Current Events > I know next to nothing about cars and their maintenance.

(+) Yeah! (+)

When I take it to the garage for maintenance the dude can say anything to justify the cost and saying that they need to add/fix/update some random part and I'd be none the wiser.

Right now my car's in the shop and I'm paying $1600 and all I'm hoping for is that they do a good job so I'm not stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire or something.

Yea, I know that feeling and it sucks but what can you do.
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St0rmFury posted...

Yea, I know that feeling and it sucks but what can you do.

Use the power of the internet to learn basic things about automotive maintenance so you dont get fleeced by repair shops?
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I can change tyre, replace radiator water, and work with the battery a bit. Thats it.
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Whats it in the shop for? Not every garage are crooks but it definitely helps to understand the basics just incase you do take it to a guy trying to fleece you.

Romulox28 posted...

St0rmFury posted...

Yea, I know that feeling and it sucks but what can you do.

Use the power of the internet to learn basic things about automotive maintenance so you dont get fleeced by repair shops?

Me with internet knowledge vs a guy who does this for a living?
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You can use the power of Google to see if the price is justified, but yeah, if you don't know anything about cars then you probably wouldn't be able to figure out if those things needed to be fixed to begin with.
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St0rmFury posted...

Yea, I know that feeling and it sucks but what can you do.

Yeah... I can appreciate a friend of mine for having a huge affinity for cars, and is extremely knowledgeable about them. He literally does all that maintenance work like changing tires, batteries, oil and filter all by himself. It's quite impressive.

That's definitely handy, but just not a life skill I particularly care to learn, so I have to accept it's either that or be content with paying whatever they ask for.

It's not even a random shop, it's the actual manufacturer (or at least licensed/sponsored/whatever you call it) so of course you can guess the price is going to be through the roof. With the hope being that anything going wrong is on them, they can't blame it on a 3rd party.

And heh the estimate is of course wrong, it's actually $2100 now.

Glad I worked in the automotive industry for a couple years.
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Use Repair Pal, its generally accurate
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The worst part is I know. I saw that look in his eyes, that glint when he realized I knew nothing about cars when I asked what exactly a... something, was.

Now he's called like twice and keeps upping the price, saying that I need to fix shit like my rear brake pads or something despite my having replaced them last year.

What's being fixed?
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That's what mechanics are for. You don't want to cheap out and do it yourself and fuck it up even more. You want to get it done right the first time. Also sites like yelp help you choose the best mechanics based on customer reviews... helps a bunch compared to just going to any random shop.

That same friend of mine says he can fix a car better than the mechanic. But yeah it is what it is.

Why did you bring it to the shop in the first place?

And if you really want to blow a gasket (see what I did there), after you get your bill head over to Rockauto.com and see how much the parts are on that site vs what they charged you.

But do they factor in regions? How trustworthy is that website?

Learn a little at least. Some parts are subject to wear and tear and these are the ones you get replaced regularly based on mileage. Stuff like the clutch, front and rear brake pads (they start making a screeching noise when they're ripe for replacement), the various filters. Oil, coolant fluid every X miles. Battery every couple of years depending on make and luck. Tires usually every other year depending on mileage (if you don't have 4WD it is advisable to rotate front / rear each season).

Basics.

Oh and buy Japanese cars.
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Ilishe posted...

Oh and buy Japanese cars

Why?

Your manual *should* tell you what maintenance needs to be done and at what mileage.

I mean without really knowing what's up, it kind of sounds like he's fucking you over. He could also be just doing a bunch of stuff you failed to get done all at once though. I can't really be sure.
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imo girls are easier targets
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@CHAON1 Help the fellow like a good chap, will you :)
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