Vault: CBS Goes Undercover to Catch Mechanics Overcharging

Summary

The Bert Show – Vault: CBS Goes Undercover to Catch Mechanics Overcharging

Date: May 12, 2026
Main Guests: Wendy Saltzman (Investigative Reporter, CBS Atlanta)
Episode Theme: Investigating fraudulent car repairs and overcharging schemes at auto repair shops through undercover reporting.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, The Bert Show hosts Wendy Saltzman from CBS Atlanta, who shares insights from an undercover investigation into mechanic shops accused of overcharging and unnecessary upselling. Saltzman and her team used hidden cameras and a car with no issues to test ten Metro Atlanta repair shops, revealing widespread overcharging and fear tactics. The discussion delves into consumer vulnerabilities, gender bias, and how both customers and shops respond to potential scams.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting up the Investigation

• Wendy Saltzman introduces the segment: CBS Atlanta conducted an undercover operation by rigging a perfectly functional car with hidden cameras and visiting ten different repair shops.
• Purpose: To uncover how often shops upsell, overcharge, or bill for work never performed.
• Shops Visited: Included chains like Jiffy Lube, Express Lube, Goodyear, and various mom-and-pop shops.
  (01:49–02:24)

“We rigged a car up that was perfectly fine with hidden cameras. ...and took it in to see what kind of repairs they would suggest, what kind of work they would do and what kind of work they didn't do that they charged us for.”
— Wendy Saltzman (01:49)

2. Startling Results: Rampant Overcharging

• 5 out of 10 shops charged for unnecessary or non-performed work; upsell rate was 50%.
  (02:24–02:43)
• Customers face a “coin flip” when bringing their car in—there’s a 50% chance of being overcharged.

“Five of them overcharged us 50%.”
— Wendy Saltzman (02:24)

3. Fear Tactics & Aggressive Upselling

• Many shops used scare tactics implying the vehicle could break down or become unsafe if the recommended (unnecessary) work wasn’t performed.
• Example: One shop recommended $1,100 in unnecessary repairs.
• Hidden cameras caught mechanics billing for services never performed. (04:13–04:51)

“People who said, your transmission's gonna conk if you don't get this done. I mean, just, you know, basically leaving us to believe that we'd be stranded on the side of the road…”
— Wendy Saltzman (04:13)

4. Trust & Consumer Responsibility

• The hosts debate whether customers (especially those with little automotive knowledge) have a responsibility to educate themselves.
• Noted that both women and men can be equally vulnerable to mechanic scams; the stereotype that women are more frequently targeted is questioned. (05:10–05:29)

"I do think that's a misconception. I do think a lot of guys nowadays have no clue about cars either."
— Co-host/Panelist (05:24)

5. What Drives Mechanic Behavior?

• Inquiry into whether upselling is driven more by owners or employees; the financial incentive (bonuses for employees who successfully upsell) is suspected.
• Even companies with signed policies against upselling were caught breaking their own rules; those employees were later suspended as a result of the investigation. (06:17–07:13)

“The impression that we got was that these guys somehow do get some sort of bonus off of selling you more things…”
— Wendy Saltzman (06:37)

6. Advice to Consumers

• The best protection: Find a trustworthy mechanic and frequent the same shop.
• Acknowledgement that most modern cars are too complex for average consumers to assess themselves. (05:51–06:17)

"The number one thing they say is find a mechanic you trust and keep going back to that mechanic."
— Wendy Saltzman (05:51)

7. Confronting the Offenders On Camera

• CBS Atlanta plans to name the businesses that failed and those that were honest, filming confrontations with the shops and capturing their responses.
• Some employees reacted with denial, arrogance, or attempted to avoid the camera, but the investigation had conclusive footage. (07:41–08:08)

“Oh, I go knocking on their door with a camera. I mean, they know what's going on. ...we've got the hidden camera footage to show they didn't [do the work].”
— Wendy Saltzman (07:47)

8. Wider Implications: Other Service Industries

• The hosts suggest this type of undercover segment could expose similar issues in other industries (e.g., roofers, computer repair). (08:08–08:20)

9. Listener Call-Ins: Stories & Mechanic Side

• Listener #1 (Jeff): Shares a personal test—got brakes replaced at one shop, then another shop said they needed replacing again soon after, clearly a scam. Both men and women are targets.
  (08:28–08:57)
• Listener #2 (Anonymous Mechanic): Confirms some mechanics use cheaper parts or pocket high-end chemicals meant for customer cars, paralleling “well vodka” scams in bars.
  (10:01–10:59)

“A lot of the time, all the really high priced chemicals that you're paying for, they don't even use. …They just use cheaper stuff. …It's just, I mean, yes, it's pretty messed up.”
— Anonymous Mechanic/Caller (10:03)

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On the prevalence of overcharging:
  “Five of them overcharged us 50%.”
  — Wendy Saltzman (02:24)

• On fear tactics:
  "Your transmission's gonna conk if you don't get this done."
  — Wendy Saltzman (04:13)

• Advice to listeners:
  “The number one thing they say is find a mechanic you trust and keep going back to that mechanic.”
  — Wendy Saltzman (05:51)

• Employee incentives:
  “The impression that we got was that these guys somehow do get some sort of bonus off of selling you more things.”
  — Wendy Saltzman (06:37)

• Mechanic’s confession:
  “A lot of the time, all the really high priced chemicals that you're paying for, they don't even use.”
  — Mechanic/Caller (10:03)

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Segment Timestamps

• 01:30–02:43: Introduction to undercover investigation and methodology
• 02:43–04:51: Discussion of findings, scare tactics, and overcharging
• 05:10–06:17: Customer responsibility and trustworthiness of mechanics
• 06:17–07:13: Employee incentives and ethical violations
• 07:17–07:47: Naming names and on-camera confrontations
• 08:28–08:57: Listener stories confirming investigation findings
• 10:01–10:59: Mechanic caller discloses industry practices

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Final Takeaways

• Overcharging and upselling for unnecessary repairs is widespread (50% of tested shops).
• Both men and women are vulnerable if they lack technical knowledge.
• Upselling is often incentivized internally, despite company policies.
• Consumer protection: Find and stick with a trustworthy mechanic.
• Exposing unethical practices on camera leads to accountability (suspensions, name-and-shame).
• Similar scams likely exist in other service industries—listeners and hosts see opportunity for broader consumer advocacy.

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For more: Catch the full hidden camera investigation and confrontations tonight at 11 on CBS Atlanta (as per Wendy Saltzman).

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Transcript

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[Wendy Saltzman]

Mom, can you tell me a story? Sure. Once upon a time, a mom needed a new car. Was she brave? She was tired mostly. But she went to Carvana.com and found a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required.

[Carvana Narrator]

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[Wendy Saltzman]

Nope. She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually. Was it scary? Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be. Did the car have a sunroof? It did, actually. Okay, good story. Car buying. You'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

The Burch show.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

So CBS 46 here. I mean, they are pretty much gonna confirm what I think everybody is a little bit insecure about.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Yes.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

When you go to get your car fixed. Right. How are you, Wendy?

[Wendy Saltzman]

I'm doing good. How are you guys doing?

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Good. Thanks for coming in.

[Co-host/Panelist]

I am curious, too, about this report on if there's gender bias or if this applies to everybody.

[Wendy Saltzman]

You know, that's such a good question. We were kind of wondering what happens. Everybody wonders. You take your car in and it's, you know, they take it back to the back of the shop and you wonder what the mechanic is doing under the hood, especially some of us women. I mean, I know I'm that way. I have no idea. My car goes kaput. I don't know what's wrong with it. So we rigged a car up that was perfectly fine with hidden cameras. Three different hidden cameras on the hood underneath and took it in to see what kind of repairs they would suggest, what kind of work they would do and what kind of work they didn't do that they charged us for.

[Co-host/Panelist]

So nothing wrong with the car? It's like a perfectly running normal car. Nothing. No oil change, nothing.

[Wendy Saltzman]

We go in saying we'd like an oil change and then see what they upsold us to. And we went into 10 metro Atlanta repair shops, and five of them. Five of them overcharged us 50%.

[Caller]

Wow.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

50% of the places you're gonna go to are gonna upcharge you when you go to get your car fixed.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Knew it.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

We knew it was scary.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Really frightening. And are they all the same company? Are they all different companies?

[Wendy Saltzman]

No. We went to Jiffy Lubes. We went to Express Lubes. We went to some mom and pop stores, a Goodyear store. I mean, we kind of went across the say what's happening here? And to me, I was pretty shocked. The governor's office of consumer affairs says car repairs are the number one complaint that they get. People saying that things were done wrong or weren't done. And, I mean, we've just confirmed why that happened. It was just absolutely amazing to have the cameras to show what these people were saying they were doing and just watching them not do the work and charge us for it.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

They're so convincing in some cases, not the ones that don't do the work. But, um, I'll specifically call myself out at Jiffy Lube. I'd just go in there for just, you know, one thing, and they would end up bringing out, like, the air filters and showing me this. That was corroded, and that's corroded.

[Carvana Narrator]

Isn't it always the air filter?

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Very few times do that.

[Co-host/Panelist]

And we don't know cars well enough to know, well, maybe my air filter needs change. You know, every time they. Yeah. They tell me, something's like, oh, well, maybe. Yeah, no, I haven't done that. And however many years they tell me, I haven't done it. So maybe, you know, and I'm trusting them.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

It's the same thing, too, with, like, big appliances at your house, like your air conditioner, your furnace or something like that. They're like, yeah, I think the problem's with your compressor. I'm like, I know. That's what I was thinking.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Yeah. Because they know that you have no clue on how to. How it's put together. You know, I was gonna get the

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

duct tape and fix it, but I figured, I'll let you do it.

[Wendy Saltzman]

Well, One of the other things that we're gonna show you guys tonight at 11 on CBS Atlanta news is some of the fear tactics that these people used. I mean, people who said, your transmission's gonna conk if you don't get this done. I mean, just, you know, basically leaving us to believe that we'd be stranded on the side of the road if we didn get these things done. One of the places actually tried to charge us over $1,100 for repairs that they said that we needed that we absolutely did not need. I mean, it's just amazing. The kind of stuff that we watched happen, we caught on hidden camera. And then we go back tomorrow night at 11 and confront these guys about what's happening with the overcharges.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Oh, that's good stuff.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

Don't get him.

[Wendy Saltzman]

Don't get him. We love that stuff.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Well, so, I mean, at the end of the day, though, I mean, you really have to take some responsibility on for yourself. Like, if you don't know what you're doing, and I'm guilty as anybody, if you don't know, then you are opening yourselves up to getting taken advantage of.

[Wendy Saltzman]

But let's. I mean, let's talk to the women in here. I have no idea. I literally just took my car into one repair shop and they were fixing some air thing, and it turns out it was the transmission.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

It's totally cool to talk to the guys about that, too, in here.

[Co-host/Panelist]

I do think that's a misconception. I do think a lot of guys nowadays have no clue about cars either.

[Wendy Saltzman]

You know, I think so, too.

[Co-host/Panelist]

And I think that it just also shows on the other end. I agree with Bert that it is our responsibility to know what product we have. And the number one thing we use every day is our cars. Some of us not a cast. But I think that it also shows mechanics. Look, if you were a trustworthy mechanic, think about the loyal following you would have by people, because that is one of our number one fears.

[Wendy Saltzman]

Well, absolutely. And that's the advice that we got and that we're going to give people. In terms of how to protect yourself, the number one thing they say is find a mechanic you trust and keep going back to that mechanic. And that's really the best way that you can protect yourself. Because, you know, we can't know. Cars are so complicated these days. It is just kind of, you know, I mean, you're looking at it going, I don't know what's wrong with it. On my car, I can't even tell where the oil is or the coolant is. I mean, I'm that clueless.

[Co-host/Panelist]

So did you guys explore the question of is it the owners of the shops or is it the employees of the shops that are the most likely to tell to overcharge you or tell you you need something you don't? Because I'm always curious if it's the employer maybe giving a kickback to the employee who upsells the customers that they don't need.

[Wendy Saltzman]

Absolutely. The impression that we got was that these guys somehow do get some sort of bonus off of selling you more things. I mean, we watch people saying, you know, hey, you got that? You know, boss, when they were selling us different things and we, one of the places we went to, they actually make their employees sign something that says that they won't do those upsells. But we still caught them doing the upsells and now those employees are suspended after doing that. But the bottom line is the economy is bad. A lot of us are not going in. We're taking our cars in to get repaired. As much as we may have in the past, we're cutting corners and so are they when it comes to your car. And we catch them cutting those corners.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

And this is, this is happening on CBS Atlanta tonight. 11 o'. Clock.

[Wendy Saltzman]

That's right.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

And do you specifically call out which places passed and which ones did not?

[Wendy Saltzman]

Oh, absolutely. I mean, we're going to let you know which ones. There were certain places, all they did was the oil change. And then there were the other places that tried to give us, you know, a couple hundred dollars or one thousand dollars or more in repair work. And we're going to list who did the work, who didn't do the work. I mean, and the worst case where they said they were doing stuff and they just didn't do the work at all and they charged us anyway.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Do you give these places that aren't gonna pass tonight, do you give them a heads up or will they find out tonight?

[Wendy Saltzman]

Oh, I go knocking on their door with a camera. I mean, they know what's going on. They're sticking hands in the camera. Oh, don't put me on camera. So we've got them on camera responding to these allegations, and we've got some people who responded being kind of arrogant, saying we did the work and we've got the hidden camera footage to show they didn't.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

That's awesome.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

This could be an entire series. Seriously. Roofers, air conditioner, air conditioning.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

Computer repairman.

[Wendy Saltzman]

Computer repairman.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

You put that geek squad kid through College.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

I think they're putting viruses on my

[Wendy Saltzman]

computer when they get there.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

That guy's like, oh, Burke called again. Give me something I can hide at his computer.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Hey, Jeff. Good Morning. You're on Q100. Hi.

[Caller]

Hey, you guys. How you doing?

[Host (The Burch Show)]

All right. How are you?

[Caller]

Pretty good. I actually tested this same theory, you know, what y' all are doing right there. And I went to a just brakes and got an oil change and also got my brakes done, and I sat there and watched him do it. So, you know, everything was cool about that. And then later on, I went to a Tires plus and they said I needed brakes.

[Co-host/Panelist]

You just had them done?

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

Wow, that's funny.

[Caller]

Yeah.

[Co-host/Panelist]

And did it to guys.

[Caller]

There is scam artists out there.

[Co-host/Panelist]

And did it to a guy. So it's not just a male, female. I do also want to ask, included in the study were dealers, you know, because I think a lot of people who own a certain brand of car will take that brand into their dealerships. Were they a part of this testing?

[Wendy Saltzman]

You know, we didn't. We took it into quick lube type places. You know, just the quick in and out oil change places. But when we talk to the guy at the Governor's Office of Consumer affairs, he says he thinks that they're doing it at dealers too, these days.

[Co-host/Panelist]

So.

[Wendy Saltzman]

And, you know, one of the things that we're going to do, this guy had a really interesting point, was we would get one thing done at one place and we'd go back to the next place and they'd do the same thing, and we'd go back to the next place and they do the same thing. So we're gonna identify what the most common upsells were that were given to us as well. So people can kind of keep an eye out for, you know, what kind of things they might be getting up sold.

[Co-host (The Burch Show)]

You should also market little cameras to put in the hood. They don't have to legitimately work there.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Little manicams, little hood cams.

[Wendy Saltzman]

They can just carry me in their pocket when they go in.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

It's CVS atlant tonight at 11 o'. Clock. Hey, Mike, you're on the voice disguiser.

[Mechanic/Caller]

Hey, how are y'? All?

[Co-host/Panelist]

Good, thank you.

[Mechanic/Caller]

Okay. Like she said, like, you know, because I work at a dealership, and some people there are good people, and, like, if you find someone that works on your car. Good, then you want to keep them. But I mean, like, some of the other people that I work with, like, say you do some of the flushes or the transmission and stuff. A lot of the time, all the really high priced chemicals that you're paying for, they don't even use. They just use cheaper stuff. It's just, I mean, yes, it's pretty messed up.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

What is the benefit for the mechanics that work at the dealership to do that?

[Mechanic/Caller]

Well, I mean, I honestly, I don't really know. Like, I mean, sometimes they just keep the chemicals and put them in their personal car or I mean, they just do different things. I mean, or half the time they just don't even do nothing with them. They just let them sit there.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Okay, this makes sense to me. This is a little bit like the same question we asked of the bartenders a couple of months ago. What's the benefit of the bartender for putting the well vodka in your drink instead of the Grey Goose or the kettle one? And the answer there was they take the kettle one bottle home with them. And it's the same here with the mechanic is what he's saying is that they say they're putting the high quality chemicals in your car, but they're not. And they're taking those and they're using them for their own personal vehicles. So that makes a lot of sense.

[Co-host/Panelist]

Right.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Well, this is going to be good TV tonight.

[Wendy Saltzman]

Oh, yes. And stay tuned tomorrow night at 11 when we go do those confrontations with these stores. I mean, it's just always fun to see the way that these people react. If nothing else, we're calling them out on the spot and we are getting things changed. We got some employees suspended who were trying to rip you off. And you know, we're out there trying to protect you, help save you money. So, you know, are they like the

[Co-host/Panelist]

Chinese restaurants that Adam Murphy goes after who just all of a sudden don't speak English?

[Wendy Saltzman]

No, unfortunately they couldn't use that excuse.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

It's Wendy Saltzman from CBS Atlanta. And thanks a lot. Appreciate you coming on in and thanks

[Co-host/Panelist]

for doing the study.

[Host (The Burch Show)]

Yeah, and we'll probably end up running the audio from TV last night. Tomorrow morning also the Birch Show.

[Caller/Carvana User]

Hey, sweetie. Your mother showed me this Carvana thing for selling the car. I'm going to give it a try. Wish me luck. Me again. I put in the license plate. It gave me an offer. Unbelievable. Okay, I accepted the offer. They're picking it up Tuesday from the driveway. I haven't even left my chair. It's done. The car is gone. I'm holding a check anyway. Carvana, give it a whirl. Love ya.

[Wendy Saltzman]

So good you'll want to leave a voicemail. About it. Sell your car today on Carvana pick up fees may apply.