You want what ?

I've always worked on my own vehicles, unless it's something that's just out of my ability, but it has to be something really major to get me to take it to a shop and there is a very good reason WHY I work on my own vehicles.

A couple of weeks ago my daughter called me and said she needed new brakes on her car. Usually it's a job I do my self, but she lives 200 miles away in the same town where I was when I lived in Illinois and I know a shop that does good work, so I called them to set an appointment to get them done.

She has a Chevy Spark and I've done the brakes before, so I knew pads and shoes were about $100 for everything.
They quoted me a price of $514.
[ insert very profane language ]

That's WITHOUT new rotors. That would have added another $275. I know for a fact that new rotors would be about $130 for the set because I put them on last time I changed the brakes, so they were marking them up almost $150. Literally doubling the price what I can get them for just going to a parts store.

I have a good friend of mine who works there in the tire dept and I asked him if that was right, just to make sure somebody wasn't trying to pad the bill. He said they charge $80 an hour shop time, plus mark up on the parts. They had said in the quote that they were billing 3 hours shop time.

[ I know it doesn't take 3 hours, they're just going by what the billing time is set at but Jesus I'd be ashamed to be a mechanic and tell someone to their face it takes that long. I can do it in 2 and that's in my driveway with nothing but a floor jack and hand tools. They have a lift, impact guns and electric rachets. ok, I have an impact, but still ...]

3 hours shop time = $240.

So that means they were going to charge me $274 for a $100 set of brake pads.

I just said "Oh Hell No" and drove up and did it myself. We turned it into a couple days vacation.

Spent time with the kids, went out to eat, my wife and daughter went shopping while I changed brakes and the hell of it is, gas to get up there, dinner and a bit of shopping didn't equal what they wanted for that brake job.

a reply to: DAVID64

Glad to hear you turned something that is very infuriating into a great family gathering!

a reply to: DAVID64

Oh yeah? Need wipers? They'll charge $20 for blades and a $150.00 per hr minimum installation fee.

I've Always done my own mechanical work on all of my vehicles.
If i hadn't i would be totally broke.
Garages are a major Ripoff but now days they have to have a collage degree
to work on electronic junk.
Vehicles ain't what they used to be to many gadgets to screw up.

a reply to: DAVID64

Don't go to that shop. That's too much labor. It takes me twenty minutes to do just front pads.

Or the real problem might be them having too much work and not enough mechanics. We're short big time. The people graduating highschool DO NOT want to turn wrenches.

If these so-called rip off artists are such criminals, why aren't they rich? I've never known a mechanic who owned a yacht or lived in a fancy house or drove a fancy car. So where does all the money go? Here's a few guesses: Compared to yourself, a "shade-tree" mechanic,

How much is the rent on your business place? Thousands of dollars a month is my guess. How much money to you pay government to stay in business: Business licenses, taxes, assessments of all sorts? How much is business insurance, including liability? How much is the monthly rent for a parts washer? (Yeah, that's a thing.) How much do you have invested in tools? Not just a set of screwdrivers, but ALL tools, including specialty tools? If you work for a dealership, how much money does the OEM rake from your bank account every month to pay for "tools" they deem you are required to have? How much does that hand-held diagnostic tool you plug into the ODBC port cost? How much do you owe Snap-On?

If you have employees how much are you required to pay on their behalf, money they never see? Stuff like unemployment insurance, industrial insurance in case they get hurt on the job? How about "long term care" insurance because the legislature deems that something you must pay? How about "your half" of social security or a pension plan? How about the cost of vacation and sick leave for employees? Of that $80 per hour shop time, how much do you actually get paid per hour?

I'm guessing you are not a professional mechanic, and it's easy to see why.

It doesn't pay enough.

I've always did my own repairs on cars and motorcycles. It was nothing for me to drop an engine out to repair, including top to bottom strip downs. BUT, with a big but, I'm getting too old and not totally infirm but close enough. The only problems I can see with todays motors is that the manufactures have made it harder and harder for self repair ie. needing specialised tools, needing a degree in computers to even try to repair any electrical fault. But more over they pack 5 pints in a 2 pint box. Example:- 1970s I had a Ford Cortina (well I am in England) and I could virtually get in the engine compartment with the engine and half strip it down. Now I tried to help my brother in law replace his turbo charger on his Ford S Max. Let me start with 10 profanities, The back half of the engine had to be took off just to get near the turbo, plus the whole exhaust dropped off the bottom and so much of the wiring loom took off that you had to be Einstein to put it back.

a reply to: DAVID64

Why are you replacing the rotors every time you do a brake job? Unless a pads wear indicator or rivet holding the sintered pad on the shoe cuts a groove they are typically fine and even then they can be turned to take a few thousandths off.

P.S. Don't forget to bleed the lines if you replace the fluid in the process.

I knew a guy that grew up working for a tire shop and he spits in his own valve stems because that what he learned... Rarely does one of those little things leak UNLESS the little rubber seal on it dry rots and guess what spit will do to that little rubber seal? I suppose it never crossed his mind that it was a little tiny way that the business he worked for had a possible comeback customer.

a reply to: DAVID64

How else are they going to pay their Snap-On bill?


Mechanics are pricey, and certainly earn their income.

Problem is, the middle class is struggling to afford them....like everything else.


A micro that tracks well to the macro, if that makes sense.

a reply to: crayzeed

I watched a friend change a front light bulb one day years ago , hours later he finished after having to nearly take the car apart , bumper , grill off etc just for a bulb .

And take a audi or BMW in for a service this side of the pond and wave goodbye to a 1000 bucks minimum , 4 tyres for a 4x4 cost my pal 2000 quid , pure madness

a reply to: stonerwilliam

My wife has a Ford Fusion. You have to take the front apart just to put in new bulbs for the headlights.

a reply to: Crowfoot

I don't replace them every time, I just changed them last time because they needed it. It's a 2014 and the rotors had never been changed.

I had a lady at another shop tell me the rotors had to be replaced every time you put new pads on. Needless to say, that shop never got my business.

originally posted by: DAVID64
a reply to: stonerwilliam

My wife has a Ford Fusion. You have to take the front apart just to put in new bulbs for the headlights.

I am pretty sure it was a ford my friend had , it took him hours that day and another time on a thread someone was going on about a volkswagon golf headlights having to be replaced at 800 bucks each , I think they will write a car off now because of the costs of what used to be cheap parts .

I just use the bus now

a reply to: DAVID64

Shops like that are all over the place... Back in one of the times I went college; A girl asked me to go with her to a car place because she didn't trust the people and to see what the repair guy said. So he comes out and says oh it was running rough because of your ground wire and was pointing at her air filter housing when he said it. I said what ground wire was it... He said the only one it has after kinda sizing me up like what would this guy know? she said show me and as he started stuttering I said to her a car has quite a few ground wires this may take awhile... He turned bright red and said mam if you want to meet me in the office and quickly made his way out of there... I could hear her screaming at them from over 100 feet away once they got in there after about 10 minutes she came out with a refund and said want some dinner? I said no you might wanna save up for the next place you take it.

The same people sold a woman an alternator after I just put one in before selling her the car... She called me up complaining I said there's a receipt for the alternator I just put in it before selling in the glove box and it was a lifetime warranty for it; Come to find out they tried to tell her they installed the one I bought and put in it and charged her for it... What made her madder is she didn't pay for any life time warranty and that's where they got caught.

Such things typically fall into small claims court if you ever notice the bills they are always right on the threshold... Meaning most people will just drop it or accept a refund keeping them all in business.

Then there was this shop that said we wont inspect your car without changing the transmission fluid I said it doesn't smell burnt so no. I go back forgetting they were demanding a transmission fluid change and the guy said sir we are gonna have to change your transmission fluid it smells burnt... just then I realized it was the same guy and I said "teach a man to fish..." got in my car without another word and left.