DO NOT GO TO CARX

WARNING: DO NOT GO TO CARX CAR X

I took my girlfriend's car to car x for brake service. They quoted me $120 estimate over the phone. I figured it might be a little more, maybe in the neighborhood of $200 or so. I know car x is expensive. After waiting for about 15 minutes the mechanic came and took me out to the shop to show me that all four sets of brakes and rotors had to be replaced, and the cost would be $500.00!!! I told him there was no way I could afford that, and that he should just put the wheels back on the car as there was no way I had that kind of money!! He then tells me that my girlfriend called him a few days before and to go ahead and fix the car!! LOL LOL LOL!!!! I looked at him and thought, is he out of his mind? My gf is one of those easy going laid back blonde girls that don't do that kind of thing untill the wheels fall off the car!! I said to him, you have the wrong person, it was me who called and who suggested this place. He then continued to suggest that indeed he talked to my gf and that she wanted him to fix her car. HA!! I said, no, I don't think it was her, I said, it's one of those wouldn't call in a million years type of deal. He put the wheels back on the car, I thanked him and I left. She then took it to a small mechanic in another town who fixed it for less than $120.00 and all he did was turn the rear rotors and replace the rear pads. I guess I should have expected this, but I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, be careful and do not go to car x or any of those chains, nothing but con men running those places.

Reply to
dkomne
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OK, so the mechanic showed you what needed to be replaced. Did it?

Let's see. You apparently don't know shit from shinola about brakes since you can't tell if the brakes needed to be replaced, even when someone put the car up on a lift and took the wheels off, and pointed out the parts.

yet your going to tell us that the mechanic at car-X was trying to con you.

Sure, sure.

I'll bet that the small mechanic in the other town put cheap pads on the rears only, and your front brakes are almost worn out.

If the car-x guy was quoting all new rotors, and new high quality pads, it might just come to $500. Depending on what kind of car, which you haven't told us what it is. A lot of people, such as myself, don't bother to turn rotors anymore, and I do my own brakes. The cost to get them turned isn't that much of a savings compared to buying cheap Chinese-made rotors new, and thinner rotors make the caliper piston travel range move inwards, which could potentially put part of the caliper piston travel over a rusted area when the brakes wear down, and cause a fluid leak later on. And despite what some would say, I've never had a cheap Chinese rotor that wasn't warped when I bought it, warp later on.

It could very well be that your gf did call. Did you confirm it later on? Or it could be that he was honestly confusing you with someone else.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

Really? Compared to what?

Yeah, they say that about virtually every vehicle that comes in with a brake complaint. I'm just surprised it took 15 minutes.

LOL LOL LOL!!!!

LOL indeed. I enjoy a good out-loud laugh now and again.

tire and muffler franchises the benefit of the doubt, especially those who pay low wages and have zero concern for their employees or customers. I heartily recommend these 'shops' to everyone who asks for a referral. No complex job is too easy and no upsell is too ludicrous for these parts changers.

Toyota MDT in MO

Reply to
Comboverfish

What the hell is Car X? What city and/or country is this place in?

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Oh, ok. I won't go there.

Reply to
« Paul »

I stopped at one once in an emergency while travelling across country. I had ruined a rim, and needed to get a tire mounted on the rim I had just bought from the dealer. The dealer didn't have tires so couldn't mount a tire on the rim they did luckily have in stock.

After pulling my junk rim and mounting the tire, they then told me they couldn't legally mount it unless I fixed the rotor that was also damaged. I looked at it (after a bunch of arguing that it wasn't "legal" for me to go into the shop). I determined it was fine. It was scraped and was definitely going to wear out my pads in a few thousand miles, but nothing that could be considered a safety issue. They continued to argue with me that they could not and would not mount my tire unless I fixed the rotor.

Being as my vehicle was on a lift in their bay and was basically immobilized and I was 500 miles from home I felt I had no choice.

Cost me $700 to get that tire mounted.

Reply to
cyberzl1

They could not have refused if you had said to put it all back together the way you came in. I would definitely have walked on that one. A little "vocal excitement" in front of as many customers as possible couldn't have hurt either. To head that off at the next shop I'd walk in with both pieces in my hand rather than the whole car.

Reply to
mandtprice

Putting it back together the way it came in wasnt' really an option. I limped the vehicle to the service station as it was. Someone had recently stolen my spare so I didn't have that to drive on.

As I said, I was 500 miles from home. Didn't have a lot of options.

It was an expensive lesson, but you are right walking in with only the part(s) they need to fix would be a much better approach.

JW

Reply to
cyberzl1

I see. Not having a spare to use as a stand would definitely put a crimp on that plan. I don't think I could stomach leaving a car sitting on a scissor jack unattended and away from home.

Matthew

Reply to
mandtprice

It is a network of car repair shops:

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Similar idea to Jiffy-Lube, but they do muffler and brakes.

Reply to
Pszemol

Just about every chain operation is the same way and lots of non-chain places too. A Chinese engineer who worked for me bought a brand new Corolla. When it had about 20K on it he figured it was due for brakes, I think it was making a small squeal/squeak from the pads and he didn't like the noise. He had an appointment at "Just Brakes" and figured that for the $99 it would be nice to get rid of the squeak. He asked me if he thought it was a good deal. I told him exactly what was going to happen when he took the car in...

... They would do a 157 point inspection ... they would determine he needed new pads/shoes all around ... they would determine all the rotors/drums needed resurfacing ...they would determine that he needed his calipers rebuilt ...if he hesitated they would take him out and point to the "worn out" parts and explain how dangerous it would have been for him to drive even another mile

I told him to go look at the parts when they started their sales job, notice that most likely none of the pads/shoes were less then 1/4" thick and that when new they are not much more then that, to look to see that there were no leaks from anything. And to remember that the brakes had been working fine, no pulling, no shuddering, no pulsing so there was no reason to believe anything needed work other then the possibility of the pads being a little squeaky from some glazing.

I told him they would quote him a price for the $99 brake job of about $450 and that all he most likely would need would be a set of new pads and that they would insist that the rotors just HAD to be machined or they couldn't guarantee the pads. So that was all he should agree to and to expect it would wind up costing him a little under $200 if he was determined to get rid of the squeak.

When I saw him a few days later he said it went exactly as I told him it would go and he told them all he would authorize was an upgraded pad and the rotors turned. It cost him about $175.

This pattern with these rip off chains repeats over and over and over.

Reply to
Ashton Crusher

Christ, we knew that back in 1978. Midas too was another one to stay away from.

harryface

Reply to
Harry Face

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