooks Ellingsen is a writer and internet publisher. He runs the website cheap-used-cars.w-eland.com. Terje gives advice and helps people with automotive issues like finding cheap car parts online as well as car ding repair and other auto repair issues.

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