6 Ways To Avoid Being Ripped Off By Nigerian Mechanics

It is paramount to ensure your car is at its optimal operating condition at all times. Even though this regular maintenance will cost you some money, it will make your car not to suffer a catastrophic failure that can milk your pockets dry.

It is a very easy task for dubious mechanics to extort a car owner who does not have a very good knowledge or experiences about cars. Some of these mechanics are not after the well-being of your car, they have an agenda to make money through you. That’s why some of them will make you come back every now and then.

We at Autojosh came up with some simple tips that will enable you get all the right services you are paying for.

Follow these few steps to be on safe hands.

1. Get the basic knowledge about cars:

If you’re among those that can tell apart a radiator and an air-conditioner condenser, this is for you. You need to have the basic knowledge of most of the parts in your car, so the mechanics don’t end up telling you they need to service the wiper blade in the alternator.

In order to protect your wallet, start learning from today. There are a lot of things you can read here on Autojosh. Go through our blog and thank us later.

2. Use a diagnostic tool:

Scanning a car in Nigeria is not all that cheap. Some workshops will charge as much as N5000 or even N10,000 to scan your car. Scanning your car will give you an edge of knowing the actual problem with your car. It will save you a lot of grammar and explanations from the mechanic.

Getting an OBD scanner of your own isn’t a bad idea if you have the money. You will enjoy it on the long run.

3. Identify the reason why you want to take your car to the mechanic:

When you don’t have a diagnostic tool, this is something you should find out. With your knowledge and the signs the fault put out, you should be able to point out what the problem could be.

Is the car misfiring? It could be plug related. Is the coolant in the radiator mixed with oil? It indicates your top/head gasket has been compromised.

When the reason why you want to take your car to the mechanic is very clear to you, you’re on the right track.

• You may also like: Detailed Explanation On All You Should Know About Blown Head Gasket

4. Ask questions and rely on referrals:

There is this saying that the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know. Ask your friends, co-workers, neighbors about a very good mechanic they know. These groups of persons are in a good position to share their experiences with mechanics with you. If they felt any of the mechanics cheated them, they will tell you, so you know how to deal with them.

Referrals from friends, family, or colleagues could be the best way to find a good mechanic.

5. Check the prices of the car parts you’re likely to buy:

A bad mechanic won’t leave out any chance to milk you dry. Buying of spare parts is one of the ways they can do you strong thing. When you know that the price of an air filter is N3000, you can’t fall for a dubious mechanic price tag of N5000.

6. Ask mechanics for the old parts:

Some mechanics charge for replacement of parts without changing anything.

Asking for the old parts is one of the ways you can ensure they don’t collect money for new parts and not fix it up in your car. This works well when you are present where they are fixing your car.

Tell them before hand you need those old parts.

When you stick to these tips, the chances of a mechanic ripping you off are minimal. Even though they can still play smart, but it would be milder.

Kindly let us know other things one can do to avoid being ripped off by mechanics.

We hope this helps.

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