watch out for ripp off shops

Well I went to the big city for a couple of days, and while I was there I took my car in to get my new snow tires mounted, and wheels alined.

The mechanic told me that I need new ball joints, and had 1 missing boot on the steering rack. The price that he told me that it would be is $775.00 canadian (ouch) and this was after he grabed the tires from my trunk and saw all the mechanics air tools that I had just bought, plus my old trusty tool box.

The silly thing is that I just had my wheels alined by their sister company, 2 months ago and they said that everything was like new, but with new tires going on I want them to last.

If they going to try ripping someone off someone that obiously works with cars imagine what they will try doing to the avarage person

Oh I forgot to mention I looked underneath later on, and there aren't any missing boots, and everything feels tight to me.

Sons of bitches!

I let them do the song and dance and think they have bullshitted me and at the last minute I tell them to take their scam and pretty well shove it up their ass.

I don't say it directly, but when they want to replace something that was fixed two weeks ago I get a little edgy.

Well I brought my car to a mechanic friend of mine today, and with a 6 foot bar and all his weight on them 1 ball joint moved, just a little.

just for the hell of it, and since for once I have some extra money I'm having them both changed, and the bill is less than $200.00, and that's including new hoses that I ordered for my Blazer

Why did you replace the balljoints if it took that amount of force to move them.

Seems like a huge waste of 200 bucks when you didn't need to replace them.

it's my daily driver, and I put huge milage on it. Plus you'll like this one BlazerLT, their greasable, and the stock ones aren't

yeah if the stocks are non greaseable take um off and throw them as far as you can

the stock ones will make a good down rigger weight for next year, if I get that small fishing boat

Mine were stock and were greasable.

Whenever my parents take their car to Pep Boys for an inspection they always tell them that the serpantine belt is worn and needs replacing. Even their 1 month old GMC safari van (bought in November inspected in December) supposedly needed a new serpantine belt. And they WILL NOT pass the vehicle if the belt "is worn." One time they broke my rearview mirror from the windshield and said they wouldn't pass me unless I fix it on their premesis and resubmit it for inspection, or pay them 25 bucks to reglue it on. Needless to say, we don't go there anymore. We take it to the dealership. If you have to pay $45 for an inspection you might as well get a non-redneck doin it.

a person could go on an on about this sort of thing thats how I became a mechanic I couldn't trust anyone else.

yea they always try to Rip me off me , i went there to get the fuel line fix like 1 yard od plastic to the gas tank they lifted the truck up and the guy needed to check with the boss and i asked him how much? and he said 125$ so then he asked me if i wanted it done i said i would rather go to a gay bar if i wanted to get fucked in th e ass and took my truck back and left them bithches when to auto boutght the shit for like 9 bucks and fixed my own damn thing There should be lile a national thing on how much they can charge

Here in Canada either a magazine, or T.V. market beware show takes a car in perfect shape across Canadafrom shop to shop... on a trailer.

Right before they take it to the shop they unplug some sensor, or something, and see which shops are honest.

They've had shops install carburators on fuel injected cars (and looking under the hood nothing was changes), the brakes changed 3 times, and several other things done to this perfect car.

Would love to watch that show.

That is why I fix my own shit.

The show should air again in Spring, and I'll have to either tape it... and send out on special request... or better yet get the web address.

It's kinda funny smoe of the shit that shops try pulling

I loved when they did the investigation on the air quality testing on cars.

They took three perfectly tuned cars and went to shops in the Greater Toronto area.

40% of them said the cars needed work.

No offense to the mechanics on these forums seeing they are here helping, but in most cases in the real world, I would have some knowledge before you send the car to the local shop.

Take for instance the guy today that had a guy want to replace his transmission valve body amongst other things and the problem was his small ignition switch in the steering column.

This makes me even more glad that we fix EVERYthing that breaks on any of our vehicles...I live/work on a farm and that is over 15 cars/trucks/graintrucks/semi and no, not counting the tractors, but we fix all of those ourselfs also. Nothing goes outside our shop, except for the the Airconditioning stuff that we arne't able to do.

Hey BlazerLT Living in Toronto you should be able to watch those programs that tour rip off shops.. I believe that it's Marketplace, on CBC. I think that it's McClanes magizine that also gets involved in the tour

After fracturing 2 vertibrates 16 months ago I can't do all my wrenching any more, but I do what I can, and I have a couple of mechanic friends that help me out when I can't... or just feel too sick to do my own wrenching.

Plus before my little accident I was often making more working on heavy equipment than than I was paying my friends to work on my auto's

Ah, Marketplace, good program.