I'm Going To Murder Someone

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LarryMullen's POPAngel

Blue Crack Distributor
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I'll be up with the sun, I'm not coming down...
I went with my dad today to get the brakes checked on my "new" 1992 Escort, which I just bought back in October. Well, the slimeball who looked at it told me I need new "routers" (??? I am a total car virgin, have no clue at all about them except for how to drive them, and even that's debatable at times, lol) and that for it all it was gonna run me about $300. :scream: Is that a lot, should I look around for a better deal? I just got this car, and now I'm afraid that this will be the first of many repairs, though for now it looks as if everything else is ok.

So, anyways, my mom and I will be discussing tonight whether or not to look for a good deal on a lease since I'm now making enough money, or just get the repair and hope that I get a good year or so out of the damn thing. :mad:


Oh yeah, I almost forgot the part where I'm gonna murder someone...when I got home I noticed my front left hubcap was GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :banghead: :scream: :yell: :mad: My dad called the place and the guy said he "didn't have it", but if I got a replacement he'd put it on and reimburse me the money.


WHAT THE :censored:.


:|:|



What a day.
 
Rotors are the part that the brakes rub against. You can look at it yourself to see if there are grooves in it from wear, if so, yes you need new ones. They only cost like $10 each but the labor is most likely what costs most of the $300.

:|
 
1) Does your father know anything about cars?

2) Going on what Sicy said, I can't imagine them charging $280 for labor on a job that's parts cost $20. I believe Sicy is correct on the price of the parts, so $280 sounds a little steep.

3) If you find a small, locally run business, they may do it cheaper if you pay cash. This is highly illegal and may get them in trouble, but it will cut back on their taxes and perhaps give you a better deal.

Ask your guy friends if they have a clue. If they don't, see if anyone knows a crooked/helpful mechanic who could cut $50 bucks off the price for a little wink wink, nudge nudge, know what I mean.....bargin. :)


Sidenote: I too have a Ford Escort. It's piece of crap, but won't die. I really shouldn't be saying such bad things, but I wish for better things.
 
*is happy that my dad knows lots about cars so I usually only have to buy parts, and he takes care of labor*
 
Danospano said:
3) If you find a small, locally run business, they may do it cheaper if you pay cash. This is highly illegal and may get them in trouble, but it will cut back on their taxes and perhaps give you a better deal.

Why would paying cash be illegal? :confused:
 
Sicy said:


Why would paying cash be illegal? :confused:

I don't think it's the paying cash that is illegal, but the doing it cheaper if you pay them cash that's illegal, right? kinda like...


"ok, we do it for $200 if you pay us cash, $300 if you use credit or check"

that would be illegal
 
Weird. I dont know anywhere around where I live that would do it cheaper just cuz you pay cash.

33.gif
 
Adding to what I mentioned earlier: I've been approached by mechanics and people in other business fields with the option of getting a job done cheaper if I pay cash. This allows the business to make more money and pay less taxes. If the owner makes more money and there are records of the exchange, they will pay higher taxes, thus lose more money. Paying cash allows no documentation, therefore less profit.

It happens more often than not in small business, where one or two people would work. Corporate chains are by the book and will have fixed prices.
 
Sicy knows everything

Sicy said:
Rotors are the part that the brakes rub against. You can look at it yourself to see if there are grooves in it from wear, if so, yes you need new ones. They only cost like $10 each but the labor is most likely what costs most of the $300.

:|

*amazed*
 
Actually, you have to pay more for credit because every time you use your credit card, the business has to pay a small fee to process the card. Not $100 but if they don't take cards often, between the fee and renting the card swiping equipment, it gets expensive.

As for the fix itself, alot of it is labor especially if they mechanic is union. But being in the union also means you have to be trained thoroughly so more money now means less money later when you have to get it fixed again. I usually went to the dealership and paid the extra money to have them fix it because they knew my car better and knew how to fix it better than some random mechanic. And I never had a problem.
 
mm so yeah. I went to get my front shocks checked today because my car has been making a weird squeeking noise in the front end for a while now. They checked the shocks and didnt see anything wrong with them so they decided to lubricate some stuff under there around the suspension.. bushings and what not. The noise is gone!! I cant believe after all these months all it needed was a little WD-40. Pretty honest guys if you ask me. They could have ripped me off but they knew that I knew about cars by the way I was talking to them so :p

However, they did notice that my rotors are fucked up. They've got grooves in the inside .. but the brake pads are still good. So I guess whoever put the brake pads on last put them on over my messed up rotors. :crack:

Estimate is $500. :mad: The rotors are like $138 a piece :crack: But I'm not going to do anything about it until I have to get new brake pads again.

Fords :banghead:
 
Hey just wanted to see if I could lend a bit of help here, as I do alot of my own repairs and have also seen the good and bad in mechanics:

- there are a few main components to your brakes and here are the estimated prices I've gotten them for in my numerous expereiences with car repairs...(all prices CDN so USD will be significantly less Id imagine):

1. Brade pads - THESE are about $20 each (not rotors...). But you only get what you pay for. $20 pads you can expect to last for a year to two max if you drive in the city alot. And they tend to start squealing alot quicker. $40 pads, on the other hand, will last longer, run less risk of damaging the rotors, and will not begin squealing as soon, so depending on how long you intend to keep your car, it may be worth the investment.

2. Brake rotors - these as mentioned are the steel discs that the pads grab onto to stop you. If someone offers you rotors for $10, run the other way quickly..:lol:. Seriously tho, rotors are in the $150-200 range. If you go ultra cheap, you will get rotors that may warp more easily than the more moderately priced ones. Warped rotors will cause your wheels to shake and shudder (unsafe at hwy speeds) and will reduce stopping capability as only parts of the pads can grip onto warped rotors. Again, you get what you pay for.

**TIP FOR SICY** ask your mechanic what type of rotors you have on there now...if were originally of decent quality and are not warped and simply have 'scores' or gouges, there may be an alternative to getting new ones, and that is *machining*. This is a process where a machine shop sets up the rotors on a lathe and remachines the surfaces to remove the scores. Most shops only charge $5-10 per rotor for this, plus the labour of putting them on and taking them off.

3. Rear Drums/Cylinders/Shoes - I cant remember how much these are again and noone is really commenting on them right now, so I'll just be general and say that usually once these go, they have to be replaced. The labour on them isnt too bad tho, usually less than front brake work for some reason.

4. Master Cylinder - this is where you keep your brake fluid topped up. It creates pressure thru the brake lines thru to the brakes. If this cylinder goes, it can be expensive. Depending on the age of your car, ie if its an older model, consider buying a rebuilt cylinder or getting one from a wreckers (more on the great buys you can get at a wreckers on another day, there are some disavantages too). You should check your fluid regularly. You should never really need to 'top up' the fluid if everything is working properly. If you find the fluid is low, there could be a leak in two most common places: the rear brake cylinders, or the brake lines.

Hope that helped. Having said all that, labour is up for grabs. Alot of mechanics sadly will see a rookie coming a mile away and try and take them to the cleaners. When in doubt get a second opinion, that usually helps.

Danospano also makes a good point about cash. It can be an incentive to do it cheaper. But consider the consequences carefully when dealing with a safety item like brakework. No reciept means a hard time proving your brakes were fixed by a reputable mechanic in the event of a brake failure/crash.
 
gabrielvox said:
**TIP FOR SICY** ask your mechanic what type of rotors you have on there now...if were originally of decent quality and are not warped and simply have 'scores' or gouges, there may be an alternative to getting new ones, and that is *machining*. This is a process where a machine shop sets up the rotors on a lathe and remachines the surfaces to remove the scores. Most shops only charge $5-10 per rotor for this, plus the labour of putting them on and taking them off.

The outside of the rotor can be "machined" because its not as bad as the inside.. but the insides have major grooves in them.
 
If you're looking to get the job done, correctly, at a reasonable price, take it to your local dealer..ford, chevy, whatever type of car it is. The gas stations or the local corner shops will screw you every way they can. The dealerships get enough business in their shops that they don't have time to screw you over and they want your vehicle in and out asap because there is more people they need to help....I only know this because my dad is in this line of work and my car experiences have been completely hassle free after listening to his advice....plus I work for a company that leases cars and I deal w/ this sort of thing daily. :slant:
 
ABEL said:
I don't think it's the paying cash that is illegal, but the doing it cheaper if you pay them cash that's illegal, right? kinda like...

"ok, we do it for $200 if you pay us cash, $300 if you use credit or check"
:yes: i believe it all started in the 1970s with the popularity of credit cards. the main way they make their money is by charging a percentage of all sales to the businesses. visa and mc are the cheapest, which is why you see them accepted everywhere and discover less, and amex even less cuz they're the most expensive. but, the more expensive ones to the businesses tend to offer better rates to the consumers so it all works out in the end.

anyway, to give customers an incentive to use cash instead so they wouldn't have to pay the percentage, they'd charge more for credit cards, or less for cash. this obviously ticked off a lot of people, so they made either one (lowering cash sales or raising credit card sales) illegal.
 
I believe here in Canada the most common reason for lowering the price for a cash transaction is for taxation reasons. No reciept or charge slip means it doesn't go into the shop's books and so less taxable income for the shop.
 
Sicy said:
Yeah but dealers charge you more.

I don't think they do. The smaller corner store/gas stations do because they don't get that much business as the dealers. Plus, they always find something else "wrong" with your car that a dealership may not. Like I said, the dealers get enough business that they don't need to do any thing to your car other than what's necessary.
 
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