Image Credit: Connor Botts/UnsplashA mechanic has said he believes the industry is done for, explaining in a TikTok video why he is shutting up shop. TikTok creator JJ (@4seasonauto) recently gave up his auto repair shop, having become incredibly frustrated with the industry.Auto repair shops can sometimes cause stress for customers. Many worry that the mechanics will rip them off and that the problem they've gone in for won't actually be fixed. But it turns out that the mechanics themselves have their own frustrations regarding the industry.JJ ran an independent shop, and his frustrations have gone far beyond being seen as someone who might overcharge customers. He claims the reasons for this are ones that all modern mechanics face, and is adamant that, as a whole, the independent garage industry is now done for. His video has recently gone viral.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe mechanic has said that everything from a monopoly by the large dealerships to customers is to blame for the decline. All of this has piled up and frustrated JJ so much that he decided the easiest course of action was to just pull out of the industry for good.Why Is This Mechanic Shutting Down His Repair Shop?Image Credit: @4seasonauto/TikTokThe first reason that JJ quotes is regarding modern dealers and what they are doing. JJ claimed that they "gatekeep" things and make it hard for "independent startup guys" to do their jobs. "They have a monopoly; they are literally the mafia," JJ said in his TikTok video. While it might sound extreme, there is evidence to back up what the mechanic is saying.The Auto Care Association commissioned a survey in 2024 of over 400 people who work at independent auto repair shops. The survey found that 84 percent of those considered access to maintenance and vehicle repair data to be a huge issue. Out of those, 63 percent said they had problems daily and weekly performing just-in-route repairs due to what was called 'access restrictions.'In fact, they claimed they had to send around five vehicles per month to a dealer because they could not get the data needed to perform the repairs. This is an incredibly costly problem for mechanics. The survey also said that independent shops can lose up to $3.1 billion annually due to these data restrictions. What makes it worse is that some repairs require tools that are hard for garages to obtain. Specialized tools could cost over $2,400, and 45 percent of those in the survey found this to be a problem.Customers Can Also Make It Tricky for the Repair ShopsJJ also said that customers can cause huge problems for the industry, namely due to their expectations. "Customers suck. Nobody wants to pay for [expletive] diag," he said, referencing diagnostics. "It doesn't matter that you got $20,000 in [expletive] diag equipment back there. They don't want to pay for [expletive] diag," he added. Then there were issues around the parts people wanted.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe mechanic said that customers often choose cheaper, lower-quality parts for repairs, even if told the higher-quality part, despite being more expensive, is the better choice. "They don't know the difference, and if you try to explain to them the difference, guess what? You're scamming them. You're conning them. You're out to get them," he said, frustrated. The problem is that, with so many stories of customers being scammed, they automatically think that it is happening to them too.If you want more stories like this, follow Guessing Headlights on Yahoo so you don't miss what's coming next.