Auto repair is pretty good business from different points of view. Some of its profit goes from unaware customers. Example? Imagine this. You don't know squad about cars, let alone repairing them. Something is clicking in your front left wheel when you do a right turn. You go to a repair shop you had found in a PennySaver ad. They tell you with all the confidence and sorrow in their faces that if had had driven your car a couple of miles more it would have been your last ride... and that you need a to change your brakes. You agree and after a while a manager comes out of the office with a sad look. He tells you that rotors are bad and need replacement, that they also made you a favor and checked your fluids for free... Turns out, you need a transmission fluid flush, coolant flush, oil change and fuel system cleanup. Without knowing anything about cars (and thus failing to regular maintain your car until it's broken) you would agree to what they offer. Of course, how can you not trust this caring guy, he virtually saved your life. You end up paying about $1500 total. Example 2? You know something or at least read the users manual (which, btw, has a troubleshooting guide, maintanance schedule, good pieces of advice about using your car, to name a few). You hear same clicking in your left front wheel and look it up. You realize that most likely has something to do with brakes or rotors. You go to a repair shop and ask them to check your brakes (not just "something is wrong with my car"). They check your brakes and it turns out the brake pad is split in two halves. They change your front brake pads, and check rears just in case. In the worst case scenario they'll try to upsell you an oil change or a transmission flush... But you kill them saying, "Oh, I just did one at my dealership a month ago... Should I call them and ask why they did such a bad job for Mr. Smith says it needs to be re-done..." I wonder what would Mr Smith say :) You walk away having paid $50 for front pads change. See the difference? Of course, it's all ideallistic and overdramatic, but...
