...on a little car I use to drive to work. It's a car that Toyota and Pontiac
did as a project and is no longer made. In the short time they made them
they made a Vibe GT model for a couple of those years.
I've never gotten under 32mpg and usually @36mpg and it will get it. Turbo-charged.(GT)
It has @150,000 miles, in excellent shape - it's just used to get to work and home.
 
The car has never had one mechanical failure. It has had a windshield replaced, tires replaced
and regular service.  
 
I didn't want to change the brake pads so called three shops. Two were dealerships -
one wanted $400.00 and one wanted $500.00 and the independant couldn't price the job because he was doing payroll LOL.
 
It cost me $86.00 for the pads and took me about one and half hours....took me 3 hours to mow
and trim the yard LOL. ( the rollers were fine)
 
Now why do you suppose they rip folks off that bad? No good reason I'm sure.
 

I was having my oil changed and watched my local Honda Dealer, Proctor Honda of Tallahassee, run an intimidation scam on 2 old ladies and then they tried it on me.

They do an unauthorized test of your brake fluid and find that it has some H20 in it. The they offer two make it safe with a flush and fill with $10 worth of fresh fluid for $135.00... and they already have your car sitting on the rack!!!

The two ladies each said ok.

By the time they got to me I replied by advising them that if they really want to scam me and maximize the margin potential on a brake fluid flush they should be testing for copper contamination. I explained how it is a lot more effective at bleeding people into having unnecessary work done.

I even gave them this link to help them out: http://www.brakebleeder.c...-testing/testimonials/

Subsequently, my wife got her oil changed and the service guys at Proctor Honda of Tallahassee tried to intimidate her into getting her brake fluid flushed for $135 as well. She laughed at that and told them I had told her it would happen.

They must be doing a good business bleeding money from people who are niave enough to expect that they are trustworthy.

I've got even better stories about that outfit but this latest attempt to maximize margins has gone further than I ever anticipated I would encounter.

I'm glad I have a big air compressor and a mess of tools.

best regards,
mike

It's a crime.
I'd much rather see our law enforcement protecting
people from them rather than some of the nit-picking
stuff they spend their time doing.

Take a tire/wheel off, two different sockets, put the tire/wheel back on.
If it wasn't so hot and I spent time taking brakes and enjoying drinks I could
have done it easily in under an hour....that means those "pros" could
do it in that or less.
That means that the labor charge alone would have been 3-4 hundred an hour!!

What a shame.

Scams a wicked. Same as people.

Two of these "reputable" dealerships are in seperate towns
and are major makes...Ford, Cadillac, etc. They are not
some independant bozo.

Naturally I'm glad I can avoid their BS but still.....just knowing
they are doing that raises the hair on my arms. Glad it wasn't you
Wookiee! Now that could be a site!

Glad it wasn't you Wookiee! Now that could be a site!

 
Well if you need assistance I am your Wookiee.  Not that a biking Man needs help

I recently had a Jiffy Lube try to upsell me on a few things.  They first said that my two radiator caps were backwards (one has pressure, one doesn't, from having an after-market radiator put on - naturally, they weren't backwards), then they said one of my tail lights was out (it wasn't), then they tried one more time and I replied with "If you think you can do it for this (as I held up the bare minimum amount of money) because it's all I have." and that shut them up.  I can't help but wonder how many people get taken by that crap...

On the other hand, I have an independent auto shop (Burnside Auto Repair & Electric in Portland Oregon) where they are great (especially the owner George).  He gives me what needs to be done, what can be held off for now and what doesn't need to be done straight out.  Then, when there is work to be done, it's done at a VERY reasonable cost.  Twice I've been there where they've checked out the car and left without having to pay anything (who does that any more???).  The first time was a quick idle adjustment and the second time (last week) four guys all tried to figure out what was going on with my car because, of course, it wouldn't act up at the shop!  Then, around 3:45pm (after it had been there since 8am), it finally started to billow out white, gas-rich smoke and all four of them came over smiling with comments like "Finally!  It just wouldn't do that for any of us earlier."  One guy then spent a good 15 minutes putting things back together that they had removed to inspect the car and the owner asked me to take the car to the dealer for a "Check & Diagnose" to determine what exact part failed (the computer was suspected).  For all of that work - no charge, but he knows I'll be back.  As for the dealer?  The "Check & Diagnose" cost me $99 and determined that the problem was the Air Flow Meter which they reset and the problem hasn't reoccurred yet.  I called up George and he said "Great!  Let me know if it reappears and we'll find you a used one."

Oh yeah, the "recommended" service list from the dealer came to a total of almost $2,400 - all that for a car worth $2,000?  I don't think so.

Wookiee  We all need a friend we can lean on...

I sure don't want to come across wrong. I don't mind
paying a fair price for others to help solve my problems.
This time it was just out of line.
I think the "big" boys have a book that gives them a repair
and time guide that they follow...and it just didn't apply to this job.
I don't know all the details for certain other than I'm sure glad
I could do this job easy enough.

I also had a weird problem with inserting a wav file from the browser- it's
posted up stairs with resolution. I've had it happened before but just
worked around it but this time I wanted to know what was going on.

$400-$500 for a brake job? Really? That's a bit rich.
I could see it for a clutch. That's pretty labor intensive. But brakes are relatively easy. 
Although, after 150k miles, I would have probably replaced the rotors.
Even if they are smooth, they may be too thin, and are prone to warpage, especially with aggressive pads.
At $86, I am guessing they are ceramic or semi-metalic. They will eat the rotors.
If you start to feel a surge when you hit the brakes, the rotors are warped.
But it's an easy fix, and you know what to do.

Brakes are a critical component and your points are valid.

My post wasn't to suggest that others may want to do the job and
I sure don't recommend others attempt it without a very good understanding
of the job.
As you point out Robert there are other factors that must be considered.
Wheel bearings are another critical part directly related but again, it wasn't
my intention to "disect" the procedures or many technical particulars.

I'll add that I grew up with a lot of hands on and fortunate to be around
some most professional mechanics - it was something I enjoyed learning
but no way was it with the desire to do full time as a pro.
I've built and rebuilt motors and completely rebuilt and restored muscle cars.
It is easy to not realize all the very important details envolved and mislead
another thinking there's not much to it.
In no way am I suggesting that others should attempt repairing their vehicle.

My intention was to point out the INSANE price quoting for this particular job and
by major vehicle dealerships.
Simply a warning that folks may sure want to investigate needed repairs. Taking
the time to understand exactly what is going on before having the vehicle repaired
may save them a great deal of money.