Auto Mechanic in the house?

[WIcruizer]

Just had an ugly experience at the repair shop today. You know how it goes, you take your car in and you never know if you got "hosed" or not. Do you really need the repair they say you do? Are they inflating the costs?

My vehicle in question is a 2003 Pontiac Montana. I figured it needed new brakes and struts, but I was planning on around $700. I get "the call." $1,504!!!

They said I needed new struts, and not jsut brake PADS, but front drums also, and some other part I forget off hand. Now I have no idea if I really needed new drums, and whther or not they jacked up the price of parts and/or labor.

Any suggestions?

 

[JR6ooo4]

Any good shop will show you the worn out parts. If it is electrical then the damage is hard to see. But if your drums/rotors are bad they can show you and explain why. Struts may be leaking or otherwise physicaly damaged in a way that you can see. Otherwise one test is to bounce the car. It should go down and up and stop. If it keeps bouncing that is bad.But you needed to see that when the old parts were on the car. It is something you should be able to feel while driving. Smoother and better handling.

Also if the monatana is considered an SUV then parts prices can go up quite drasticaly compared to car parts.

Mikeeee

 

[shrubber]

brake drums should be about 95 bucks a piece for that van.
Struts with assemblies should be about 200 a piece.
Ask them for a parts to labor breakdown of the bill and shop around.
Neither installation is that time consuming.

 

[rhonhod]

DH owns his own auto repair business. He always keeps the parts and shows his customers. ALWAYS!!

 

[Hercules10]

Front "DRUMS"???????.....Most all vehicles now have front wheel disc brakes. Something smells. And either way a 3 year old vehicle should not need new drums or rotors.

What's the mileage?

 

[WIcruizer]

Front "DRUMS"???????.....Most all vehicles now have front wheel disc brakes. Something smells. And either way a 3 year old vehicle should not need new drums or rotors.

What's the mileage?

Yeah, I said drums but meant rotors. It has 68,000 miles on it. Yes, we get around!

The thing is, he can show me the parts. How do I know if the wear and tear is "normal" or if they needed to be replaced? How do I know they were even the rotors from my van?

I believe I needed new struts, I just don't know if the price was reasonable. I personally know the GM at this shop, and I don't want to hold any resentment. It's just the sticker shock, and that uneasy feeling of whether I was screwed or not.

 

[ducklite]

Front "DRUMS"???????.....Most all vehicles now have front wheel disc brakes. Something smells. And either way a 3 year old vehicle should not need new drums or rotors.

What's the mileage?

My guess is that he meant rotors.

Most places don't want to turn rotors anymore, they are a lot smaller and thinner as OEM than they were in the past. And due to that, they tend to heat up faster and will rut and pit faster. So even if the pads haven't gone metal to metal, the rotors can still need replacing by 50K miles thes days. Sad but true.

We also don't know what type of milage or driving is done with the vehicle. DH's Prius will have 80K miles on it by the time it's three years old. Because it's a 2003, it could actually be 3.5 years old, and given 12K miles a year that's 42K miles. If the OP does a lot of stop and go driving, it's very likely those rotors are shot.

That said, IMHO that estimate sounds about $300-400 too high.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

Yeah, I said drums but meant rotors. It has 68,000 miles on it. Yes, we get around!

The thing is, he can show me the parts. How do I know if the wear and tear is "normal" or if they needed to be replaced? How do I know they were even the rotors from my van?

I believe I needed new struts, I just don't know if the price was reasonable. I personally know the GM at this shop, and I don't want to hold any resentment. It's just the sticker shock, and that uneasy feeling of whether I was screwed or not.

I'm surprised you need struts, but not at all surprised you need rotors, especially if the pads haven't been changed before. As far as knowing they are from your van, mark them with a grease pen before he removes them.

Anne

 

[sugarpie]

My husband is a mechanic. I have no idea if that is a fair price, but I do know that where he works (a large dealership) there are set prices for parts & set averages for how long a job should take a mechanic. There is no way to jack up the price on a job. And there are too many eyes watching to try & screw over a customer.

Get another estimate. Go to my husbands dealership. He could use the work.

 

[almacdonald]

My advice... get rid of the pontiac and buy anything else. I own a 2000 Grand Am with 85000 Km or about 53000 miles on it. I've replaced all of the standard "pontiac problems" ie) struts, brakes/calipers/rotors, power steering (FOUR TIMES!!!), intake manifold and the list goes on. It seems that a lot of the parts are disposible and Pontiac knows that and chooses to do nothing for the customer. For as much as people knock Ford, our Ranger has gotten me to work several times when the Grand Am couldn't.

 

[ducklite]

My husband is a mechanic. I have no idea if that is a fair price, but I do know that where he works (a large dealership) there are set prices for parts & set averages for how long a job should take a mechanic. There is no way to jack up the price on a job. And there are too many eyes watching to try & screw over a customer.

Get another estimate. Go to my husbands dealership. He could use the work.

I always get my mechanical work done at the dealer. They might be a bit more expensive, but I truly feel that they've been more straight up with me than a lot of mechanics might have been. Although I'm into cars and in the past did all my own work, including engine work but not brakes (long story, but not that I do'nt know how), so it would be pretty hard to screw me.

Conversation with service rep about my car a couple months ago:

Me: I need to bring my SKY in to have the seal on the LSD replaced.

Him: How do you know that's the problem?

Me: Well, to begin with theres a high harmonic being caused by the loss of fluid. Of course the puddle of lubricant on the garage floor is a pretty good giveaway.

Him: Well, how do you now it's from the differential?

Me: Um because it's the only thing lubricated with a clear fluid with a light viscocity in the rear end of the car.

Him: Well we'll need to check into it.

Me: Look, it's a Kappa series with a manual tranny. GM was supposed to have fixed this problem before the second generation was released. Check service bulletin #XXXX-XX and you'll find it.

Him: Uh, OK, when do you want to bring it in.

He still didn't believe me. Scarey when I know more about the car than the service advisor...

Anne

 

[sugarpie]

I always get my mechanical work done at the dealer. They might be a bit more expensive, but I truly feel that they've been more straight up with me than a lot of mechanics might have been. Although I'm into cars and in the past did all my own work, including engine work but not brakes (long story, but not that I do'nt know how), so it would be pretty hard to screw me.

Conversation with service rep about my car a couple months ago:

Me: I need to bring my SKY in to have the seal on the LSD replaced.

Him: How do you know that's the problem?

Me: Well, to begin with theres a high harmonic being caused by the loss of fluid. Of course the puddle of lubricant on the garage floor is a pretty good giveaway.

Him: Well, how do you now it's from the differential?

Me: Um because it's the only thing lubricated with a clear fluid with a light viscocity in the rear end of the car.

Him: Well we'll need to check into it.

Me: Look, it's a Kappa series with a manual tranny. GM was supposed to have fixed this problem before the second generation was released. Check service bulletin #XXXX-XX and you'll find it.

Him: Uh, OK, when do you want to bring it in.

He still didn't believe me. Scarey when I know more about the car than the service advisor...

Anne

Those service advisors are often hired right off the street and have little or no knowledge of cars. A lot of them are trained on the job. The GM where my husband works has been known to do his hiring at Hooters.

 

[JR6ooo4]

I always get my mechanical work done at the dealer. They might be a bit more expensive, but I truly feel that they've been more straight up with me than a lot of mechanics might have been. Although I'm into cars and in the past did all my own work, including engine work but not brakes (long story, but not that I do'nt know how), so it would be pretty hard to screw me.

Anne

My dealer repair history is about 80% bad. I have been flat out lied to on at least two different occassions. I have a slight automotive/mechanical background, but it was enough to get one of them to admit he lied. One time My fuel pump quit (at 10,000 miles only) and during the repair they did not hook up the filler tube!!!! I was getting gas and it spilled right on the ground!!

Mikeeee

 

[ducklite]

My dealer repair history is about 80% bad. I have been flat out lied to on at least two different occassions. I have a slight automotive/mechanical background, but it was enough to get one of them to admit he lied. One time My fuel pump quit (at 10,000 miles only) and during the repair they did not hook up the filler tube!!!! I was getting gas and it spilled right on the ground!!

Mikeeee

That's not lying, that's imcompetence!

For the past ten+ years, DH and I have owned five Saturns, a VW, and a Toyota Prius. The only one I can honestly say I thought were a coven of liars and thieves were the VW folks.

Obviously the Prius goes to Toyota for repair, we're not letting a mechanic who may or may not know what he's doing to fix a hybrid touch it in a private shop. Same with my SKY. Considering that most Saturn dealers only have one service guy trained on that car, there's no way I"m going to the local mechanic who I can guarantee hasn't been.

Anne

 

[WIcruizer]

Update:

I recvd the itemized bill, and this is exactly what I'm talking about. Not only did they install brake pads, rotors, and struts. Wheel cylinders, brake fluid flush, bearing plates were added as well. How can I possibly know if this was necessary?

They did knock off $200, so my total was around $1,300. Labor costs look very reasonable, so I guess I only question the cost of parts and which parts were really necessary.