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Car Ripoffs
By Mommie | June 27, 2008
I thought the days of women being ripped off in repair shops was over. Maybe I thought that we were actually moving forward in society as a whole, to the point where women weren’t singled out as having a big flashing sign over their heads saying “Rip me off, please”. Alas, as my last car repair experience showed, this wasn’t the case.
I took my husbands car in to a brake chain to see about getting the breaks fixed. They were squeaking something terrible. Before I left for the appointment, my sister in law mentioned that even though they say a low price, they’ll end up finding tons wrong with the car.
Indeed she was right. After sitting there for about 30 minutes, they came back to tell me that instead of the $89.99 teaser rate, it would be $700. Hmmm. I half expected them to say I needed a new steering rack! So they showed me one of the rear pads and it was gone. But I’m smart enough to know that a pad doesn’t cost $700. One of the rear calipers needed to be fixed as well. Still, we’re not in the $700 range.
Long story short, I told them to put my car back together and informed my hubby, who very quickly fixed the breaks in the car for around $150. This included new calipers, rotors and break pads for the whole rear.
Moral of the story: Teaser rates are something you need to watch out for and marry a man that can work on cars!
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Topics: Uncategorized |
June 28th, 2008 at 9:50 am
About 8 years ago I was getting my oil changed at my Nissan dealer since I have a Nissan. At every visit they tried to sell me something and I also declined. Then one day they told me my CV boots were cracking. My response was “what the heck is a CV boot?” So they showed me a diagram, told me the urgency of having hem replaced and then the price which was approx $500. Needless to say I was upset as it was near Christmas and I only worked PT. I came home and cried and worried. I asked my neighbor to check it out as he is very knowledgeable with cars. He said there was nothing wrong with my CV boot and he even showed me. Then couple weeks later I asked another guy who was in the auto mechanic businesss. He said the same thing - the CV boots were in perfect condition. I was so mad about this. Then I called the Nissan dealer and complained and reported this nonsense to them. About 4 years later when my car was “paid off” and the Nissan dealer realized it was time for me to “possibly” buy a new car, they started calling and marketing to me. I told them NO WAY and I told them why I wouldn’t use them AND to stop calling me. They called the next day and the next day and on. Finally I had to scream at them to leave me alone. They finally got the hint.
June 29th, 2008 at 5:36 am
I totally agree, I think they try and charge women more for repairs thinking we are just sooooooo clueless about stuff like this. The truth is, I may not be mechanically minded, but I too know how much approximately it will cost to fix the brakes in a car. I also have an uncle who has tried to educate me on basic car maintenance (eg: checking your oil, tyre pressures, topping up your water or coolant, changing a flat tyre (I know the concept, but still need too work on this!), etc…)
Where I live, there are actually short, basic mechanical courses for women to attend (with a small fee) so they have a better understanding of basic car maintenance - which is a great idea, so that we can be more empowered!