“Was I scammed?” – M’sian Visits Car Workshop to Fix Punctured Tyre, Ends Up Paying Over RM4.4k for Repairs

A Malaysian man is sharing his disbelief at how he went from sending his car to a workshop to fix his tyre to paying over RM4,000 on all kinds of upgrades to his vehicle.

Netizen, 搬砖筑梦难啊, took to his XiaoHongShu account to share how he felt tricked into agreeing to upgrades and repairs to his vehicle when he went to a workshop merely to get 1 tyre fixed.

This image is for illustration purposes only.

He wrote, “The story begins like this. A nail had pierced one of the rear tyres of my car. So, I drove to a nearby workshop to repair the tyre. While repairing, the owner of the workshop said that the tread of one of my tyres was deeply worn out and added that he could help me do a check on my car.”

“After checking, he told me that the lower arm was cracked, and the absorber also needed to be replaced because it was cracked too. The whole set of replacements plus 2 tyres cost a total of RM2,150. For safety reasons, the rear absorbers were also replaced. Bringing the total to RM2,500. I wanted to be safe, so I reluctantly agreed.”

But, it didn’t end there

Considering the repairs would take about 3 hours, the workshop owner decided to drive him home. But minutes later, he started receiving phone calls.

“15 minutes after I got home, the boss called and said that I needed to add RM600 because the absorber’s mounting also needed to be replaced. The reason was that it was old and unbearable, and it had to be replaced. I couldn’t do anything, so I had to agree to replace them together,”

“Sure enough, 10 minutes after that, the boss called again and said that the brake pads and brake discs were also thin and old, so they had to be replaced. Otherwise, there would still be problems after replacing so many things. He suggested that these be replaced as well, but it would cost an additional RM960. My car was already (at the workshop), so it was hard to say no,” he explained.

All in all, he was charged a whopping RM4,420, which he described as his whole month’s salary.

Netizens ultimately think that he needs to learn to say no

“You can choose not to agree to the replacements. The owner has also informed you of the prices. Now you’re complaining and feeling like he ripped you off.”

“You could have told him you don’t have money at that time, but that he can give you a quotation first. Then, you can compare prices. If he’s not willing to give you a quotation, then you can just pay for your tyre.”

“The mounting and cover (prices) are a bit exaggerated. Did you take back the old ones? You should learn to say no in the future.”

“Usually, when the workshop owner tells me things like this, I would just go to other workshops to ask.”

What do you think he could have done in that moment? Do feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

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