‘His Fault For Sending You:’ Husband Sends Wife To Get an Oil Change. She Reveals What Happens Next
"Babe pick up."
One wife just made sure her husband never sends her to get an oil change again.
She used widespread distrust of mechanics and the belief that they're more likely to rip women off to play a prank on her husband.
In a video with more than 7.4 million views, content creator Madison Barbosa (@madison_barbosa) reveals what she did and how her husband David reacted.
A text overlay on the TikTok says, “POV your husband sends you to get an oil change.”
Her post is part of a trend in which people, often women, trick the men in their lives into thinking that they were overcharged for simple car maintenance or parts.
In the viral clip, Barbosa displays a series of texts between her and her husband while he knew she was at the mechanic getting an oil change.
She relays that the mechanic told her the air filter was black and needed to be changed, but said he’d give her $10 off. Barbosa says that the mechanic is going to charge $79 instead of $89 for the filter.
When Barbosa’s husband tells her to decline the service, she admits that she’s already said yes.
“Babe, say no,” her husband replies. “Cancel it.”
Clearly leaning into the prank, she texts, “And rear differential?? Something about oil on the back tires.”
At this point, her husband tries to FaceTime her. She declines to answer.
In the next two minutes, he calls her five more times in between texting, “Pick up,” “Babe pick up,” “No to everything,” and, “Just oil.”
Distrust Throughout the Industry
Few people believe their mechanic is consistently honest with them.
In a ConsumerAffairs survey, about 80% of people said they felt they’d been overcharged by their mechanic at some point, and 78% said they didn’t always trust their mechanic.
Of the former group, 45% said they’d been overcharged sometimes, and 35% said they felt like their mechanic was constantly trying to get the most money out of them.
Only 17% of people thought the prices were fair at the auto shop.
While most states require mechanics to provide you with an estimate of all costs for a repair up front so you’re not surprised by the bill, they generally have wide leeway to set their own prices.
Horror stories about dishonest mechanics abound. One admitted to charging up to 50% more if he thought customers knew little about cars, the Daily Mail reports.
It’s also widely accepted that women are more likely to be overcharged. But it can happen to anyone.
There are some tactics experts recommend to avoid getting taken advantage of by a shady mechanic. These include shopping around, researching the repair in advance, asking to be shown the recommended repair, keeping receipts, and working with reputable shops, such as those with Automotive Service Excellence-certified mechanics.
‘He Has Enough Time Now’
Barbosa’s prank worked so well because of mechanics’ widespread reputation for overcharging customers, particularly women.
“This is his fault for sending you,” a top comment on her post reads.
Some women have a man, such as a father, brother, or significant other, take their vehicles to the shop for them in the hopes of avoiding getting ripped off.
“My husband CAN do the oil changes. Just gets really busy. I said yes to one extra thing once. He has enough time for them again,” wrote one.
Many people thought Barbosa’s prank was a great joke that also gets her out of taking the car to the shop in the future.
“The PANIC you inflicted on this man,” one laughed.
“And just like that, you have one less chore to do,” another joked.
The humor didn’t land among a certain subset of commenters.
“Real men [do] the oil changes at home,” one wrote.
Said another, “Why doesn’t he just do the oil change himself?”
Barbosa responded to the haters, “Are you guys OK? I think that every single angry man up in arms that my husband didn’t change the oil, I think that you have a [small appendage].”
“And you’re not gonna change my mind about that.”
Motor1 reached out to Barbosa for comment via email and Instagram direct message. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
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