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Home Repair - - If it ain't broken, don't fix it. Otherwise look here. 

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Subject Author Date
Auto repair scam Edwin Pawlowski 07-14-2006
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Posted by Stormin Mormon on July 17, 2006, 7:25 am
I've been to Midas a couple times. They have aparently a three level
pricing schedule.

1) Low price over the telephone
2) Reasonable price at time of estimate
3) Increased price when you come back to get the vehicle

Mine was 50-150-300. One other fellow I talked to, it was more like
100-200-1000.

--

Christopher A. Young
You can't shout down a troll.
You have to starve them.
.

MIDAS MUFFLER pittsburgh was ripping people like that! I once told the
story to Ron Moore president of Midas. He denied it buty I goit my
refund!

About 3 months later a investigative report at a local tv station
broke
the news.

people who i had told and apparently didnt believe me were stunned.

the best thing that could happen is jiffy lube goes belly up
nationwide.

companies wouldnt pull stuff l;ike tis if those who got caught were
put
out of business.

bridgestone firestone should of gone been put out of business as a
example.

i use my local mechanic or wall mart. cant beat 14 bucks for a oil
change, and they dont try to sell you extra car stuff, they let you
wait by shopping....

I have my own office machine repair business, I DONT pull stuff like
that since I hate it whhen people do it to me!



AppliancePartsPros.com, Inc.
Posted by on July 16, 2006, 3:41 pm

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> This was posted on another newsgroup, but since many of us here use these
> (loosely to home repair) related services, I though many would be
> interested.
>
> From a recent Los Angeles TV station news segment:
>
> http://www.nbc4.tv/video/9152183/detail.html

There is a book, "What auto mechanics don't want you to know" by Mark
Eskeldson, that I read recently. In it, they outlined all of the scams
from major chains for oil changes, transmission, mufflers, etc. Midas
and Sears were specifically mentioned and many of the lawsuits were
from California, where this report was from and it was the same
line...they get away with it, so it's not worth performing the work.
One chain in the book was honored with "having lawsuits in 14 states
simultaneously," which the author found rather "difficult to
accomplish." An example suit was the "$59.99 brake job" that you used
to see everywhere and they found that less than 5% of the cars
qualified because the terms excluded semi-metallic pads which is was
almost every car was using at the time of the investigation. The
"average" brake job at these supposed convenience brake specialists ran
$160-$200.

Anyway, the book also outlines how to find a good mechanic, what you
should expect (maybe a higher hourly rate, but much better services,
etc.). It's a bit dated and the Internet has certainly opened
communication to the benefit of the consumer, but well worth the read.

He also wrote "what your car dealer doesn't want you to know," which
was quite informative as well.

For many things (brakes/rotors for example), I took a basic repair
class at a local tech school (at night) and not only learned
information (i.e., how low can a pad go before it really needs to be
replaced), but I had access to a lift, tire machine and tools that I
could never afford myself for 12 weeks. By simply replacing my pads
and rotors, I made back the tuition compared to what the job was quoted
for at the place I used to go to.

I also found, through the instructor's network, a place that has proven
to be very reliable and honest...we've been there a few times for
things that we can't do at home and parts are priced within what we
could purchase them for online and the labor rate is very competitive.


Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on July 16, 2006, 4:30 pm

>> From a recent Los Angeles TV station news segment:
>>
>> http://www.nbc4.tv/video/9152183/detail.html
>
> There is a book, "What auto mechanics don't want you to know" by Mark
> Eskeldson, that I read recently.
>
> Anyway, the book also outlines how to find a good mechanic, what you
> should expect (maybe a higher hourly rate, but much better services,
> etc.). It's a bit dated and the Internet has certainly opened
> communication to the benefit of the consumer, but well worth the read.

When I lived in PA, you had to have your car inspected by a state approved
garage twice a year. Now I think it is once a year plus emissions.

There were a few different types of stations:
A) Give me your $6 and I'll put the sticker on as long as no one is
watching.

B) Your car is almost OK, but you need some minor repair that I can make a
quick buck on. (I took three cars to one station the same day and all three
needed headlight adjustment for $5. Six months later they all needed wiper
blades) In reality, all three needed more expensive work but as a teenager,
this was a good resolution.

C) Wow, good thing you came in. You need new ball joints, or steering rods,
or some front end part that you'll never check to see what I did.

Maybe one station in 10 was completely honest.



Posted by HeatMan on July 16, 2006, 4:52 pm

>
> >> From a recent Los Angeles TV station news segment:
> >>
> >> http://www.nbc4.tv/video/9152183/detail.html
> >
> > There is a book, "What auto mechanics don't want you to know" by Mark
> > Eskeldson, that I read recently.
> >
> > Anyway, the book also outlines how to find a good mechanic, what you
> > should expect (maybe a higher hourly rate, but much better services,
> > etc.). It's a bit dated and the Internet has certainly opened
> > communication to the benefit of the consumer, but well worth the read.
>
> When I lived in PA, you had to have your car inspected by a state approved
> garage twice a year. Now I think it is once a year plus emissions.
>
> There were a few different types of stations:
> A) Give me your $6 and I'll put the sticker on as long as no one is
> watching.
>
> B) Your car is almost OK, but you need some minor repair that I can make a
> quick buck on. (I took three cars to one station the same day and all
three
> needed headlight adjustment for $5. Six months later they all needed
wiper
> blades) In reality, all three needed more expensive work but as a
teenager,
> this was a good resolution.
>
> C) Wow, good thing you came in. You need new ball joints, or steering
rods,
> or some front end part that you'll never check to see what I did.
>
> Maybe one station in 10 was completely honest.

Yep. That's the way it used to be in Georgia. Now emissions checks are the
norm in the metro areas and they are closely watched by the state. No
cheating now, or so they say.
>
>



Posted by George E. Cawthon on July 16, 2006, 4:59 pm
tom_sawyer70@yahoo.com wrote:
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>> This was posted on another newsgroup, but since many of us here use these
>> (loosely to home repair) related services, I though many would be
>> interested.
>>
>> From a recent Los Angeles TV station news segment:
>>
>> http://www.nbc4.tv/video/9152183/detail.html
>
> There is a book, "What auto mechanics don't want you to know" by Mark
> Eskeldson, that I read recently. In it, they outlined all of the scams
> from major chains for oil changes, transmission, mufflers, etc. Midas
> and Sears were specifically mentioned and many of the lawsuits were
> from California, where this report was from and it was the same
> line...they get away with it, so it's not worth performing the work.
> One chain in the book was honored with "having lawsuits in 14 states
> simultaneously," which the author found rather "difficult to
> accomplish." An example suit was the "$59.99 brake job" that you used
> to see everywhere and they found that less than 5% of the cars
> qualified because the terms excluded semi-metallic pads which is was
> almost every car was using at the time of the investigation. The
> "average" brake job at these supposed convenience brake specialists ran
> $160-$200.
>
> Anyway, the book also outlines how to find a good mechanic, what you
> should expect (maybe a higher hourly rate, but much better services,
> etc.). It's a bit dated and the Internet has certainly opened
> communication to the benefit of the consumer, but well worth the read.
>
> He also wrote "what your car dealer doesn't want you to know," which
> was quite informative as well.
>
> For many things (brakes/rotors for example), I took a basic repair
> class at a local tech school (at night) and not only learned
> information (i.e., how low can a pad go before it really needs to be
> replaced), but I had access to a lift, tire machine and tools that I
> could never afford myself for 12 weeks. By simply replacing my pads
> and rotors, I made back the tuition compared to what the job was quoted
> for at the place I used to go to.
>
> I also found, through the instructor's network, a place that has proven
> to be very reliable and honest...we've been there a few times for
> things that we can't do at home and parts are priced within what we
> could purchase them for online and the labor rate is very competitive.
>

Of course most brake jobs don't require turning
the rotors or the drums, especially if the car has
been driven reasonably and there is no deep
scoring.

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