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I had my front brakes done about two or three months ago. They charged ne $450. It is a 1996 Dodge Dakota. He supposedly did everything to them.
Well about a month ago I noticed when I stopped a grinding noise appearing to come from the front drivers side tire area. He did not do the back brakes.
I have put between 2000 to 3000 miles on it since the work was done. I took it back up there and they said they did'nt see anything. I doubt if they did a road test. If they did they would have heard it.
It does'nt do it all the time. It seems to do it the more you drive. Could it be the back brakes sounding like they are in the front?
I have not had the back ones done in a long time. It seems like everytime I take a vehicle in, whoever does the work does'nt do it right, or does'nt do it all. I am sick of paying hundreds of dollars for shoddy work or no work at all. I do not know anything about repair work, so I feel like these people take advantage of me when they see me come in the door. Why can't I find a reliabe honest repair shop?
Take the truck back to where the brakes were done. There should be a warranty, and there is no excuse for brakes going on less than 3,000 miles after they're installed. It's their responsibility to fix it, and fix it right.
I'd check all my receipts and papers. Check to see what kind of warranty they put up.
Remind them of their financial liability, were you to have an accident because the brake work they did was faulty.
Thanks. I have to check the paperwork. I don't understand their lack of interest. Are all shops like this now or what? They all seem to want to rip you off.
Can it be the back brakes making the sound sounding like it is coming from the front? Thanks.
Last edited by kathys; 09-15-2009 at 09:28 PM..
Reason: added
Thanks. I have to check the paperwork. I don't understand their lack of interest. Are all shops like this now or what? They all seem to want to rip you off.
Can it be the back brakes making the sound sounding like it is coming from the front? Thanks.
If you listen carefully you'll easily be able to tell whether it's the front brakes or rear brakes. And for the record, rear brakes rarely fail.
Regarding shops... Yes, far too many are absolute rip-off joints - especially the chain store shops. They flagrantly lie to customers about repairs they claim your car needs. They then charge exorbitant prices, and often do absolutely crappy work.
Take it back pronto. There's always a minor chance it could be something unrelated but best guess is the brakes have cut into the rotor and done some damage. And they'll do more damage. Have the....mechanics.....check everything again, sticking caliper, loose caliper bolt, something from the road lodged in the brakes.
About the only places that do work correctly are dealerships and niche shops but that all comes at a significant price. Gas station garages and chain shops are rarely worth any notice. The best prevention to getting ripped off is to do what you can on your own.
Hi Kathy, sorry for the trouble you're having--it reflects poorly on the profession. There are honest and competent mechanics but there are also a lot of people who are either incompetent or dishonest. The best shops are ones where you can talk to the owner directly, where the owner is present every day. You would think dealerships would be the best place but there are a lot of horror stories I have both heard and personally experienced. You have no control over who works on your car--could be a master tech with 20 years of experience with that brand, could be a 20 year old kid fresh out of tech school.
Absolutely stay away from national chain repairs stores. These are operated from a distant corporate office, receive a yearly list of target goals (money they are expected to make every month) with intense pressure put on the managers and mechanics to make it happen. It is a poor business model in that it prizes profits above all else. Also, most of the chain stores use the cheapest parts they can buy. A common incentive is the lifetime brake pad warranty. People continue to believe they will get something for nothing, and continue to let this lifetime pitch hypnotize them. The warranty is only good if you resurface your rotors. This is not covered under the warranty--that's an extra 50 bucks or more each time, and more than pays for shop cost on the pads as well as labor. Then every 3 times or so, your rotors will be too thin to cut and you'll have to buy new ones, as well as new mounting hardware and maybe calipers too. Refuse to pay for these extras and you'll get your brake pads in a box.
Sorry for the long winded reply and I know it does nothing to fix your immediate problem. Perhaps you can use this as an opportunity to find a good repair shop. I always relish the opportunity to set another shop's wrongs aright. Try to find a shop that you can talk to the mechanic, and one that will not charge ( or charge only 20 bucks, say) to check out the problem. Then you can return to your original shop with knowledge and that, as in most areas of life, is power. And any good shop, on a comeback like this, should test drive with the customer in the car. Telling you "we didn't hear anything" and then returning the truck is unacceptable. Good luck, and don't despair--good shops are out there, you just have to put in the time to find them.
Thanks all. The shop I went to was'nt a chain. It was a local one down the street from me.I know the response I got was unacceptable. If I take it back there I would imagine they will probably give me a smart a@@ answer. I just know that's what it will be.
I mean I already paid these people $450, and they can't even test drive the thing.If they drove it for any amount of time they would have heard it. They would have to be deaf. I would think they would want to get more work, they could have claimed it was something else and got more money off of me.As it is it looks like they don't want to spend more time on something they screwed up.
The same place also did a water pump for me about a week before the brakes.
I went there because Like I said it was the closet place to where I lived and the truck just made it to their parking lot and it died. Preciuos to that I had not been getting any heat. I mentioned that to them at the time of the water pump, but they did not fix that at the time. I had to take it back and get some kind of flush. Well now I have the heat. They used some kind of anti freeze that was clear.I was wondering about that at the time to. I am afraid now that, that is going to be a problem.
This is what was on my bill. R&R left rear brake drum and machine right, R&R front brakes, cooling system flush. The parts were- Brake rotor & hub assy-front-premium-drivetr Brake pads-front,metallic tru-stop-drivetrain Brake drum-rear-w 9' brakes WHL seal universal antifreeze my total bill was $456.48
I had it done in June
Have been driving it like this for about a month with that noise.
It says 12 month 12,000 mile warranty
I was thinking about going to another shop and have them look at it and see what they had to say. I was thinking I would not tell them about the work that i had the other place do. After I see what they say, go back to the other place with what the other one had said.Bad idea or not?
I know the other place will probably say that I need a complete brake job. After they tell me that I need a complete brake job, then tell them I just had one.
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Grinding
