A mechanic has admitted to overcharging his customers by up to 50 percent if he thought they knew little about cars.
Nathan made the shocking admission while speaking on condition of anonymity on 101.9 The Fox Melbourne radio show on Wednesday.
Hosts Fifi, Fev and Nick asked mechanics to call and discuss the issue after seeing a TikTok video of a young woman crying because she had been overcharged.
Alice Bleathman said she visited two mechanics to fix her van and was left in tears, claiming she was overcharged and provided shoddy service.
“Sometimes I hate being a girl,” Bleathman said with tears streaming down her face.
I know a lot of other women struggle with this, but it’s like you’re being made fun of for being a woman.
Nathan revealed that he inflates his bills all the time and tried to justify making extra money from unsuspecting customers.
“This has been happening to me since I was an apprentice,” he said.
Influencer Alice Bleathman (pictured) posted a video on TikTok saying she felt like mechanics were taking advantage of her by doing shoddy work and charging her more.
‘I didn’t agree with that when I was a trainee, but now I have my own business and the cost of living, the cost of rent, the cost of factories, you have to do it.
“Otherwise you won’t be able to survive.”
When Fifi pressed the 10-year-old mechanic to reveal exactly how he cheats customers out of their money, Nathan revealed who the best “money makers” are.
“The biggest money-makers are the sales reps who don’t pay for their repairs and pass it on to the company,” he said.
“That never happens; they just pay cash, get reimbursed, and I add 20-30 percent more to the cost.”
Fev then asked if it was true that mechanics overcharged customers.
The candid mechanic said he is careful around women because they might have a man in their life who knows everything about their vehicle.
“That said, there are often some women who come and may be charged a 10 to 15 percent surcharge on top of their pay,” she said.
“I tell you one thing: the ones who make money are the businessmen who know nothing about their high-powered cars. So they can add 40 or 50 percent more to that.”
The revelation left the trio in shock.
“So you don’t actually feel guilty about scamming people?” Fifi asked.
“No, not really. It’s something that affects the entire industry. It’s part of it, unfortunately,” Nathan replied.
‘I have friends who have their own shop and do the same thing.’
The mechanic insisted that he had done a good job, but simply added “an extra 10-15 percent to the costs” (file photo of a mechanic inspecting a car)
Fev asked him if he ever made up “stuff” and was surprised by Nathan’s answer.
“I would first talk to you to find out your knowledge about cars,” he said.
Fev replied: “Ah, so you’re trying to play me? See what I know about cars?”
Nathan replied, “Exactly. Because if I did something and you could go home and check it out for yourself, you might think, ‘Well, what’s going on here…'”
The mechanic also said he wasn’t worried about people coming back with a cheaper quote, because potential customers don’t bother coming back if they find a better deal.
In his 10 years in the industry, Nathan said he has had one woman come back to her husband.
“But if you say ‘look here, look here’, in the end it’s all smoke and shadows,” he said.
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