1995 "Corolla" : clutch grabs too soon

He *is* the problem. Stuff like this is the reason I plonked his sorry ass ages ago.

Someone must have taken a grumpy pill today. 8)

Or else he's _off_ his meds today. :-)

I turned out, one of the cylinders (master or slave) was leaking, according to the mechanic, so I had both replaced. Labor : $160 + parts : $120. I live in an expensive area, so the labor costs may seem outlandish by, say, Texan standards. But I'm wondering if this seems like a reasonable thing to happen. In other words, should I be a return customer at this place in the future?

What was the hourly labor rate for the job and how many flat rate hours did they charge you for?

The $160 was for 2 hours. I'm more paranoid about shops charging me for unnecessary repairs, or worse, sabotaging my car so they'd have more stuff to fix.

2 hours flat rate time seems pretty reasonable to replace the clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder. If you are worried about shops charging you for unnecessary repairs or about sabotage, choose one that is AAA approved, that hires ASE certified technicians, or a new car dealership. The new car dealership can be the most expensive, but they use OEM parts, have factory trained technicians, and usually do not charge for unnecessary repairs.

One thing I don't like about dealerships is that they add an entire layer of bureaucracy between you and the person who fixes your car.

As for AAA, being a member is a good idea in general. :-)