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They think I’m a sucker. A rube. An easy mark. And I need your help. Not in defending me, for I’m well aware that I’m all of these things, but in confirming my suspicions.
I’m the first to admit that I know less about cars than anyone on the planet. I know how to add washer fluid, fill ‘em with gas, and check the tire pressure.
Beyond that, anything I say or do is pure guesswork.
It’s not that I mind being car stupid. After all, I believe everyone should be completely useless at something in life. It helps the world go ’round. My being a complete dummy when it comes to car care, tools, and nutrition helps ensure the livelihood of auto mechanics, handymen, and Little Debbie Snack Cakes.
What bothers me is when mechanics know that I’m car stupid and try to swindle me. Like last week. We had taken our babe-magnet of a minivan in for inspection and walked out with a $573 repair estimate to fix the O2 sensor, replace the rear brake pads, and swap out the serpentine belt.
Seeing “O2 sensor” on the sheet was a surprise because I didn’t even know cars had the ability to sense oxygen. While it’s nice to know that I’ll be among the first to know when the earth plunges into a cataclysmic oxygen shortage, I’m actually pretty darn good at sensing oxygen myself, so I wasn’t sure this was even needed.
I was told the van couldn’t pass inspection without it so I signed off on that item even though I hadn’t a clue what was being fixed.
Opting to replace the brake pads was a no-brainer because I do prefer that my cars come to a complete stop.
But the serpentine belt was something I considered waiting on because I wasn’t even sure what it did. I asked if we could hold off on that and he closed me in only four sentences.
Him: “Sure, you can wait on the belt if you really need to.”
Me: Okay, great.
Him sensing lost revenue: “I do want to let you know that it shows a lot of wear and if that goes then you risk significant engine damage.”
Me: Seriously? Is this thing loaded with ball bearings and nails or something?
Him ignoring my question: “Buuuut I’m sure you’ll be fine for a while.”
Me: Okay, cool, we can revisit that later.
Him: “I just can’t say for how long.”
Me: Okay, fine…change it.
He may as well have just come right out and said, “Sure, you can wait on the belt if you don’t care about your family possibly careening off a cliff when the serpentine belt snaps and obliterates all functioning engine parts causing motor armageddon. I’m sure they’ll be fine. Until impact.”
Fast forward $573 later and we’re tootling around town in our spiffy van. Stopping at will. Sensing oxygen. Enjoying the benefit of serpentine. When out of nowhere our dashboard “Brake” warning light comes on.
Shuffling through the handy manual it says to get the car checked immediately because the brakes could fail. That sounded pretty important so we took it back to the mechanic.
I’m in the waiting area enjoying a 1998 Field & Stream when he comes out and explains something so absurd that I felt compelled to ask my trusted blog readers if I was being taken. So, my question to you is simple. Am I being taken?
He explained that sometimes during a brake job the calipers can get fussy. When they replaced the pads, the caliper didn’t cooperate, and it broke. The result was a streaming loss of brake fluid.
This is the part I didn’t understand. “This is normal with brake jobs but seeing how we did the work we’re going to go ahead and replace it for free. You just have to buy the part.”
After a brief pause to make sure I wasn’t wearing an “I’m With Stupid” t-shirt adorned an up arrow I asked why I should have to buy the part if they broke it.
He replied saying, “Sometimes…things just break. I did top you off with fluid though.”
I argued that I didn’t feel it was right for me to buy the $85 part and he said their offer of free labor was the best they could do in this situation. I took the van and coasted home testing the brakes all the while. We’re wondering what to do next as brake fluid pools in our driveway.
Is this for real? Do we suck it up and pay him the $85 to get our van on the road? Anywhere else I take it will charge us labor as well so we feel trapped.
Unless, of course, calipers really are fragile beasts. But if they are truly this brittle, why are they in charge of stopping a vehicle?
Are there any car peeps out there who can shed some light on this?
Understand that I’m not one to argue too long with someone who will be near our brake lines with sharp objects. After all, sometimes, things just break.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
I am beat so i will make this short, but I do know cars. ( I am from the home of the Indy 500! lol)
tell him to suck it and you will take him to small claims court. he admitted that they broke it. no contest.
the serpentine belt was actually a safe call. it could break and damage components in the engine that may not even be repairable. not likely, but it could happen. I think that is why he couldn't give you a straight answer.
I actually changed mine last summer. I had to rent a tensioner from autozone. and it was actually pretty simple. but dirty!
too bad I didnt have a blog then, that would have made a great vlog!
.-= karissa´s last blog ..Hoop It Up With Hoopnotica and Green Your Fitness Routine! Review and Giveaway =-.
Um I would have so flipped out on him! There is no way in hell I would have left that place without the part being replaced for FREE…of course I would have used a combination of part sexy momma and part "Crazy, I have 6 kids here with me in this hot garage screaming at the top of their lungs because they wanna go home and they can't cause you broke our car Momma" and prayed to Baby Jesus he would have replaced it for free.
And the O2 sensors I feel your pain…mine need replaced in my SUV and in the mean time it's sucking gas like a Dyson!
.-= Allison aka Misadventurous Mommy´s last blog ..Cooking with My Misadventurous Kids…Rice Krispie Treats =-.
My husband (a car guy) says this is BS. He'll be along with his thoughts shortly.
.-= Sarah´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: Playing Dress Up =-.
My dad could tell you anything you needed to know, but me? I'm in the boat with you. No clue, but I hope you get it all worked out.
.-= Whitney´s last blog ..Jessie Steele Apron Review =-.
Karissa explained alot of my thoughts. And if a serpentine belt breaks, yes it can damage the engine but if it comes off, you're car is gonna stop running pretty darn quick and you'd know it.
The guy pulled the "wool" over ya sort of speak. It's bs what they think they are capable of getting away with. I love when they've attempted to pull it on me and I tell them what's really wrong with the car. I once had a dealership offer me a job when I told them everything wrong with their "used car" and why no way in H… would I buy it.
.-= Jenna´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday-Water… =-.
I am not as brushed up on cars as I was in high school when my ex boyfriend was a mechanic BUT I can tell you that the 02 sensor deals with your emissions test. As far as the brakes I would say "They broke it they buy it!!!!" I understand how you feel about being trapped though. I would wholeheartedly recommend Melvin over there at I think its Highland Safety Center. He is the only person my father would let me take my car to. Melvin has been working on our families vehicles for YEARS!! Good Luck!!
I know it's tough call. Hate to make him mad. Brake work is really something you want someone mad at you doing!
.-= Kate´s last blog ..Suave Professionals Volumizing Haircare Review and Giveaway!!! =-.
Sorry I don't know much about cars here either.
I would totally end up getting suckered.
.-= Kristie´s last blog ..WFMW: Cutting Unnecessary Spending =-.
I can't believe the way this seems to happen to almost everyone. I am just going to nod my head with the crowd. While the mechanic could have required you to pay for the secondary brake repair, the fact that he acknowledged the damage was done by them while replacing your brake pads means he accepted responsibility.
The question is: Is it worth a whole lot of hassle to get the repair done for free? I would also suggest not using this auto shop and writing as many consumer reviews {Angie's List, Google, etc} after the repair has been completed to help the rest of us non-car guys.
.-= Teresa´s last blog ..Teacher Work Days =-.
Greg, everyone above is on the money. The shop knows it's their fault and just want you to go quietly, and not to another shop, either. $85 is probably even an inflated price for the caliper.
From the beginning, it's like this: The serpentine belt is basically the belt that runs all your fun bits under the hood: Air conditioning, alternator (charges the battery and gives you juice to run all the massive thumping audio you must have if you have a minivan…all that room in the back for subwoofers, don't you know), power steering, and likely the water pump, which doesn't actually pump water, but coolant. Losing the belt might make it really really hard to steer, cause your battery to begin to discharge, and prevent your engine from getting any coolant. All at once. Probably not the most desirable set of circumstances at 70-per on the local interstate. So, it's good to replace.
As for the brakes, also a good idea as you've intuited. However, please rest assured that calipers are meant to withstand extremely high temperatures (like 400 or so degrees Fahrenheit), and incredible mechanical loads (tons of force) simultaneously. The very idea that a brake caliper gets "fussy" during a pad change (which normally takes about 20-30 minutes for a competent mechanic, barring problems), is completely absurd. Likewise, the notion that this type of thing "normally happens" during a pad change is completely laughable. The only way this could possibly happen is if the shop intended it to happen, or the caliper were literally about to fall off the car when they first tried to change the pads. What CAN normally happen is that the seals around some of the internal components of the caliper go bad, necessitating their replacement, which is a messy but relatively simple job. Seals leak, calipers don't just break.
Now the problem becomes your decision. Court and eventual recovery of some costs but not the hours it took to get it? Or finding a shop that is in at least some way connected to reputability and paying them to actually figure out just what in the world the trained simians at the other "shop" were doing. I wish you all the best. Hell, if you were in my area, I'd give you a brake job for the price of parts and a couple beers. You could sit on a stool in my garage and watch the whole thing.
-Sarah's car guy
Oh. Holy . Crap.
These guys aren't mechanics – they are sales men. Ugh! I hate people like that! I change my own oil. I know how much things cost. I don't like when mechanics are told what to tell people they 'need' to buy. They are paid on commission. I take their suggestions and put it in my back pocket, then I go home and look for myself. GGRR @ the O2 sensor dude. I would blog more about him. Just because it is funny. LOL!
.-= Tanya @ Mommy Goggles´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday =-.
I can so relate! I went in by myself to get new tires last fall. When I went to pick up the car, they told me I needed something else replaced for $300 (can't remember exactly what.) I told them I needed my hubby to check it out first before I agreed to anything. Anyway, long story shortened, my BIL is a mechanic so we took the car to him. Amazingly he couldn't find ANYTHING wrong with it. So glad I didn't pay that $300. Con artists!! I'm sure they just thought I looked like a really stupid girl who knows nothing about cars. (They were right.)
.-= hairstyles for girls´s last blog ..Another Giveaway! (Baby/Toddler Shoes) =-.
You sure it's not just a busted johnson rod?
.-= Mr Blonde´s last blog ..There's what in my hamburger?! =-.
Heh. My husband is a DIYer and just did his brakes and yes the caliper can break. He just replaced his for something like $30. BUT, they HAD to have known they broke the thing, just like my husband did immediately when it happened. Go to the manager and demand they fix it. Or, like someone said, suck up the cost and never go back there.
.-= Theresa´s last blog ..This Is How Much My Kid Loves Me =-.
Thank you everyone! I'm printing this baby out and taking in the comments to see what we can work out.
@Mr Blonde – I knew it wasn’t the johnson rod as I just paid to have that replaced a few weeks ago.
You tell that guy you're going to go to court and file a complaint with the BBB as well as let everyone in town know what he's up to if he doesn't repair it properly. Print out everything you can about what he says "is the problem" and rocket it off at him.
.-= Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting´s last blog ..Party Pooper =-.
Oh, and the Attorney General can/will help you, too. You can file consumer complaints with them, too.
.-= Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting´s last blog ..Party Pooper =-.
The brake thing is pure BS. He out and out admitted they broke it. Is there anyone higher up? I'd go with them first. If not, then I'd just flat out tell him to fix out or wait to hear from your lawyer.
.-= Amanda´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday – Mmmmmm….Chocolate =-.
Oh man!!!
I'm not a car girl LOL have no clue about anything, but Hubby knows a lot, he changes the oil, brakes and most of the other things in our car and for the family LOL I know we have been ripped several times by so called mechanics, they are the worst. They make a mistake and than just raise the price.
Once they replaced completely wrong part on my BIL's car, he went back to complain to the manager what is the noise while he drives if they fixed it, so the guy fixed the real problem for free. No money for parts or anything.
Hope everything works out, I would complain!It's their fault it broke, there shouldn't be anything out of your packet!
.-= Firefly´s last blog ..Activity Bus From Plan Toys Review =-.
That is outrageous! I can't believe the nerve of some people. I would do what the above comments say, he may back down as soon as you mention small claims court, if not I say go forward with it. I had a little incident (not near as pricey as yours) the last time I got my oil changed. You know the little sticker they put on the window for the next time you need an oil change, either an estimated date or the number of miles your gauge reads. These folks didn't put an estimated date (no biggie) but they put the number of miles before my next oil change at 1,000 more than my current miles!!! I'm no car expert but from what I've read 3,000 is recommended by car experts and some say you can wait it out as long as 5,000 but 1,000? Cheats!
.-= Ashley´s last blog ..Free LongHorn Appetizer w/ Entree Purchase =-.
Happy to update that we came to an agreement. I will pay $40 as they explained it was the "seal" that broke and not the actual caliper from bad handling. I felt it fair and equitable and now I have happy peeps working near our brake lines.
In this small town it's best to mend bridges, not burn 'em, so I was okay with this arrangement.
Glad to hear you worked out an arrangement, but still…sheesh what a pain in the rear.
.-= Diane J.´s last blog ..Define Unsweetened =-.
Go to the parts store, buy the caliper yourself (for probably a lot less), take it ther and watch them install it for free. They get nothing out of the deal. The, be sure to let them know that you will share their name on your very popular blog, and make sure everyone knows what a crap job they did.
.-= Middle-Aged-Woman´s last blog ..Travel Tip Thursday: East Coast vs. West Coast =-.
Find out if in fact its the caliper that is leaking. crawl underneath with flashlight. It may be the brake line going int the caliper. When mechanics do disc brakes they remove the caliper but not the brake line. the caliper ends up resting on the hub until it accidentally falls. At which time the brake line kinks / cracks . If your van is older its possible the seals are bad. I would like to know how the mechanic compressed the pistons in the caliper. they need to be compressed evenly . If he compressed them using oversize pliers or something along that line so that the piston kinked this may have damaged the calipers. Open your hood use that same flashlight look at the belt. feel underneath it if its got cracks or feels rough replace it. Your welcome to bring your van over here to CT any time and I will take a look at it for you. ( a good mechanic will look over his or her work when they finish . If they let you go down the road with a leak. You may not want to go back to that place.) And yes some times things just break and the customer has to pay. Good luck Greg & let us know how you make out.
Oh sorry I didn't see the updated post . Glad it all worked out for you.
You want some good advice. If its impossible for you to do the job yourself . Call your police dept. Find out where they get there cars serviced. These type places tend to not rip people off. They also tend to have ASE qualified mechanics . Next time your in a shop getting something fixed . If the mechanic is a good one ask him if he does side work. A lot of these guys can make more money out of there own garage and cost you a lot less. Again make sure its a good person