BAD SERVICE
Drivers warned over invisible ‘mechanic scam’ that could cost you £100s – it takes just seconds to fix for free
You could save hundreds by doing it yourself
DRIVERS have been warned of an invisible "mechanic scam" which could cost them hundreds - but is actually easy to fix for free
Unscrupulous garages could be tricking your car into thinking there is a severe problem in a bid to slap you with a hefty bill.
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Expert mechanic Scotty Kilmer, who has been in the motor trade for over half a century, explained the sneaky trick on his YouTube channel.
He alerted motorists that a whole range of symptoms could be cause by manipulating a little-known component in the engine bay.
Peeking under the hood of his own car, Scotty showed a selection of rubber hoses leading into the main engine block.
And he revealed how a little bit of fiddling with those could cause a superficial issue.
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Scotty explained: "See all these rubber hoses?
"They're vacuum lines, they take intake vacuum pressure from the engine.
"It's a sealed system with vacuum pressure that sucks in.
"So if a mechanic takes out one of the little hoses, it will suck in air and run poorly."
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Simply disconnecting one of these hoses can cause your engine warning light to come on, reduce acceleration and make the car idle poorly.
The idea is that this will force you to take the car back into the garage, where they can then charge you hundreds for engine repairs that were never needed.
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Thankfully this is not a widespread practice at established garages, but customers still need to watch out at less well-known outlets.
The kicker is that you could be stung for hundreds when the problem can be fixed for free in seconds.
All you have to do is plug the end of the hose back into place and the car should run like new again.
So if your check engine light comes on after a recent trip to the garage, make sure to check the vacuum hoses before taking it back in.
It comes after it was revealed that drivers are ripped off to the tune of £1.6 billion a year as fuel retailers bump their margins.
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