I caught the beginning of this on TiVo earlier today but luckily was able to find it online. Videos below: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/talk-shop-19442531 part 1 http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/video/auto--19442575 part 2 Unfortunately, not too surprisingly, the women who brought cars to shops w/a windshield wiper problem caused by an intentionally blown fuse were ripped off while the men weren't.
It's a shame, especially when the "mechanics" are caught on camera. Unfortunately, women need to be more aware, and some men too if they are perceived as being naïve. Growing up, my mom would make friends with a local gas station owner/mechanic and would only take her car to him - she never got ripped off. Especially important as my dad was in the military and would be gone for months at a time. Of course cars were much simpler back in the 60's/70's too, but they required more frequent maintenance. She still take her car in every 3,000 miles for oil changes, but these days that's every 6 months or so.
I know when my two daughters were living on there on and away from home, they both called me multiple times asking me questions about what repair shops were recommending and the prices they were estimating. Every time I would get the mechanic or shop manager on the phone and once they realized that a knowledgeable person was involved the recommendations and pricing would be greatly reduced. It is a shame. My wife is really reluctant to take a car to the shop without me calling first and doing all of the up front negotiations. I really feel sorry for women in particular and non-mechanically knowledgeable people in general.
