An Atlanta mechanic was trying to be helpful when he recommended a customer sell their 2018 Hyundai Sonata. Now he’s wondering if he overshared.
TikTok creator Cars2Work Auto Repair (@cars2workautorepair) posted a video with the industry lesson on March 4. “It’s taken me a while to get to the realization that you shouldn’t always share your opinion with every customer,” he says to start the video.
The mechanic reveals that he had a customer come in with a 2018 Hyundai Sonata. The customer paid for a new starter and an oil change.
Why This Mechanic Recommended A Customer Sell Their 2018 Hyundai Sonata
Everything was fine until the mechanic put the Sonata up on the lift and looked underneath. There, he found J-B Weld bonder on the transmission, crimped transmission lines, and silicone caked on one plug.
“I see all this and I get the Shrek eyes,” he says. “That’s not good.”
So after the work was complete, he went to return the customer's keys. “That should’ve been it,” he says. “But what I did was I talked to this person as if they were my friend. I was like, ‘In my honest opinion, based off what we’re seeing, this is really bad.’”
The mechanic told his customer he thinks the weld on the transmission indicates there was a crack in it at some point. Essentially, the mechanic recommends the customer sell the car to someone else before the transmission presents serious problems. Unfortunately, the customer said he couldn’t do that because he still owed money on the car.
What Lesson Did The Mechanic Learn About Customer Interactions?
The interaction left a strong impression on the mechanic. “When I just shared the facts, before I started sharing my opinion, it almost didn’t register,” he recalls. “It wasn’t until after I shared my opinion when I saw the panic in his eyes. But I, more so than anything, scared him, I think.”
He continues, “But honestly looking at it objectively, his car’s running fine. There’s no transmission codes. It has a leak from the J-B Weld, but it’s not pouring.”
That makes the mechanic wonder if he did more harm than good by bringing up the possibility of transmission failure. “Who’s to say this transmission won’t still last the life of the vehicle?” he says. “Granted, we could make an educated guess that because of all these issues it may not last nearly as long as it should, but we really don’t know that.”
The mechanic acknowledges the transmission could potentially outlast other components in the Sonata. “There’s no way of knowing,” he says. “All I did at that point was scare the customer, and that’s not what I’m getting paid to do.”
Viewers React To The Mechanic’s Hyundai Sonata Story
In the comments section of the video, viewers reacted to the story with a lot of respect for how the man behind Cars2Work Auto Repair does business.
“It doesn’t matter,” one person said. “You have the moral obligation to tell him. It’s an important part that might get him hurt. I think you did good.”
“It happens. Customers do not understand that sometimes we advise by experience,” said a second person.
“The customer panic needs to be studied. It’s almost fight or flight,” said a third viewer.
So Is It Better to Fix Or Sell The Sonata At This Point?
The Cars2Work mechanic isn’t wrong that the transmission might not go out tomorrow. However, the owner is definitely taking a risk in keeping the car. That’s because once a transmission does go bad, the resale value on your car is going to tank. Not only that, but rebuilding or replacing a transmission can be prohibitively expensive.
And that’s why a lot of people will make the exact same recommendation. Like this commenter in a thread posted to Reddit’s r/askcarsales three years ago.
“Your choice is to try and sell it now while the buyer can drive it to get a better picture of the problems and possibly get a little more money for a working car,” the commenter wrote. “Or…. you drive that thing until it quits and sell as a non-runner, at which point most people will pay scrap value. Either way you advertise that bad boy as a ‘mechanic’s special.’”
In general, the buyer's specific financial circumstances will decide whether it's a better idea to sell or repair a vehicle. Variables include how much the car is worth, what repairs are needed, and what those repairs will cost. Like the owner in the TikTok, some might find getting into another vehicle isn't possible, and therefore repair is their only option.
Motor1 contacted Cars2Work via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We will update this story if he responds.
@cars2workautorepair In need of an engine or transmission replacement? ☎️770-833-1700 📍450 CIR 85 ST ATLANTA GA 30349 #georgia#atlanta#mechanic#enginereplacement#transmissionreplacement ♬ original sound - Cars2Work Auto Repair
