DIY auto repair means not having to deal with obnoxious auto repair shop prices
- Thread starter pacem
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How dare you post on BITOG about the rent being too high.
I say good on you for doing the work you did for the price you did.
I'm thinking even for an average Joe shop, the parts cost for 4 decent quality rotors, pads, hardware and a two calipers would be around $500+
I say good on you for doing the work you did for the price you did.
I'm thinking even for an average Joe shop, the parts cost for 4 decent quality rotors, pads, hardware and a two calipers would be around $500+
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- Mar 13, 2024
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I'd also add to this that there are many high quality, honest shops out there. My wife and I carefully research where we take our vehicles - we do this as we've lived in multiple cities. Not only have we had great mechanics/shops, but some have turned into long term friends.
Yeah if you just roll into some random Firestone shop up the street and hope for the best you'll likely pay a fortune for possibly unneeded/not so great work, but like anything you have to do some research for a good outcome. And in our current living situation I couldn't even change our vehicle's oil, much less do brake jobs. It's great some people can do their own work, but it simply isn't feasible for many. Also I don't consider it money wasted it helps pay someone's livelihood who I trust to do a service for me.
I did not get AcDelco anything, just plaine Jane Advance Auto parts. The same stuff the shop would have used, I really doubt their estimate included premium parts. I spent $300 in parts, what is so hard to comprehend about that? It's AA/Autozone brands but works just fine for me.
I've had a mobile mechanic visit me at times and he charges $300 per day of work, it's more than he gets paid at his place and everyone is happy. I get him for things I can't handle like front end parts. For $1300 I expect tranny or engine work. Brake pads are at the bottom of the easy scale. Shop around and you can find much cheaper prices. There used to be places advertising $99 brake jobs. Not sure if that was per wheel or what. I got the impression the shop gives their quotes then people go elsewhere to actually fix it. And it's in lower cost of living area, somewhat.
I just explained that if I did the whole thing spending about $300 in generic parts, a shop can surely match that. No, they would not be putting ACDelco Gold anything. Very simple job.
I will go to a shop if there is a thing I can't handle. Which happens often enough. And even then would consider a mobile mechanic first.
To quote: Brake work is gravy for shops and flat rate techs.
They beat the book time and come out ahead. On the other hand, I get it how they can lose on a job which is complicated with things going sideways and exceeding book time.
So lets roll this back to your topic title:
Do you actually think more than 100 labor for an axle with replacing calipers is obnoxious?
I think that is the part that most of us are disagreeing with.. not the fact that you came out ahead doing your own brake service.
Reusing 2 rotors.. well that's another topic. Here they would be so rusty from the road salt it is usually not possible or worthwhile.
I am not that fast at doing brakes. I clean the areas under the SS clips with a file. Get all old grease off the sliding pin, hole and boot. Wash my hands a few times so things stay clean. Now if I had a sand blaster to clean the bracket that could speed things up.
With unsolicited work that seems high like that you can negotiate. I don’t say no I just make a counter offer.
It worked on my 07 Acura MDX taken in for TSB and oil change on snowy day.
They offered to do timing belt and give a loaner for $1400.
I said I can do $700 and wait. He said excuse me and went out back and offered $850 using two techs on dead day said they’ll do it. They would have gone home anyway. They did work in under two hours.
It worked on my 07 Acura MDX taken in for TSB and oil change on snowy day.
They offered to do timing belt and give a loaner for $1400.
I said I can do $700 and wait. He said excuse me and went out back and offered $850 using two techs on dead day said they’ll do it. They would have gone home anyway. They did work in under two hours.
I used one like that to clean the rust from a shop vac that had been left with water in it that had been vacuumed. Did it in my Dad's garage while he was on vacation. When he got back he said "what happened in the garage, there is sand everywhere".
I think to to caliper brackets you need a sand blaster cabinet.
Not to begrudge a point - but the parts most independent shops are using are basically the same as those on rock auto. They just get sourced through different distributors and brands.
If you’re not in a hurry, RA close outs are your friend-subscribe to their RSS feed for your vehicle. Saved me a bunch of money on rear coated rotors & pads for the Express in my sig (typical GM fin rust setting in).
Can you explain the bolded? I didn't follow.
So you replaced brake pads all around but reused some rotors? And the shop had quoted replacing brake pads at all four corners but only replacing two rotors? Did the quote include turning the remaining two??
You did all the work including caliper replacement and bleeding in two hours?
You replaced pad hardware?
Did you replace caliper pins and slider boots? Did you disassemble pins and grease with appropriate grease?
I'm not challenging you, I'm just curious if your work was exactly the same as quoted -- so we know if we're talking apples to apples.
I can summarize this in this way. When you go to a shop your paying for the building and overhead, which sits mostly empty 16 hours a day plus weekends, cost to source the parts, cost for supplies, parts and labor, plus mark up on all those things. From a pure economic standpoint its a very inefficient business. Its no different from HVAC or appliance or any other repair.
Which is why DIY is monumentally cheaper - you don't suffer all the overhead and your paying for your garage space either way.
What the industry has done a very poor job on is policing the sale of repairs and services that are not needed, or jobs that are done poorly. For this example - $1300 sounds fair IF they clean the hub, lube the pins, and check the runout. What percentage do that? Probably very few.
Which is why DIY is monumentally cheaper - you don't suffer all the overhead and your paying for your garage space either way.
What the industry has done a very poor job on is policing the sale of repairs and services that are not needed, or jobs that are done poorly. For this example - $1300 sounds fair IF they clean the hub, lube the pins, and check the runout. What percentage do that? Probably very few.
Price aside- I just do a better job for myself.
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