Any Auto Mechanics out there?

[kristenrice]

I just brought my '04 Suburban in to get some new brakes put on it before we drive it 2400 miles r/t to Florida. The service technician said that they would do a "complimentary inspection" on it because we are taking it on such a long trip.

Surprise, surprise, they found something "wrong". This was the conversation:

Him: "Well, bad news...your rear axle seal is leaking....and it is not a cheap repair."

Me: "How much?"

Him: "About $450."

Me: "What exactly is the importance of this seal? What type of fluid is leaking?"

Him: "It keeps your rear differential fluid from leaking. Without it, you'd break down."

Me: "We just had the differentials serviced in December. Wouldn't this have been part of that?"

Him: "Well....uh....no...oh, it says here that you only had your FRONT differential done and this is the REAR that is causing the problem."

(NOT true...I have the invoice showing that we had BOTH the front AND rear ones serviced.)

Me: "Hmmmm...well, we are about to go on vacation and the $350 that the brakes are costing is already stretching our finances. I can't approve the additional repairs at this time."

Him: "Well, make sure you stop back in before you leave so that we can top off the fluid. You certainly don't want to run out on your trip."

OK, so, first of all, since my truck is parked in our driveway, would I be able to notice a "wet spot" if fluid was leaking? Second, is this seal something that they would have had to remove/replace while servicing the differentials?
IF it is a legitimate repair, I can take it. But, it really feels like the service tech is taking advantage of the fact that I am a female and about to embark on an extended road trip.

To add to my distrust of this guy, I called him on the phone and SPECIFICALLY told him that I ONLY need pads/shoes and I do NOT need the rotors turned. He quoted me $180 for the front service alone. He told me that the turning of the rotors is INCLUDED in the "brake service". I reiterated that I didn't need it and he said that it is all-inclusive. NOW, I see on their website that I can get the front brake pads installed for $99.95* (turning the rotors, tax and other services extra).

The whole differential/axle leak might be legitimate, but the brake thing really burns my biscuits!

 

[Justsyd2]

Can you contact the place that serviced the differentials and ask them to inspect it for you? It should be covered under their service!

 

[cheap traveler]

I can't say if your seal is leaking, but if it is, he is right about that being dangerous. Having the diff serviced may not have included the seals, depends on the facility. The seals are out at the wheel, while the diff is in the center of the car. Usually they would just remove the diff cover, not going near the wheels.

As for why it is dangerous? The fluid leaks onto the brakes, causing them to possibly fail. On the plus side, it is the rear brakes, which only do about 30% of the braking.

I would suggest you take it somewhere else for a second opinion, if you can. And last note, I promise, you should have the rotors turned. It will give you a better feel, less noise, and better wear. I won't replace my pads without getting new rotors - and I own a shop.

Good luck, and have a great trip!!

 

[kristenrice]

I can't say if your seal is leaking, but if it is, he is right about that being dangerous. Having the diff serviced may not have included the seals, depends on the facility. The seals are out at the wheel, while the diff is in the center of the car. Usually they would just remove the diff cover, not going near the wheels.

As for why it is dangerous? The fluid leaks onto the brakes, causing them to possibly fail. On the plus side, it is the rear brakes, which only do about 30% of the braking.

I would suggest you take it somewhere else for a second opinion, if you can. And last note, I promise, you should have the rotors turned. It will give you a better feel, less noise, and better wear. I won't replace my pads without getting new rotors - and I own a shop.

Good luck, and have a great trip!!

Thanks so much for the advice!

Our brakes were replaced at 50,000 miles and it is only at a 74,000 right now, but we wanted to make sure we had good ones when we drove through the mountains. That's why I figured I'd only need new pads and that the rotors would be fine.

My DH was fuming when I told him about the differential service. He found out about the seal being different from a differential problem so that wasn't the issue. What made him mad is that I told the service tech that our differentials were just done and he specifically told me that it was just the front. We have the invoice proving that both were done so DH is also thinking that the guy might have been trying to scam me. I now know that the repair is (or at least could be) legitimate, but I still have a bad feeling about this dealership's service center.

I had a coupon for 10% off my service that said "present upon arrival". I handed it to the service tech and he told me to just leave it on the dashboard so I wouldn't lose it. He told me to present it to the cashier when I came to pick up my car. Ok, so I go to pick up my car, and they send me to the cashier to pay and THEN they will bring the car around. I'd forgotten about the coupon so I paid. When I went to the car and saw the coupon, I marched right back in and asked to have the transaction redone with the coupon applied. The cashier was less than happy to do this, but I explained to her what happened. She completed the transaction without saying another word. Again, it felt like they were being very shady about the whole ordeal.

We decided to take the truck to a different service center for another opinion/estimate. We're not sure where to go since we only have the one Chevrolet dealership in the area. If anyone has any ideas where to start, I'd appreciate it.

 

[squirrel]

Oh, I know how you feel.

I took my car into one place all the time for the brakes to get checked. Then one time I took it to a new place for an oil change. They tried to tell me that the brakes were bad and I had to get them replaced. I told them I would drive it home and talk to my dad. Well a week later I went straight to the regular brake place and left it with them to check out on Sat morning. I called them later that day and they told me that they were fine I had plenty of wear left on them.

That following week, I received a phone call from the Oil Change place customer service asking about my experience. I said I would be happy to make time to let her know how I was lied to and that the technician was trying to get me to have work done that didn't need doing.

I'm happy to say that the place closed down a short while later! I hope it was because of me and other customers who weren't happy with them. This company was not a little one shop place, it was a large company that sells gas and does car repairs.

I hope your second place is a good one!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

You could also take it to a GMC dealer if one is close to you.

Don't hit me, but a Cadillac dealer could also look at it.

 

[JB2K]

If it's out of warranty, I would go outside the dealer network...Midas is usually a good place to start (and they're everywhere!). Plus, if you have additional problems on the road, they'll be able to help...

 

[JB2K]

For those comtemplating car repairs, this article was just posted on Yahoo Autos...

It's a good read.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

OP...please tell me that you had both front and rear brakes done for $350...cuz he ripped you off there too if you didn't (UGGGGHHHHH!)

 

[Mrs. Bradbury]

I own a shop.

Would you pleeeeeeeeeease move next door to me?

There are few worse feelings than having a mechanic you're not sure about. I just feel so exposed when trying to make automotive decisions.

 

[kristenrice]

OP...please tell me that you had both front and rear brakes done for $350...cuz he ripped you off there too if you didn't (UGGGGHHHHH!)

Oh yeah, it was the front and rear.

Their service manager always calls to do a follow-up on how we rated our service. I can't wait to get this call!

Yes, the car is out of warranty, by about 12,000 miles, so I had thought about going outside of a dealer to get it done. I had actually thought about Midas, but (for now seemingly silly reasons) decided to just go to the dealer. I think I will go there for my second opinion.

 

[bumbershoot]

If they were the ones that were just messing with the rear axle seals in December, they get to fix that. You do NOT want that to come out during your trip...Jiffy Lube did it to me, didn't replace it tightly enough, and it came out while I was driving at highway speeds, in near-rural Oregon, at about 4:40pm on a Friday afternoon...I was LUCKY I could get the limping car to an exit to a tiny town that just happened to have a mechanic open AND a car parts store open (all about to close at 5pm). Ended up with metal shavings in my rear axle. My dad works on cars so he went to a junkyard, got a "new" axle and replaced it...Jiffy Lube paid him back for it (sad part of the story is that he thought he was doing me a favor by getting the payment in JL gift certificates, but I never used them again). And while he was in there, they were working on replacing a brand new Cadillac, that they had just done the same thing to.

So you want that to be fixed, but if THEY were the ones who last messed with that part, they should probably be taking care of it at no charge.


Honestly, I almost always get a guy to talk to mechanics. Before I was married, I would call my stepdad to talk to them, even if he was across the country from me. I'll never forget an experience in SC...my car (borrowed from mom and stepdad) was being fixed, so stepdad let me borrow his car (good gravy it was a Firebird, was that a fun week or two or what?). While I had that car, it started making a funny noise.

I brought it to the same place that was working on the Golf. I described the noise. The guy treated me as though I were insane. So I called my stepdad who was up in VA. Told him the noise. He called the mechanic, made the noise on the phone, the mechanic was able to fix the problem.

DH has helped countless female (and some male) coworkers from being ripped off at their mechanics, simply by calling to get clarification on what the car owners are being told "has to" be done.

So...I'd have your husband deal with this, even if you're the car brains of the family...it's one of the few places left that is allowed to be entirely sexist, it seems.

(not that ALL car places act like that, I'm sure there are good ones out there)