A well-known automotive content creator is warning drivers about a service department upsell that can cost more than $1,000 for work your car almost certainly doesn’t need. His staged roleplay showing how the scam works and how quickly it falls apart when the customer knows anything about her vehicle has drawn more than 87,000 views on a TikTok aggregation channel, and a wave of commenters sharing their own experiences with shady repair shops. The video, originally from the Car Wizard’s channel and reposted by biphucusa323 (@phubiusa323), was posted to TikTok on April 2. Car Wizard (real name David Long) is a Wichita, Kansas-based mechanic who runs Omega Auto Clinic and has built a large following on YouTube, exposing common repair scams and working on problem cars. The original video has apparently disappeared from Long’s own channels. The Auto Shop Scam Roleplay The video opens with Car Wizard playing a dishonest mechanic presenting a diagnosis to a woman playing the customer. He tells her they’ve removed the fuel filter from her truck and found dirt in it. “You’re going to need the platinum fuel service,” he says. “You’re going to need a full flush, a new fuel filter, and we’re also going to have to remove the injectors that go through and also do a major service there. This is going to be about $1,600.” The customer isn’t buying it. “You know, my husband, who’s a real mechanic, after all, says we use the paper filter,” she says. “He even had an extra one at the house.” The fake mechanic immediately backpedals. “Oh, your vehicle’s a diesel. That’s right. It takes the little cartridge paper,” he says. “Let me go talk to my service manager and see what we got mixed up here.” “Yeah, right, buddy,” the customer replies. Tell us what you think! View Comments The Real Story Behind It Long then drops the act and explains that the scenario is based on a real incident involving his uncle. “He took his Camaro in,” he says. “He changed it out himself, probably a few months before the service. He took it in for an oil change, and they came in with something completely not even to his car.” The implication is clear: The shop showed the uncle a dirty filter that didn’t belong to his vehicle in order to sell an expensive service he didn’t need. What Is A ‘Platinum Fuel Service’? The name varies—platinum fuel service, fuel injection service, fuel system cleaning—but the pitch is always the same: Your fuel system is dirty and needs a deep clean that costs several hundred to more than a thousand dollars. In reality, modern gasoline already contains detergent additives that keep fuel systems clean during normal driving. Top Tier-certified fuels, sold at major gas station chains, contain even higher concentrations of these cleaners. Unless a vehicle is showing specific symptoms, a fuel system service is rarely necessary. As Torque News reported, dealers and service chains push these services because they are high-margin profit generators, not because they address a mechanical need. A Hyundai Palisade owner forum thread specifically documents a dealer recommending the “platinum fuel service” at $350, and forum members overwhelmingly advising against it. At $1,600, the price quoted in Long’s scenario is even more extreme. For drivers who want to maintain their fuel system, a bottle of fuel injector cleaner costs $10 to $15 and can be added to the tank at home once or twice a year. ‘Can’t Trust Anyone Anymore’ In the comments section, Tom Waldrep shared a story about paying $400 for spark plugs and wires, only to discover the shop had changed the plugs but left the old wires in place. “They tried to tell me that I went home and put some old wires back on,” he wrote. “By the end of the day I had new plugs and wires on for the price of the parts. The shop owner made it right and fired the employee that lied and stole from both of us.” Zeus Havoc raised the other side of the problem: “This is why legit shops have issues with people saying you’re ripping them off. You could have real problems and people just think you’re scamming them.” How To Protect Yourself The simplest defense against this kind of upsell is knowing what your owner’s manual actually says. If a service isn’t listed in the manufacturer’s maintenance schedule, you almost certainly don’t need it, and a shop that insists otherwise should be able to explain why. As Car Talk advises, “If a flush of any kind is offered, ask to see in the manual where it says that service is required.” If a shop shows you a dirty filter or fluid sample, ask to see the part with your vehicle’s information tag. As Long’s roleplay demonstrates, the filter they’re showing you may not have come from your car at all. Motor1 reached out to Long via email for additional comment. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team