Why are mechanics dishonest with women?

Flash news! They do it to everyone... men and women... It is only those who know a little bit about their car and about mechanic... who don't get rip off. As soon as the mechanic realise that you know what you are talking about... he start being honest. I don't know why it is that every car dealer and every mechanic seem to believe that they have a licence to rip off people. It seem to be part of the trade. If you don't have a conscience... become a mechanic.

That really is a shame. I honestly do not get why these place feel the need to scam women. These are guys...guys who must realize that all of us have boyfriends, husbands, friends, brothers, fathers, or etc. So why do they have to go and make up a bunch of phoney problems to try to get money. Most of us may go to the mechanic alone but run it by a man in our life. It's hard to find an honest mechanic when you're a female. Shortly after we moved, so probably 3 weeks ago, the check engine light came on in my Wrangler. So I went to AutoZone for the free diagnostic test. It read "small/large leak". I figured it was just a poor seal on the gas cap (happened many times before). The guy there said, well I smell gas so maybe you should take it to your mechanic. I explained that I was new and he referred me to a garage a few blocks away. He said they were really nice and reasonable and most of all honest. So I go there. Guy takes a quick look underneath, says he doesn't see anything but say he can make me an appointment for a few days later. Tells me the vehicle was safe in his opinion to make the weekened trip I had planned. He was very nice and not pushy. So I thought, okay...I'll make the appointment. There was no leak found in the gas line...so they said most likely the gas cap was the culprit. I had also mentioned to them when making the appointment that I thought the shocks might be going. So they looked into. When they called to tell me about not finding a leak, they mention that the sway bar links were broke and should get replaced. So I gave them the okay. And here's comes the wonderful part. They told me the shocks were old and could use replacing but that if I did not want to spend the money to do it right now that there was no issues waiting it out a while longer. I was amazed! They will now be my garage/mechanic of choice. They didn't attempt to scam me. They only looked at the areas that I wanted them to look at. they didn't come up with a mile-long list of false repairs that needed immediate attention. And this response is entirely much longer than I had ever intended it to be! But all in all, I guess I just wanted to say that there are still a *few* honest mechanics out there. I hope you are able to find one who is up front with you and not trying to take advantage of the fact you are a woman.

What you are saying amounts to this; your husband is better at negotiating with people. all the best urban

I hope you reported this crook to the proper authorities. I once called a mechanic on some inferior work and was abrupt with him when he gave me attitude. Result: a problem with my car that is unfixable without going to a lot of trouble and expense. It's a very old car which ran well in spite of all the things that I was told needed doing to it. I have another car now which belonged to my dad. He won't have it that there's anything wrong with it but there are a few things...I'm out of pocket by several hundred dollars so far. But there's nothing wrong with it. Go figure.

becaue most of them are men and men are as* wholes that is all i have to say about that one lol

I think you need to be more firm. I always ask for a run down of everything and does it really need to be fixed. If I still it has to be, I call my hubby in. I have only had one problem over the years. A guy at Advanced Auto Parts tried to tell me that my chevy nova 350 V8 wasn't what I said. He tried to sell me a part that wouldn't even fit on it. I laughed and hubby came over. In seconds the correct part was in my hand. They thing is this "men" think we are stupid. Just smile and let them think it. So what was wrong with it? Was it the alternater or some other very expensive part?

They do that because most women don't know anything about mechanics. They feel that we will pay whatever they tell us and that we don't know any difference. Then we tell our husbands and they all of a sudden can fix it cheaper and not as much was wrong with it. But some women don't talk to their husbands before they tell the mechanic to do the work and some women don't have husbands to help them out. These are the women that unfortunately get taken advanage of. It's sad that we have to go through that, but it's just the way some men are.

I guess they figure that we don't know much about cars so they can pretty much tell us anything. They are pretty confident we wouldn't look under the hood and point out their error. I know I always let my husband look after the car because he knew what to ask and sometimes knew how to fix it himself. But I think this has been a well known fact for a long long time.

I go with my mom to the mechanic sometimes. Doesn't seem like they rip her off.

Thanks for sharing that experience. Car dealers and other repair garages assume that women know nothing about a vehicle. It isn't right that they should cheat you like this. Perhaps you could go to your state and make a complaint against the dealership. You are totally correct when you say you deserve respect and consideration. I would take your list($5,000 of repairs) to the dealer and talk directly to the manager and let them know how you feel. And I would not let them fix my vehicle...period, not after that kind of treatment. Any dealer who treats anybody that way does not deserve to be in business.

hmmmmmmm yeah they always sqeeze between your legs first if you have that then its like ok I better be honest now I think many places try to judge how much money you have and what you know about the car. The fictitious problems are probably the profitable ones, fewer parts and less wrench time. Most mechanics are dishonest.

That is a good question! I think some men think that women don't know enough to ask questions to find out if they are telling the truth or to get a second opinion. I understand how you feel and how aggravating this is. When my husband and I lived in North Carolina he was in the Marine Corp and had to be gone for two weeks to Norway. While he was gone I saw that I was having to push harder on the break pedal of my car. A neighbor of ours, who was supposed to be a friend, told me of a gas station close to where we lived that would check it for me and help me out. When I took my car he looked at it and told me my breaks were cutting into the rims and would cost over $200 to fix. I didn't have the money of course. They knew my husband was gone and in the military and they felt they could take advantage of the situation. Thankfully my husband called that night. He said for me to just take my time driving anywhere and give plenty of time for stopping. When he got home and checked my brakes all they needed was new break shoes!! He fixed them for about $10. That neighbor who told me about the gas station left his wife shortly after that!!! That wasn't the only time this happened to me either.

i think that they are dishonest to women because the mechanics think that women dont know about cars and car parts. certainly, cars are more of a male hobby but maybe some females enjoy it too. if you show the mechanic that you know about cars a lot, maybe the mechanic will not lie to you

That's funny. these kind of guys just want to take the advantage of women 'cuz they figure women are unprofessional in some fields(such as car stuff),so guess women need to sharp their weapon somehow,that is to be more professional in some field,and give no chance to those who want to do some trick~ there's quite an example for this to explain,say shopping,women always do much bargain and they're quite familiar with the market,but guys are not that lucky,they feel it wasteful to bargain for a long time,so they just pay for the price the sellor asked for and never feel cheated... Guess the two is alike somehow... if u don't want to be cheated,just polish ourselves in the fields others we're not good at,right?

SOME mechanics are dishonest with women because SOME women allow them to be. If you learn a little of the technical jargon etc you can soon cut through their spiel. This web site tells you the checks to make to ensure you vehicle runs more smoothly for longer: www.momslife.com/zine/cartips.shtml Just knowing a few facts like these can throw a mechanic into "hmm, she knows about cars" mode. www.troubleshooters.com/tautomot.htm gives a lot of information too. Treat a mechanic in the same way as you would any other professional, and evaluate what they say in the same way. If all else fails take another person who does know about cars with you. I am lucky in that I am lifelong friends with someone who IS a mechanic, but he does despair of some people in his trade.

This is yet another example of the fact that despite all the advances and acknowledgements women have fought to get through history, we are still living in a "man's world." I guess we are just supposed to forget that we females are responsible for bringing babies into the world, maintaining the household, working to provide a paycheck without which many families could not survive, and on top of that be good wives, mothers, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, and friends. Let's just play dumb, bow down, and kiss the feet of the magestic and superior male because they know more and do more than we do. GIVE ME A BREAK!.....sorry, needed to get that outta my system lol.

I agree females are taken advantage of by mechanics,and talked to like we're idiots.Fortunately I don't have to deal with mechanics or car repairs,my husband is fantastic when it comes to knowing about cars.But if I went in to a mechanic by myself this would happen to me...and probably because I know nothing about them and truthfully could care less about learning about repairing them...I wouldn't have the patience to do it.I'm glad your husband took care of this problem, and this dealership repair shop should be shamed for treating you that way...it is a form of prejudice to treat women differently than men.(Have you ever seen the movie "My Cousin Vinny"...if not you should watch it...it might make you smile!(Glad your truck is running again for you) :)

So in this day of women's lib and gender equality there are still those stupid, chauvinistic men who take advantage of others just because they're women? This is pretty annoying. Do they think women are stupid? Fortunately for me, I haven't encountered these kind of problems yet but if I did I'd be mighty pi**ed off too. I'll give that mechanic a piece of my mind just to let him know I do have a mind. LOL!

WOW that is so typical. Most mechanics think women have no clue when it comes to cars so they tell us things hoping to get money from us. It's happened to me before and I fell for it only to realize later the guy scammed me because my car didn't need all that work. You were smart to get a list and take it your husband.

its wise to always look into the things that are supposedly wrong with your car.