WARNING of Automotive Repair shops

[Tumbleweed]

Just wanted to share some info with all of you. I have noticed alot of commercials lately advertising cheap brake jobs. As a result I have also noticed many of my friends and family and customers calling me about the quotes they got at many of these shops. Some of them called me after the work was done and I couldn't believe they got screwed so bad. Yes many shops offer $99 brake jobs but you will not pay this. Most likely they will tell you your Rotors are under spec and your Calipers are sticking and need to be replaced. Some of them even say your Master Cylinders are bad. If you own a car that is less than 10 years old 99% of the time this is a lie and they are just trying to get money out of you. As a factory trained Ford Mechanic working at a Dealership for the last 10 years I can say I have replaced about 3 master cylinders and 10 calipers. Most of these on big trucks with large loads. It is very uncommon for these parts to go bad on today's cars and trucks. Just be warned, this can happen anywhere, including dealerships. If you are given a quote at a shop for your brakes and it comes out to $400 to $500 please say thank you for the free inspection and go somewhere else and get a second opinion. I don't want to see any of you get nailed by these shops.

Hope this helps a little 8)

[DingleBerns]

If my dad wasn't a mechanic like you weed, I would def fall for it.....

[bluedevil]

Ive never taken any of my wife's vehicles or my own to those places and had them tell me an amount any less than $700 bucks... I even had one of them tell me $500 to rebuild the calipers (and new OEM ones were $89.99ea) Why the hell would you rebuild if you could by them for a fraction?
Crooks !!!

Have you heard the fine print on one of them that is advertising pretty heavily now?

"Additional parts and services may be required at substantial additional costs"
YEAH DUH...... Like 5000% mark up additional cost..haha

Thanks for lookin out for the common driver Weed....

[Aracheon]

+1

And even on the trucks you had to replace the master cylinders on, I'd be willing to bet it was deep into the 6-figure range on the mileage.

Even my 1993 Celica AllTrac, which has 191,000 on the clock still has very strong brakes. The only parts needing replacement are the pads and soft lines.

[ChickenStrip]

I'm a BMW mechanic and I always tell people the quality of work at a dealership will always surpasses the quality of work at independent shops. I always tell people to take their car to the dealership for repairs.

A little inside info...
-Labor rate at my shop $125
-Labor rate at my friends shop $120
-They buy parts from my dealership, mark them up and sell them to you.
-Some kid that gets paid minimum wage installs the parts and crosses his fingers hoping that fixes the problem.
-You end up paying the same price without the piece of mind.

Why wouldn't you want a mechanic that has seen your model of car and this problem a hundred times that knows exactly what it would take to fix it right the first time?

[JimWilson29]

Just wanted to share some info with all of you. I have noticed alot of commercials lately advertising cheap brake jobs. As a result I have also noticed many of my friends and family and customers calling me about the quotes they got at many of these shops. Some of them called me after the work was done and I couldn't believe they got screwed so bad. Yes many shops offer $99 brake jobs but you will not pay this. Most likely they will tell you your Rotors are under spec and your Calipers are sticking and need to be replaced. Some of them even say your Master Cylinders are bad. If you own a car that is less than 10 years old 99% of the time this is a lie and they are just trying to get money out of you. As a factory trained Ford Mechanic working at a Dealership for the last 10 years I can say I have replaced about 3 master cylinders and 10 calipers. Most of these on big trucks with large loads. It is very uncommon for these parts to go bad on today's cars and trucks. Just be warned, this can happen anywhere, including dealerships. If you are given a quote at a shop for your brakes and it comes out to $400 to $500 please say thank you for the free inspection and go somewhere else and get a second opinion. I don't want to see any of you get nailed by these shops.

Hope this helps a little 8)

(cough)brakes(cough)plus(cough,cough)......

[gsnyder828]

I'm a BMW mechanic and I always tell people the quality of work at a dealership will always surpasses the quality of work at independent shops.

I realize you're refering more to the local corner generic repair shop, and not a specialty shop - but I'll take my guys at BimmerHaus over my local BMW dealership any day of the week...

And not all dealerships are on the up & up. My little sister was told by a dealership (something that rhymes with Leeway Ford) that she needed new brakes on her Focus to the tune of >$500. I priced the parts & was looking at ~ $180 for OEM. She took it to another dealership who inspected her brakes and told her pad life was ~50%, rotors were within spec. and nothing was leaking / brakes were fine... come back in 10k miles and they'd check again.

So - buyer beware and all that...

[dave.gallant]

Bimmerhaus rocks! +1

[Tumbleweed]

Many of these reasons are why I say it can happen anywhere. Just so you know, when you go to a dealership for an oil change 90% of the time it is done by a kid getting paid $9hr to change oil all day (unless you request your mechanic to do the oil change). He has the equivalent knowledge of a kid working at Grease Monkey. I see it all the time at my places of work. Other Mechanics trying to sell brake pads when they still have 10k to 20k of pad life left. Good luck to all and always ask to see your pads before you authorize the work.

And yes Dion, I have heard that new commercial. That is what spurred me onto this post after I heard it last night.

I do agree that for the most part Dealerships are better places to go but I will be the first to admit there are horrible Mechanics everywhere. My honest advice to you all is if and when you find a Mechanic you trust who does good work and is honest, pay whatever he wants and follow him wherever he goes. Sometimes paying a little more to a Mechanic you trust is well worth it. You get what you pay for. Good Mechanics are extremely hard to find.

Again, good luck to all.

[bluedevil]

And yes Dion, I have heard that new commercial. That is what spurred me onto this post after I heard it last night.

:lol: I thought that might be the reason..... Everytime I hear that commercial I want to drive the nearest one and "Lose my cool" haha

[Vanmar Racing]

A few years ago our son took his car to a shop in Ft. Collins to have the sqeakey brakes fixed. He was going to college up there. The shop told him that he needed "the works" and that his rotors were gone and calipers needed to be replaced. Total quote was 899.00!!! In fact they said the car was too unsafe to drive and wouldn't give him his keys back. We had to drive up there with a flat bed trailer, pick up the car, bring it to Denver. Mark ( who used to be a NAISE certified tech) put in a set of pads for 30.00 and it's been great ever since!

[JimWilson29]

I took my truck in to get the transmission flushed the week before the last Hastings race. When I got the truck back, my steering and brakes did not work and were making a loud groaning noise. Their first response was its supposed to make that noise. I said "Bullshit!". There next response was they didnt touch the steering or brakes. I said "Bullshit they worked when I brought it in!". I made them put the truck back on the lift and show me exactly what they did. Well it turns out the mistakenly drained the hydraulic assist for the power steering and brakes thinking they were draining the tranny. Then they just topped off the tranny when they were done. So my tranny wasnt flushed and my hydraulic assist for the steering and brakes was bone dry! I asked him if he thought something wasnt right when it only took a half a quart of transmission fluid to fill the tranny after he had thought he had drained it. He just looked at me wide eyed like a deer in headlights. :shock:

[Vanmar Racing]

Jim, What was the name of that shop? I want to stay far far away!!

[ChickenStrip]

I do agree that for the most part Dealerships are better places to go but I will be the first to admit there are horrible Mechanics everywhere.

That's the truth. I always tell people that they should find one mechanic and always take your car to that one guy. If you have a re pore with your mechanic it will make the whole service experience a positive experience.

[The GECCO]

I remember about a decade ago a 20/20 or Dateline type show where they took an older car and had a certified mechanic replace EVERYTHING (soft lines, calipers, wheel cylinders, rotors, drums, pads, shoes, etc) and then drove it for a couple thousand miles to get everything dirty/seasoned enough that it wasn't obvious everything was new. It was then re-inspected to make sure everything was still OK.

Then they took it to a few Midas/Brakes Plus type shops under the guise that it was a recent purchase and to please "check everything out", and were told that all sorts of brake components were worn out and needed replacement.

At all but one of the shops they simply refused the work and left, but at one shop where the work was refused they were told that things had been disassembled as part of the inspection, and that the parts were so bad that the shop refused to accept the liability of reassembling the used parts and allowing the car to be driven away. After getting that in writing they finally told the shop what was going on, and quickly got their car back.

I laughed my ass off through the whole episode. After working for a few summers at a Jiffy Lube, I wouldn't send my worst enemy there, the same goes for all of the "chain" service shops.

[cu260r6]

The front 4wd differential thing on my Ranger needed replacement, so I brought it to a Mineke near my home. After the repair the next time I engaged the 4wd the truck veered heavily to one side while one wheel was hopping up and down. I brought it back and requested they fix the problem to which they replied there was no apparent problem. After getting another shop to check it out they found Mineke put the wrong ratio differential in, so the wheels were all trying to turn at different speeds. Mineke finally conceded to replacing the part but refused to cover the cost I had to spend getting the other shop to diagnose the problem. Of the two mechanic shops I found one I'll never go back to and one I use for everything now.

[Wahooman]

I'm a BMW mechanic and I always tell people the quality of work at a dealership will always surpasses the quality of work at independent shops. I always tell people to take their car to the dealership for repairs.

HIGHLY disagree with your comment. As Weed said...there is dishonesty everywhere and unfortunetly that is the stereotype of our industry.
Our family business is a leading independent repair facility in the nation.....and I guarantee if you go to any "quality" shop or perhaps not so "quality" and mention our facility name...they know it.

My father is currently the president of ASE.....the organization that licenses all those techs looking at your vehicle. He serves on several advisory boards which include CEOs of Toyota and other manufact.

We were the top independent repair facility in the nation years back and now are just "invited" back every year as an honorable member.

I am not here to brag about our shop, but to make a point that there are places other than dealerships to take your vehicle to.
Weed hit it RIGHT on the head. Find a technician and shop you trust, build a relationship with and stick with them. Everyone drops the ball once in a while, heck we have done it...we are human.
I have taught plenty of customer service classes for dealerships and can tell you plenty of horror stories there as well.
I am glad there are some other MRA racers in this industry and appear to have the right outlook on the automotive industry.

When looking for a facility you can help yourself by doing some research if you don't know them:
- are they a ASE shop...do they employee licensed techs?
- are they an ASA member
- are they AAA approved, which is a HUGE task to hold onto and keep

If you ever need a recommendation for a facility in your area don't hesitate to call me....we know plenty of places that will take care of you RIGHT.....which includes dealerships and independents.

First thing I tell anyone that starts asking at our facility....WE ARE NOT THE CHEAPEST AROUND AND NEVER WILL BE. If price shopping, we are not your shop. If you want quality work, exceptional customer service experience, and a relationship that lasts.....come on in!

Hey Weed....if I remember you said you worked at Brighton Ford? If you do work there is Roger still there? Also if Tony (Anthony) is still there tell him HELLO....he worked for our facility years ago and is a great guy!!

Thanks for the post Chris......its sad to see this happen over and over and over..............

That is all.....lol.

[Tumbleweed]

Yep, I'm at Brighton Ford. Roger is not here, he actually left before I started here. Anthony is here and he is a damn good Mechanic. All in all the shop has lots of good Techs at this time, but as you know that changes every so often. I'll tell him you say hi.