Whenever you will take your car to the shop for a problem that needs to be fixed, chances are that 50% you will be called back during service. If you are a woman, reports say the chances are about 80%.

The mechanics will call you and tell you that your part will be indeed fixed, but you really need to take care of another part that is in a critical condition and they could do it for you now. For instance, if you go to change your brakes, you will probably be told that the rotor has to be replaced. Now this may well be true, but how are you to know that it isn’t just a scam?

How to avoid: a difficult one, particularly if you aren’t very mechanically minded. Lots of mechanics are honest, but avoid the greedy ones by always asking for a second opinion – scammers make money by relying on people not having time or convenience to come back another day.