Spent 40 years in the automotive field. 25 years as a automotive instructor, and 20 years working on those darn cars. I am now 83 years old and have been retired for 20 years. I hated when mechanics tried to run a scam on innocent people. I always tried my best to do an honest job for a fair price. You sir, are a boon to our field. You did an honest job. I hope your customer got some of his money back.

That "mechanic" was breaking stuff to fix later, yet the vehicle has numerous problems which need repair. So they could've gotten legit money- they just didn't want to work for it. It's theft with a few added steps. Shameful.

Dude that shop is so chill. All the ones I've worked at had me hustling like I owed them money. Those greedy bastards.

When I worked as a technician I always hated scammers. There's enough honest work out there to make bank, no need to do shady stuff to make bank. But definitely helps to have it on video in case they need extra evidence. Thanks for doing honest work, it's always good to see.

It’s amazing to watch a real mechanic work. What a difference. When someone knows what they’re doing. And they go about it in an ethical and honest way. Thank you for being a good mechanic, and especially for being an honest mechanic!

It's reassuring to me that humanity hasn't quite given up on decency when I watch an honest person work. You can't fake it. Thank you -

This is why we have been SOOOOOOO incredibly excited and grateful that you yourself have opened your own garage. Exponentially excited and happy for all the growth and prosperity of the garage. We are also very envious of those blessed with the privilege of having their vehicle serviced and repaired by you, the wife unit, and now Mr. Troy.🙏💜

That was a very diplomatic way to say "yes, the other mechanics screwed up your vehicle"

I always said, "Honest mechanics will have a line of customers around the block." Great job Rainman! Keep up the honest work!

Does this mean that part 2 will be on Judge Judy?

My father told me: "if you can't make a living being honest, you are in the wrong line of work". He said there is too much stuff that needs fixing to have to cheat people.

Age Old Adage: "Do something right, no one remembers. Do something wrong, no one forgets!!"

Makes me smile seeing why I can’t actually afford to pay someone to fix my vehicles. A good mechanic isn’t cheap and you sir, deserve every penny

It's always a pleasure to watch an honest, skilled mechanic show his customers how a scammer is ripping them off. Many customers are barely getting by these days and when their vehicle breaks down they put all their faith and trust in the mechanic working on their vehicle. A good mechanic is honest and forthright and his customer base knows it. Everything i seen you do was a benchmark for a man strongly committed to his trade. Your commitment to your customers is impressive as well as very enjoyable viewing. Just witnessing what real integrity in the trade of auto mechanics looks like is something people will never forget. Thank you for your hard work and commitment.

A pan filled with carbon from the clutch packs, the fluid likely smelled like battery acid and clearly indicates it needs to be serviced a little more often than then it has been. Your a good man. A honest mechanic who digs a little deeper into the diagnostic routine to find the true issues and not just what one may think of what is wrong. Keep up the great work your doing.

Bravo, I was a mechanic / technician for 40 years solving seemingly unsolvable issues for my customers. It makes me happy to know there are those carrying the torch. Thank you.

Ray , It's called honesty and pride in your work . Great job .

This is why I refuse to take my vehicle in for simple maintenances or any repairs diy unless it’s something way over your head because people seriously cannot be trusted these days Btw nice work 👍 it’s refreshing to see we still have a few good ones out here

Been in business 15 years for myself, would give your money back or not charge if things do not go right, never let you leave unhappy. We have even done repairs for free for customers down on their luck. Even in this divided time (blame the media that tells you how to fell instead of telling the truth) we are all brothers and sisters, we all need to be right with each other.

I know there are honest hard working guys like you out there. It's just so difficult to make sure the people we trust are like you. Every time my car goes into the shop I stress about being ripped off.

Do you remember Diesel Tech Ron's channel? Great guy with a KZfaq channel about diesel trucks who would graciously video his knowledge and experience to a captivated audience. Well, he died tragically in an accident on his way to work because he usually wouldn't wear his seat belt. His son made a video about that and put it up on his channel. We care about you Ray. We wouldn't watch if we didn't like your videos. We need more of them in our lives. I just ask you please to wear your seatbelt because the same could happen to you. Thanks Ray. "Soapbox dismount"

Over the 38 years of being a tech and stripping, building, many different types/brands of engine in my opinion manufacturers are trying achieve the impossible which is power, lightweight, economy etc and get all these in an engine like this comes at a cost. Years back things were slower heavier etc but rarely did you see failures like we get nowadays. Alot of modern engines won't tolerate neglect or abuse like their forerunners. The V6 isn't the smoothest of engines at best of times unlike the straight 6 which is naturally well balanced statically and dynamically. The current crop of Ford diesels are pretty poor anyway as I've had my filthy mitts on many and seem to be built to a cost and as seen here not very well designed 😔 keep up the great work guys and looking forward to the next video 👍

I thank you for not cussing throughout the video. It’s rare to see that nowadays. Great work man.

As a disabled U.S. Army veteran, Abrams mechanic, and "shadetree" mechanic.. whoever set that scam up, needs to have the crap slapped out of them. Repeatedly. I HATE scamming pieces of crap. And I hope the person you did the work for absolutely RUINS that scamming jerkoff. Thank you for being an honorable mechanic.

We need more people like this fella, an honest man!

Two things that are a must in life, a good honest mechanic and a good barber.

This is unbelievable that someone would take these types of measures to steal from this person.

Pisses me off when I see crooked mechanics. People get charged enough for repairs they need. You are one of the good ones

Gee, that was a tricky one. Really impressed at how you methodically worked through the list of multiple issues and sorted it all out. I'd still be there with glazed eyes scratching my head...

Damn fine job Ray. As soon as you opened the fuse cover I audibly said "WTF is that blue wire?" Shady people like that, and growing up broke is why I learned to do 99% of my own repair work. But I'm with you on transmissions. I'm pretty sure they just work based on some form of witchcraft.

I very much appreciate you, as a ford technician, we see this type of scamming all the time..

28:45 for those who don't know, transmission fluid is supposed to be clear/red. It should NEVER look like used oil. There is no combustion chamber or gasoline in the transmission to darken the oil. If it's dark like that, it's burnt from gears and clutches overheating and burning the oil that touches them which indicates a damaged or abused transmission.

I just want to say you do more to help the reputation of the repair industry in 30 minutes than most facilities do in decades. Thank you for being so honest and caring Ray.

I’m almost 75 and I respect you for your honesty and integrity.Too bad there aren’t more people like you!Keep up the good work.

I live in Arkansas so I don’t think I would be able to bring my 2000 Dodge Dakota in there to have you look at it …but if I could I would in a heartbeat because I have a lot of respect for someone who is willing to take the time to do a good job and be willing to be totally honest…so hats off to you for taking the jobs you do seriously

I still love this video, it's my fave of them all. Watching your problem solving and eliminating each dead end is forever fascinating.

I never thought it would be so interesting watching a mechanic trouble shoot a car. You really make it a sleuthing adventure. Your ethics are also admirable.

Really the fact that you recorded everything you found should be proof enough for a court case witch should include any transmission work that's needed. And you can bet it's not the first time they've scammed someone!

Thanks for making us all look good!

You are a great example of humanity.

About 10 minutes in I was wondering how the car was running with the fuel pump relay missing, hence the added wire.

Sometimes YT's algorithm gets it right. YT decided to recommend this channel to me, and I'm glad it did. I enjoyed watching you tackle this and I'll be spending some time in the coming days browsing the rest of the channel. Keep it up!

I really like how you keep the camera rolling and literally show most of the process. Great work serving your customer and our industry with integrity 👏

I’m sure this car owner will remember the positive from this as he gets his car back all working and knowing it’s been looked at by a competent and knowledgeable mechanic. . Great investigation work. 👍 🇬🇧

When I get stressed out, I watch your videos. It’s refreshing to just hear a normal person with a good head on their shoulders talk about things. I work IT, so it’s interesting to see how close our trades actually are. lol

54 years in dealerships and i can spot a great guy at a glance.Thank you for a great story and a top notch repair.Many times great people arent even thanked

You are a gem and I hope we have mechanic's like you in Australia. 😊

Actually, that crooked mechanic made you look AWESOME! I hope that the customer gets justice and full compensation.

Ray, you are absolutely correct when you said that people forget all the good you've done after one error or mistake. When I was in service, we would say, "One 'Oh Sh*' wipes out every Atta Boy. Excellent job diagnosing the sabotage the other 'mechanic' did.

You have my respect for your integrity, bro... It's a shame scammers give the good guys in the auto industry (not only repair, unfortunately, but as a whole) a bad name. Every town needs a mechanic like you fr. Sketchy auto shops and shoddy work is the main reason I DIY as much as possible, though there's never enough time in a weekend. If I could simply TRUST the man repairing my vehicle I'd never do more than oil changes...A mentor once told me a great quote, (just Googled the origin) attributed to C.S. Lewis; "Integrity is what you do when no one is watching"... Made an impact on me and I thought of that even tho I was WATCHING your vid😆.... God bless and thanks for the reminder that there's still some good men out there. Subbed🤜🤛

A special note: How lucky I am to have a son who graduated from Lincoln Tech University and has literally worked on anything that has wheels. He's a highly educated and very experienced technician that I trust working on my Lexus. His status as shop foreman speaks for itself. I'm a Rainman Ray fan because he reminds me of my son. I love them both.

The more I think about this one the more it makes me angry. In my estimation, by bypassing the fuel pump relay, the scammer also bypassed a critical safety system. If memory serves me right, the system is designed to turn off the fuel pump relay in any impact that results in deployment of the airbags in order to prevent the fuel pump from spraying fuel all over a hot engine or exhaust system in the event of a wreck that damages a fuel line. If this vehicle had been in such a wreck, a massive fire could easily have been the result.

It's good to watch an honest man doing his best to make repairs.

It's a breath of fresh air to have another mechanic who cares about going above and beyond in their pursuit.. thank you sir!

That trans ignition fuse will make the transmission start in 3rd gear. Removing that fuse when trying to diagnose a trans problem is helpful. If you pull the fuse and trans starts in 3rd gear and drives, it typically means the trans is fine internally vs electronic issue or stuck check ball issue.

YOU SIR are one of a rare breed, a very smart, very articulate and very fair mechanic who gets results. There are not enough of you in the world. Not nearly enough. Kudos.

I don't trust nobody but I trust this guy, I wish he would diagnose my car and fixed for me, he is a great mechanic and very honest man, thank you Sr.

Been a mechanic a long time. Correct one scamming so called mechanic gives us all a bad rep , I enjoyed the vid good job sir

This is the shit I love, going through every bit and getting the puzzle pieces together to form a picture on what problems it’s really having as opposed to just throwing insane amounts of parts and hoping it works

You sorted out multiple issues in an easy to follow manner. I really enjoy the channel.

That other scammer should loose their business licence!

Ray is a honest mechanic very hard to find . I really like his channel !!!

You are the mechanic we all want to have work on our cars. Unfortunately, there are many out there that aren't like you. It makes it quite easy for mechanics and/or shops to scam someone. Most people know nothing at all about cars. Thanks for being an awesome example of what we all want.

I am a 2nd year automotive apprentice and only being in the field for 10 years I have been doing my best to try and educate our customers that not all of us are bad mechanics. As you said it takes one and it's hard not to feel judged by my customers. I enjoy watching your videos. I have found them very informative and I love the way you work. It's refreshing to see that you inform us viewers what you are going to do and do it. Thank you for the great work that you do, you have been a great long distance teacher.

This video that you made here, there's my most favorite video of all. I was a mechanic for 25 years and had to retire last year because of health issues. I never really got the chance to be much of a diagnostic person because they always need me to do the work. Even though I haven't had that much diagnostic experience watching your video I realized as soon as you found that fuse. I immediately thought with the title said, "sabotage!" And yes with the sabotage that was done to the vehicle. Definitely hurt that transmission! Anyways with that said. You're getting the thumbs-up not because you did a good job, you did an outstanding job in my eyes! I thought I was pretty knowledgeable until I saw this video. And you are amazing! It's too bad that it takes one mechanic to ruin it for the rest of us who are seriously wanting to help the customer and not try to make money the wrong way! Anyways I wish you the best for the future.

Not a car guy myself yet I found myself fully engaged I’ve been sitting my own vehicle as of late and your cool calm demeanor inspires confidence you pulled nothing out of your ass instead went step by step and took us with ya thanks bro

The type of a good mechanic guy who wanted to share, teach and be honest to his clients. Kudos to you sir.

Integrity can’t be bought or sold, but it’s value is incalculable. A trustworthy, experienced mechanic is worth his weight in gold. My dad was one of them. He never took risks or cut corners as he knew a poor repair puts lives at risk. He did good work at a fair price, and took pride in doing so. May he Rest In Peace. ❤️

i've only been driving 15yrs but have been through 4 mechanics. The last one I went to for an MOT the car came back with a list of advisorys as long as my arm. I tried a 5th mechanic near me based on recomendations from my FIL n took the list to him, he gave it the once over, nothing wrong at all & came back clean as a whistle, so now I take my car to him. Everytime I now take to him with issue's & if he cant find what im saying may be wrong, he refuses to throw parts at it until the problem becomes re-peatable or easily traced & then can sort it out. Love that guy. Saved me almost £1500 just on that list of stuff that was wrong that had nuffin wrong so I dont even wanna try n guess what he's saved me since.

i go to the stealership as a last resort. i purchased a launch scan tool and man that was the best investment in troubleshooting my transmission and fuel problems.

It takes a long time to find an honest mechanic. They don’t come around often. Your customers are fortunate to have you.

I was a technician for 30 years with the last 24 years owning my own small shop. I was a Volvo guy and my one employee was a Toyota expert. We ran an honest and tight ship and it was amazing how often we had to repair the damage done by incompetent and/or dishonest shops.

Good job, one of the honest tecks out there. Seen to many mechanics try to take advantage of public. Nice video too.

This world is so full of scammers. I am afraid to answer my phone because of it. That almost cost me my badly needed eye surgery. Seems that the eye surgeon's assistant was taking some work home and her number came up as private. She finally left me a text. That I responded to. But it is so bad out there.

Who ever removed that fuse wrecked that transmission!

Client: Can you document it? Ray: *straps on GoPro* "I'm on it."

You Sir, is what keeps hope in society to have honest and respectable service personnel available to honest people. I truly appreciate you. Live in Texas but if ever in Florida with a car issue, Rainman Ray's Repairs is who I will be looking for. My very best in your business.

Good job nice to see an honest mechanic at work, I'm sure your customers will always be back.

I have an excellent mechanic and i only ever go to him . Even when he moved shop across town! Hats off to you and all the honest hard working mechanics wherever they may be. Cheers from Sydney Australia 🇭🇲👍🦘🐨👍🇭🇲🇺🇸

Dishonest mechanics need to be exposed. Love when they are. I shake your hand for your integrity.

Last time I was quoted for a fuel pump (on a suburban no less), I knew I actually needed it, since it was making a god awful whining noise and when I filled the tank with gas it would start pouring down onto the ground from the top of the tank. That customer's next stop needs to be Dewey, Cheetum, and Howe, that seems like a pretty solid case against the scammer posing as a mechanic.

Your ending monologue is right on the money yo. Trust is the one social construct we depend on. Im glad you document your journey into this field. Now to binge the rest of your videos..

Rgmekanic said: "Damn fine job Ray. As soon as you opened the fuse cover I audibly said "WTF is that blue wire?" Glad to know I'm not the only one who talks to his computer. lol

As a budding mechanic myself with only about 1 1/2 years under my belt, I appreciate and value these videos as a resource for learning how to diagnose vehicles. Thanks for the great content

I have had many experiences with mechanics, it forced me to do most of my own work because of it, with a lot of struggle because of it. To have someone I can trust to consult and ask you to fix it without me being a target means the world. Thank you for being a person who actually brings value and helps without putting others into debt simply because they rely on the machine they entrusted you with

Too bad you had to do all that work just to find out the other shop was running a scam. Good job Ray. Very thorough. Bless you and your family.

Mechanics like you are hard to find. That’s why I “try” to do my own work because of shady mechanics like the one who worked previously on that car. Keep up the great work and videos!!!

it takes a lifetime to earn trust and respect and one incident can destroy it all..

Love honest mechanics! I don’t mind paying for good work! Protect good mechanics! ❤🙏🏻

It's about time someone starts to expose these crook repair shops in Florida. There are many of them

42:02 In Poland we have saying "A spoon of tar can spoil a barrel of honey" so as you said thousand good deeds aren't the same if there is one bad deed in between them Keep up the good work!

I'm a novice mechanic with a career mechanic dad and I thank you for being honest and thorough with your work !!!!

I came across a lowlife mechanic here on KZfaq that was proud he could bill 6 standard labor hours for a job but do it in 4. I asked why he didn’t charge the customer for the actual hours worked, and he ran away.

My wife once took a ford escort that only had 40 thousand miles on it to a fire stone by our home for an inspection. They said it needed 912 dollars in repairs when I told them it only had 40 thousand, they thought the odometer had rolled over . I found marks where some one had crushed the brake pads with vice grips . And I did everything on the list in my garage in less than 30 minutes for 68 dollars. I would have turned them in , but I didn’t know where to .

Would really be interested in how this plays out on the other end 🤔

TL/DR - I found another mechanic's sabotage done to an ambulance causing over $10k in damages and losses to the owner The story: I'm in the middle of a similar situation involving a dishonest "mechanic" but the financial damages done are 20+ fold of the ones in this video. A couple of months ago I had a local ambulance company contact me, they were looking for a new mechanic to do the maintenance and repairs for their fleet. The guy they had been using they wanted to part ways with because he was regularly putting them on the back burner plus they had concerns that he may be selling them work that wasn't needed. When I started doing work for them, the other guy still had 1 of their ambulances but wouldn't return it initially because he had already started work on it. From what I was told there was a bit of a confrontation between the mechanic and the owner of the ambulance at that time. A week or so later, the ambulance was returned to the owner but it was running worse than when it was dropped off. It was given straight to me and all I knew at that time was the other guy had done spark plugs, 4 new ignition coils and intake manifold gasket (ford 6.8L V10) and that it was running like shit. When I ran the engine the first time, it had an obvious misfire and a scan revealed misfires on cyl 1, 8 and 10. I first suspected a quality of repair issue as I had already seen poor quality in the guys work on a couple other ambulance, including one that nearly resulted in a fire. Ultimately what I found was cyl 1 and 10 had low compression and cyl 8 had no compression. Draining the oil revealed bearing material suspended in the oil along with a number of metal pieces in the filter. I brought my findings to the owner who wanted to further investigate possible repairs to the current engine before moving forward with a replacement. Ultimately, I found that there was a bolt lodged in the intake runner on cyl 8 that bent the valve and broke the rocker arm and video scope revealed damage to cylinder walls in cyl 1 and 10 result of foreign debris, such as a screw or bolt. Engine was completely trashed and it was obvious sabotage. I feel bad for the guy that owns it because a reman engine is going to run him 4400 and another 1500 for labor. Include the ambulances down time and his total loss is over $10,000. I documented my findings thoroughly, with photos and in detailed writing. Same as you, I give the benefit of doubt whenever I can, but this one was an blatantly obvious case of foul play. I urged the ambulance owner to pursue the case in court and even offered to testify my findings in front of a judge if need be. It remains to be seen what will become of this as we are waiting on the replacement engine still and this is all in progress. This case, more than any other case of shotty workmanship or foul play that I've seen while working in this field, is the case that bothers me the most because of the financial loss involved. The guys that own and operate the company are really good people, not to mention their company provides services that saves lives. And for another mechanic to knowingly cause this kind of financial damage to a company who's purpose is to help people in need and save lives... it honestly sickens me. Anyways, kudos to you for being the honest one in your case. I hope everything works out for your customer.

thanks so much for your informative post. I'm a diy mechanic working to keep a 1992 buick lasabre and a 1993 buick regal on the road, and utube has saved my but so many times with your and coworkers great practical and inside info.

I only spent 4 years in auto shops, but I met my fair share of scammers. I'm not sure how all shops payscales are, but ours was definitely setup to benefit from scamming. I've never seen someone spend the time you did. I left the field because of the dishonest workmanship.

I can tell you that being an elderly woman is a scammer's dream customer. I've been scammed so many times. And I've wasted so much money. I no longer have a car which is fine with me. The amount of money that goes into a car for repairs and maintenance is ridiculous. I had a choice of having a car or an apt but couldn't afford both being on social security. I chose an apt. Lol. Gets pretty cold here in Vermont for living in a car. You are a fantastic mechanic and person. Keep up the good deeds!

"he's making me look bad." HE made you look GOOD to the person who mattered. They will tell many others and will have a counter story at the cocktail/bbq parties. Good on ya!