so I go the brake shop...

[thomsbrain]

i would never have my car worked on by one of these places that advertises only in brakes, or mufflers, or oil changes, or tires. you're just asking to get screwed and to have bad work done on your car. the only exception is i will allow a tire place to put new tires on my car. find a mechanic who specializes in your vehicle, not the particular job, and build a relationship with them through regular service.

as an example, i recently took in my accord for the intermediate scheduled service and to have the brakes inspected. he did all the service's inspections but only charged me for an oil change, and after discussing my plans for the car on the phone, recommended only a pad slap on the front rotors, and leaving the current rotors even though they are thin and slightly warped. he could have charged me for hundreds of dollars more work, and i would have paid it. but since we have a long existing (and likely continuing) business relationship on a first name basis (which includes two other cars owned by family members), he has more to gain by being honest than by being dishonest. when you go to Midass or one of those places, they have more to gain by screwing you. it's just common sense. i don't expect anyone to be honest unless it is in their best interest. so i find someone who is smart, i make it in their best interest to be honest, and i don't worry about it.

 

[ViviTheMage]

yes yes, it seems pretty simple.

I have a local jetta guy who will probably help me, its just nice knowing what will be happening .

sorry for the hijack!!

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Sphexi
Classic BS, never let them tell you what you need repaired, unless you know about it ahead of time, or get a second opinion. I went to a Midas once to get my brakes down when I was in college, they came back and said that the parking brake was broken, the cable was twisted. I already knew about it, didn't care since it was a standard and I never used the PB. Guy told me I couldn't drive out of there without it, as it was part of the state inspection and having it broken meant that I was "breaking the law". Being a college student I said go ahead and fix it, God forbid I break the law. Charged me an extra $100 for it, and it STILL didn't work afterwards. I went back, said it was still broken, they found some other reason for it to not work, said I"d have to pay for that too.

At that point I told them to shove it, take my car down, and I drove out of there.

You have to love the scare tactic of "breaking the law". I usually snicker and tell them to take it down and Ill take my chances.

 

[Genx87]

btw look out of the city for mechanics. I have a guy in northern mn near my cabin who works on my car for 30 bucks an hour. Half the time he ends up fixing things for free if I bring him out to breakfast

 

[Paperdoc]

Well, yeah, they will always look at more than the basic job and try to sell you more. But it's not just greed, it actually is legally necessary. Not that the laws require them to inspect everything and report it to you. But civil (lawsuit) case law precendent says that any professional (e.g. the brake shop guy AND the shop's owner) IS reponsible for ensuring that everything related to the job at hand is checked. For example, suppose that a month from now one of your leaking rear cyclinders blows out during hard braking and causes an acccident with personal and property damage. You could easily sue the brake shop for not verifying the safe condition of ALL of your brake system!

So they found what they claimed were questionable items and told you, along with an estimate to fix them. Then they told you it's your decision, but it is not legally REQUIRED that they be fixed. And to cover their own legal asses they requested that you acknowledge by signing that you had been given the information and made your own decision. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. So don't be so hard on them.

I've been doing my own auto repairs for decades now, including brake work. Many other posters are the same, I see. In fact, this fall I replaced rear shoes and drums and front calipers and pads, because I knew they all were worn beyond clean-up and minor repair. I did not do rear cylinders (no problems on inspection) nor front rotors (new two years ago).

Recently I went to a shop for front end alignment and they said can't be done because one outer tie rod end was worn, and the other side only slightly worn but OK. Rather than tell them to fix for big $$$, I simply took the car, replaced the part, and came back a week later to have the job done. They only charged me the standard fee for the alignment after it was done, since that's all they did.

 

[Ausm]

Garage mechanics rank right up there with used car salesman and lawyers


Ausm

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Originally posted by: chairbornrangerx
I would NEVER go to a brake shop reguardless... befriend a mechanic or something who won't screw you over. I always do my own brakes, they are actually easy even drums aren't bad. You should learn how to fix your own brakes.

Aye brakes are not hard to do, just do it yourself on a Saturday morning.

 

[Pacemaker]

Brake jobs are easy to screw people on (my father is an honest mechanic). So many times places tell you they are going to give you a 30 dollar brake job or some crazy low number like that to get you in the door. Then they charge 150-200 dollars to turn the rotors, and what a shock you need a whole new brake system too.

My Dad has a special on breaks a couple of times a year that is 60 bucks (this includes turning the rotors) plus whatever the pads cost. If something else is wrong he (yeah I know prepare for shock) calls you and asks if you would like it fixed. If the place starts repairing the car before you OK'ed the repair I would never go back and probably call the BBB.

BTW if it's just pads and you know it's just pads, it really is easy to do yourself.

 

[FoBoT]

you gotta find a real/local shop that you can trust and stick with them
chains are just too risky if you don't know the people running them