‘That’ll be $200’: Mechanic slams customer for coming in with this 1 problem
A mechanic poked fun at a car owner who couldn't find the source of a rattling noise inside their car. As it turns out, the problem had a very simple fix.
TikTok user Jake (@fxr_jake) is a Honda auto tech and a Harley Davidson rider who posts about car and motorcycle repairs. He posted the video, which has amassed 601,000 views, on Monday. It shows a stack of CDs stored inside the door panel of a car. The text overlay reads, “Customer states : Car rattles loud going down the road. Please advise …”
In the comments section, viewers cracked jokes at the car owner’s expense.
“Am I the only one who just slaps random parts of the interior to find the rattle?” reads one top comment.
Other users said they’ve had this exact same problem. “I had a pair of sunglasses in the sunglasses compartment on the ceiling of my car...it took me about a year to realize where the rattling was coming from...but I found it!!!” wrote one user. Jake replied, “That’s a common one for sure!”
Another user said their car makes a similar noise, but unfortunately there aren’t any CDs to blame it on. Jake suggested, “Sometimes it’s the retaining clips themselves not holding the panel against the door frame properly.”
A user asked, “curious to know how long that took you to find or is there just a standard checklist of this type thing before you even try?” Jake responded, “No checklist at all. Just test drive, try to isolate the noise to an area, then dig further until the source is shown.”
@fxr_jake #mechaniclife #mechanic #mechanicsoftiktok #cartok #tiktokmechanic #carsoftiktok #customerstates #carlife ♬ original sound - Jake
More than a few users joked about the diagnostic fee the car owner would be paying to learn the cause of the rattling. As one user joked, “that'll be $200.”
Diagnostic fees
Diagnostic fees vary, but they are common in today’s auto repair industry. Five years ago, a car owner on the Car Talk discussion forum asked, “Is it normal to charge diagnostic fees now?” The response was overwhelmingly that it is.
In response, one user wrote, “Diagnostic fees are very common. The mechanic can’t (and shouldn’t) guess at the problem, they have to work through the diagnostic steps to determine the actual cause of the problem. That takes their educated time and it is time worth paying for. No different than your doctor running tests to find the cause of your complaint.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Jake via TikTok direct message for comment.
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