A customer approved $1,200 worth of work on their car, then one tiny financing detail blew up the entire visit

Tires are just something drivers keep struggling to find their way around. A mechanic took to Tiktok after seeing far too many people come to his garage without basic knowledge of how financing works, and through a skit gave a crash course on what you can expect when you choose to go down that path.

Car manufacturers tend to try to get everything across the line at a price that works for their customer base and doesn’t attract certain tariffs. Sometimes these companies operate at such fine margins that it truly puts them at risk of going bankrupt if the company makes one small mistake. Maintaining the entire ecosystem that brings your car to life is no cheap task. That’s why every year, a company will do small increments to the brand that already works and you already trust. And that’s not to say they make that much money on it. Where these companies do, however, end up making a lot of money is through spare parts such as tires.

Tires are something that when worn out — you simply can’t ignore. It wasn’t that long ago that yet another mechanic on Tiktok informed people dabbling in the used car market to always ensure they check the tires. Because if you just pick up whatever you’re offered, you might end up finding that you actually need to replace them, and that could cost a pretty penny.

So much so, that most people who go to switch their tires end up seeking financing just so they can afford it — after all, times are hard. A Tiktok user working at City Tire in Batesville, Mississippi as a mechanic recounted a story in the form of a skit about a client who came to his garage and had his car fixed with a fresh set of tires only to say after the fact that he wanted to pay via a payment plan.

The mechanic, who had on a nametag simply written Collins, was quick to correct mistakes he often sees when people come to him for such a repair. In his skit, Collins played both sides of a discussion he usually finds himself in by saying: “All right, sir, we got your four new tires put on. And your front-end alignment, it’ll be $1,282.85.” Then he changed the angle of his camera to play the customer saying, “Good deal. Don’t you have some kind of financing?”

This type of disorganization is what irks Collins. He insists that before you come to his shop trying to get financing, you have to ensure that you have been approved by your bank. As a customer, that is your duty. According to Motor1, in such a situation, most mechanics would just invoke a mechanic’s lien — which is a mechanic’s legal protection against customers who don’t pay, and in such a situation, the mechanic can keep your car until you pay out your debt. And if towing fees are any indicator, the longer the car stays there, the more expensive the bill might be.

Collins said that this skit was actually inspired by a true story, and when it happened, he just invoked the mechanic’s lien until his client figured out how to get the money in cash. So always ensure you’re approved by your bank for any kind of financing plan at the mechanic.