Auto Service Shops

Discussion in 'Automotive' started by Cody Fousnaugh, Aug 26, 2021.

  1. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Ever had two different service shops tell you about service that is needed or not needed? IOW, one shop tells you that you need this service done to your vehicle and the other says you don't need that service done yet.

    Last Saturday, we drove over to the Dodge Dealer/Service for our last oil change that was part of an oil change program we had prepaid for. They checked our brakes and wrote down that we need new rear brake pads and rotors. We didn't have it done at the Dealer, because we have it done at a local tire shop. The Dealer charges a whole lot for any service they do. I'd swear that only folks that have brand new, or close to new, vehicles, and are quite well-off, go there.

    So, this morning I took our Durango to local tire shop, where we had an alignment and front brakes done, to have them do a tire rotation and check front/rear brakes. The mechanic who check our front/rear brakes told me that our front brakes were fine and that we still have 50% left on rear brakes (5mm).

    When I asked him why he told me 50%/5mm rear brakes left, but Dodge told me we need both rear brake pads and new rotors, he told me, "most likely, they didn't take the wheels off and actually check the rear brakes/rotors. The just done a visual check with the wheels on."

    Darn glad we didn't have Dodge do the rear brakes for us. Then again, when they physically took both rear wheels off and actually seen the pads and rotors, they would have changed their mind about putting on new.

    I don't know, but I do know that I dislike being told one thing by someone and another thing be someone else.
     
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  2. Frank Sanoica

    Frank Sanoica Supreme Member
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    @Cody Fousnaugh

    But, what is your point, Grandma?

    Frank
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    That's pretty common around here if you bring your car into a service station for the annually required inspection. If they think you'll be paying them to fix the problems, they will always find problems. The place I go to now doesn't do that to me anymore because I took it to the shop across the road for the repairs.
     
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  4. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Didn't mean to make the new thread as long as I did, but wanted to explain what I was told by two different auto service shops.

    I remember my old Datsun King Cab I use to have. It was a pickup/delivery truck, that was used by the company I was working for, when, due to mileage, the sold it and I bought it for $500. Each time I'd take it in for an oil change, I was told about a couple of different things that, they thought, needed to be done to the engine. I would have to tell them, "I'm only here for an oil change. I already know about the things you say need to be done."

    But, when one shop tells you about a repair/replacement that needs to be done and a different shop tells you that that same repair/replacement doesn't have to be done, it really confuses the customer. IOW, it can also be annoying!
     
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  5. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Not going to make a new thread, but, just how much do you trust your auto mechanic to tell you "you need this done" or "no, this doesn't need done yet".

    In question right now, tire tread. Do you trust a mechanic to tell you the truth, "you need new tires" or do you buy a Tire Tread Gauge and measure yourself and decide from there?
     
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  6. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    For mechanical or electrical, I'd rely on the mechanic (and maybe a 2nd opinion). But tires are easy; either they look worn, fail, or have aged out.
     
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  7. Ed Wilson

    Ed Wilson Veteran Member
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    Business must be slow at dealers since they have few if any new cars to sell, so they need to ramp up service charges to make up the difference. Service was always the bigger money maker anyway I read. Also, you would expect the front brakes needed to be replaced before the rear to my knowledge.
     
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  8. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Yes, but Beth, when some folks can see steel belts showing on their tires, they still think the tire is ok. And, there are those that simply can't afford new tires and drive on "dangerous" tires.
     
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  9. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    They are the experts, Cody. You have no choice in the matter. If a mechanic tells you that you need new tires, you will have to buy new tires or your driver's license will be suspended.
     
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  10. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    Are you, by chance, mixing a virus thread with this one? :D

    I have a choice if I buy/have a tread gauge it shows the tire tread is fine. But, in seeing that, I'd also have the tire shop check them out to compare.

    Remember, in a previous post, on this thread, I told how local Dodge Dealer told us we needed back brakes now/immediately, but the tire mechanic at Les Schawb told us we didn't.
     
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  11. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Experts are experts, and this is America, where we don't have the right to think for ourselves.
     
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  12. Cody Fousnaugh

    Cody Fousnaugh Supreme Member
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    I see what you are saying. Thanks!
     
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  13. John Brunner

    John Brunner Senior Staff
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    I once had the opposite problem. When I was still working, the garage around the corner from my office did all my inspections and repair work. I was driving back home from a meeting in DC and heard a metal-on-metal sound. I looked, and the left-rear rotor had a groove worn in it because that pad was down to the rivets. How in the heck does that happen when you get your car inspected every year, and it's a second vehicle in a one-driver household where nearly all your miles are on the highway???

    The shop helped cover my costs.
     
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  14. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    My BIL took their van to be inspected. They told him that one of his tires had the steel belts showing on the inside. From the outside, it looked fine. They took it off and he could see the steel belt. We were driving the van to and from the coast at speeds of up to 75 MPH. Maybe 80 once in a while. It makes my heart jump to think what would have happened if the tire blew at that speed. :eek:
     
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  15. Beth Gallagher

    Beth Gallagher Supreme Member
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    Yeah. And that's the type of folks who wouldn't listen to an "expert" either. I'm not mechanical at all but I know when a tire is worn, and I know how to read a tire date code. Most manufacturers recommend replacing passenger vehicle tires at 10 years even if they have plenty of tread left.

    I have never in my life needed a mechanic to tell me when I need tires.
     
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