Ethics in the Automotive Repair Industry“Another memorable encounter took place in San Antonio, when I walked into a transmission repair shop. The owner tried to drive the Olds with me in the passenger seat. As we climbed a hill, the car seemed under strain. I looked down and noticed that he had one foot on the accelerator and the other on the brake. "Boy, there's no power at all in second gear," he said. "Clearly the clutches are burned out." His solution: Rebuild the transmission for $395-$495, "depending on whether I can save the torque converter." ” –totse.comA small example of the type of things that mechanics will try to do to make profits and scam customers. This is just one of many repair scam stories. The auto industry is a legendary ethical battleground, with mechanics and repair shops known to try to make an extra buck by selling customers parts they don't know they don't need and overcharging them for it, and distrustful customers trying to balance their budget, it goes back and forth. In the end, however, the winner is usually the mechanic. This ethical quagmire takes us to the very roots of ethical decision making. Why is it so easy to deceive customers in the automotive repair industry? The car is a complex machine and most people don't even know the basics of its operation, so you can take advantage of it easily. Although, because this is such a common occurrence, people are wary of it, it is still very difficult to determine when you are being scammed or not. During the summer of last year I worked in a car repair shop. I didn't do the complicated repairs in any way, I did more apprentice type jobs, helping the mechanics do their job and some simple basic jobs available to me...half of paper......isions when a customer go through the door. Works cited "Auto Repair Scams: An Investigation" on totse.com. Online. March 1, 2003.http://www.totse.com/en/bad_ideas/scams_and_rip_offs/autoscam.html.Norman, Rich. “The Truth About the Auto Repair Industry” Ford Festiva. Online. (2001) February 28, 2003. http://www.fordfestiva.com/service/repairshops2.htm.“Auto Repair Secrets” CarInfo.com. Online. (2001). Technews Corp. March 1, 2003. http://www.carinfo.com/repair2.html.Honeycut, Earl D.; Glassman, Myron; Zugelder, Michael T.; and Karande, Kiram “Determine Ethical Behavior: A Study of People Selling Cars.” Journal of Business Ethics. 1.32 (July 2001): 69-74. Eskeldson, Mark. What Auto Mechanics Don't Want You to Know New York: McGraw Hill. 1999. "How Car Engines Work" How Stuff Works.com. Online. March 1, 2003. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine.htm