possible scam by a toyota car mechanic

[Nick Stone]

EmperorNero
So did he turn the front rotors? (or take them off and get them turned; there's one on each side) I can see how that price would be reasonable, in fact, very good for getting that done.

 

[xero]

ouch bro.....you got straight ripped off

$25 to clean brakes? bah...we charge $89.99 for the front brakes where i work....that includes the new brake pads, turning both rotors, and labor!

 

[Viperoni]

damm, you really got bit hard.
My dad's good friends with a mechanic and his brakes never cost more than about $100 CANADIAN all the way around. parts are cheap for my car though.

All that BS about the Power Steering boots and everything is garbage.
A PS system will almost never cause your car to not start.

Your ignition coil or module probably went, just as it did 5 times in my car (in 8 years :Q)
about a $300 repair for your car....

That's what you get for going to the dealer

Hope you get this solved!

 

[SuperSix]

Yep, you got a new power steering pump, boots, etc, lucky they didn't replace the rack-n-pinion unit.

My wife's Camry developed a PS leak too, it was the high-pressure hose leaking. The same one they charged you $170.00 for... I bought @ Autozone for $23.00.

Ouch.. Befriend a mechanic, talk to people at work, school, etc, and find someone trustworthy. THey're there, just VERY hard to find.

 

[EmperorNero]

thanks xero, viperoni, and supersix but you guys misunderstood me (or at least didn't read my last question). here's what happened in a nutshell:

after getting an oil and filter change at performance toyota, the steering wheel started shaking whenever the car slows down. ppl said it was because of the rotor. they also said that we got ripped off by performance toyota so I decided not to go back to them to fix a problem they caused. I told my mom to bring the car in to a friend who's a mechanic. and he fixed it. the total cost was $50: $18 for parts and $38 for labor. so my question is was that a fair price?

nickstone, I really have no idea. but the car is fixed. but if he didn't turn the rotors, would $50 still be a fair price?

 

[cxim]

EN,

you got a very fair price for a front brake job. turning the rotors would have been several more $. $18 for shoes/pads is normal retail cost, not a jacked up dealer price.

To give you idea about dealers. I have a Dodge Ram. couple of yrs ago the power windows wore out the gears. went to the dealer after looking around a lot, dealer was the only supplier. cost $110 each for gear replacement kits ( this was just the plastic gears, not the housing, not the electric motor or anything else ). A couple of months ago the motor went on one of the windows. ( 2 yrs later )

AutoZone now stocks window motor /gear replacements that includes the electric motor & new gears all complete & assembled. Cost $53 each. Had to order them but delivered in 48 hrs. The dealer cost for the assembled units is around $175 or so.

Some times you are stuck with the dealer as supplier for parts. Most of the time you are much better off with an auto parts retailer.

 

[Nick Stone]

EmperorNero
You should ask your friend/mechanic if he had the front brake rotors turned. I'm sure he wouldn't mind telling you. It would take me an hour or more to remove the rotors and put them back on for one of my cars and that doesn't count taking them down to Autozone (or machine shop) to get them turned for about $8 each. BTW if you drove it for a year without doing anything, the brake shoes would probably sand down the rotor until the wabble was gone, or it might not get any better. It's not unsafe, just annoying. That's why I think the price was fair. I think a well equiped garage could do this in 40 min. actual time. But then there's the rotor turning and the test drive. Sounds like a fair price to me for an independent garage that charges over $40 an hour.
BTW I'd get a Hanes manual on that car an spend a few hours going through it. It would lessen the chances of getting ripped off. If the machanic knows you don't know what a rotor is then he probably can't help but rip you off. (They would get laughed at by their peeps if they couldn't pull that one off) Keep on good terms with the honest mechanic. Ask his advice in the future even if he can't do the work himself.