Sept. 25, 2020—Inside Edition went undercover at an auto repair shop and were surprised by what they found.
The news organization placed hidden cameras inside of an SUV, under the car and under the hood. The organization also placed an Inside Edition sticker on the oil filter to see if it would actually be changed. The show's producer, Sarah Chatta, then took the car to service stations throughout the New York area.
At a Meineke shop in Brooklyn, N.Y., in particular, a mechanic was captured putting his dirty hands all over the steering wheel, his face mask on his chin, and his nose and mouth were fully exposed. A service advisor at the same shop only used a tissue to protect herself, but her face mask was down below her chin as well.
"Those images are shocking,” NYU professor and public health expert Dr. Jack Caravanos told Inside Edition. "The workers working on the vehicle must be wearing a mask, covering the steering wheel with plastic, covering the seats and using every precaution to prevent contamination of that vehicle."
Within the same investigation, Inside Edition looked at if repairs were actually being done. At one service station on Long Island, N.Y., they charged $130 for an oil change and a new filter. Inside Edition found that the mechanic put the car on a lift and did drained the oil, but never changed the filter.
An Inside Edition correspondent then went back to the shop and asked the technician why the shop didn’t chain the filter, with the mechanic replying that he made a mistake if he didn't change it because he always changes the filter.
The owner of the shop told Inside Edition that it was an honest mistake and refunded us the cost of the oil filter.
Take a look for yourself and watch the investigation unfold:
