Car problems

The only thing "bring the car in at 7 a.m." means is they will get to it earlier, it's not a promise that the service itself will be done by any appointed hour, it's not the nature of automotive work.

Seriously, anyone who has had any car repairs knows this, you need to chill out.

Here's the key line in your rant ...

My wife and I always leave our cars for "first thing in the morning" service in the lot the night before when feasible. Tends to be faster.

 

Except, Bubbler, that when I called last night to make sure they'd even have time today, he said "Bring your car in at 7, you'll be the first car we do tomorrow."

That is why I'm pissed. Not because this happened, but because they told me I'd be the first car they did today and that is obviously not the case since I'm still sitting here...waiting.

 

Update on my car...

I just sat here for four and a half hours waiting on a car that doesn't even need new brakepads. The back brakes need some cleansing, but that's about it. Oh, and a new air filter that could have waited until I got to my destination, grabbed it from a wal-mart and put it in my car. Oh man, I hate being a girl and not knowing anything about cars.

 

Mrs. Doc,

On the bright side ...

You should be glad they didn't put a new set of brakes on anyway and charge you. And if you have a long drive ahead and needed a new air filter, you will probably save the cost an more in gas money.

 

Not a real threadjack, but I wanted to point out one sentence in the original post -- the part about how there will be 20 other things wrong with the car.

The car service business, I'm convinced, is crooked as hell. From top to bottom.

I also recently had my brake pads replaced -- a service you can actually perform yourself with little problem. However, I didn't have a decent place to do it. So, I take my car in to have it done. And it begins.

Before they've even looked at my car, the guy tells me I need new rotors. I say, "How the hell would you know that?"
This jackoff: "Well, it's just always a good idea, to really get the most out of your brakepads, to have your rotors replaced so everything lines up."
Me: "Dude, I've changed pads before. I know what's involved. Change the damned things and leave everything else alone."

This is at Sears -- a national chain -- where they're blatantly trying to rip me off.

So, they send the car back. The tech takes a look at it and they give me an estimate. On the estimate are the following charges:

$45 for turning my rotors

$55 for fluid replacement

$35 for brake maintenance

I say, "You're gonna charge me $45 for turning my rotors? Won't you have the damned rotors off when you replace the brakes? So, you're gonna charge me $45 for putting the things back on a different way?"

Then the fluid replacement. Horseshit. Top it off if I need it and leave it the hell alone.

And brake maintenance? WTF is that? Even the guys there couldn't tell me.

Finally, I get pissed and just leave, take the car elsewhere and get it done for about half of what these assholes wanted. But even at the other place, they were still trying to dick me over, finding shit the people at Sears weren't even bold enough to suggest.

I feel sorry for the person who has absolutely no idea about car service. I mean, I know just enough to not be completely screwed over with simple repairs. But some poor guy or girl wandering into this shit, they wouldn't have any idea.

That's a problem. And it has to be borderline illegal.

 

Dog, this isn't to say they weren't trying to rip you off, but turning the rotors means they machine them to smooth the metal. If you check rotors before a brake job, you'll feel the grooves in them. $135 for a front brake job is a little high, but not grossly so.

Note, my car's in the shop this morning for a brake job plus its 100,000-mile servicing. Woohoo!

 

Dog, when's the last time your car's brake fluid was flushed?

 

No, no. This was just a turning. "Scrubbing" is how they described the process that you're talking about. I know this because they were recommending it for my rear brakes.

And mac, no one should be charging you for changing out your brake fluid. They're gonna "bleed" out a good bit of fluid when you have the brakes changed. They should then go back and top that off and it should be included in the price. That should be more than adequate, unless there's been some other problem -- and God only knows what that would be -- that has allowed foreign objects or water to get into your brake fluid.

Oh, and the quote for my brake service was $235 at Sears.

 

Yeah, $235 is too much.

And I've never heard it called scrubbing. In fact, I'm not sure they're even able to be flipped over like that. Turning always means putting them on a lathe-like machine.

 

Dog, brake fluid should be flushed every 30,000 miles or two years. Flushed, as in having the system completely flushed and the fluid replaced. Topping off what was lost during the brake job (which should be minimal) isn't sufficient. Brake fluid attracts moisture, and having water in your brake fluid is something you don't want.

 

Some cars rotors can be turned, some can't. Mine can. And I had a turn left on this set. The guys at Meineke had no problem with it, although they did want to replace my calipers and charge me another $500.

I'm telling you, every one of these places is crooked.

 

Back to the original topic, I'm in the minority but go ahead and do the column. In two weeks when you've calmed down.

If they said your car should be ready by nine, then it should be ready by nine.

In journalism if you leave when your job isn't done you're out of a job. The store that I work at doesn't lock customers in when we close.

Maybe I'm just in a pissy mood but I hate that shit.