Joacim Melin wrote to All <=-

Then my left back brake jammed up on my way home, doing 140KM/h on the
highway. Had to drive really slowly to my house, jack up the car and
rip out the old break caliper, drive and get a new one and change it
tonight. Then I recorded an 1,5 hour podcast.

I'm taking over my wife's 2014 Subaru Crosstrek, as I bought her a
new car. While I love my Prius' gas mileage, it'll need new
batteries
and brakes eventually, and I'm not driving enough to make the MPG a
factor.

The Crosstrek has great AWD and I'm looking forward to having a snow
and trail-capable car.

Anyways, my wife needed new brakes - as soon as they started
squealing I brought it in. Did everything without meeting them, as
my
wife was driving it. Got a telephone "estimate", which was my first
mistake.

Needed all 4 rotors replaced - which I seriously doubted. I've
*never* had to replace the rear rotors, especially on a highway car
that's never run off the pads.

He quoted me the price for 1 rotor, not two, so the telephone
estimate was off by a significant amount.

OK, so I swallow my annoyance to get my wife her car back and her
brakes done.

She pays the bill and it's 300 more than we had discussed (after
correcting the price for the rotors).

"Oh, the computer does that some times - doesn't take the discount.
Happens all the time. Come in, and we'll credit your card."

I found another shop and did the 120K service, this shop I really
like. They informed me that the front pads are on upside down, and
the part that makes noise when your pad wears down wouldn't squeak
when it was supposed to.

I'm going to go in and watch them fix it, or have them pay me in
cash
up front to go somewhere else.

I've already posted on Yelp and contacted the Better Business
Bureau,
this will be a lot of fun. :)

Getting ripped off when getting your car repaired sucks. Getting ripped off when buying a used car sucks even more, which I was when I got the car I have now (a 2006 Volvo XC70). Gearbox isn't good and there are tons of other small issues with it - issues I discovered a while after buying it and of course I had no right to return it and get a full refund.

Anyway, I can repair some stuff myself and my second daughter is training to be
a car mechanic so I get help from her too but this car is going to be sold or traded in at a loss and I'm actually looking to get a Subaru Outback or Forester instead.


--- NiKom v2.5.0
* Origin: Delta City (deltacity.se, Vallentuna, Sweden) (21:2/130.0)

Joacim Melin wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Anyway, I can repair some stuff myself and my second daughter is
training to be a car mechanic so I get help from her too but this car
is going to be sold or traded in at a loss and I'm actually looking to
get a Subaru Outback or Forester instead.

The new Foresters have pretty amazing all-wheel drive. I watched a
crash course in the 3 different types of AWD, and the Forester kept
going in a foot+ of fresh snow, past the WRX and the Crosstrek.

It even pulled a Mazda CX-9 out of a snowbank, the Subaru was only
wearing all season radials - not snow tires.



... Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
--- MultiMail/XT v0.52
* Origin: realitycheckBBS.org -- information is power. (21:4/122)

Joacim Melin wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

Anyway, I can repair some stuff myself and my second daughter is
training to be a car mechanic so I get help from her too but this car
is going to be sold or traded in at a loss and I'm actually looking to
get a Subaru Outback or Forester instead.

The new Foresters have pretty amazing all-wheel drive. I watched a
crash course in the 3 different types of AWD, and the Forester kept
going in a foot+ of fresh snow, past the WRX and the Crosstrek.

It even pulled a Mazda CX-9 out of a snowbank, the Subaru was only
wearing all season radials - not snow tires.

Most Subaru models have had two features for ages now: boxer engines and permanent 4x4 and they have a pretty sturdy reputation when it comes to quality. Maybe they don't have the flashiest of interiors and maybe they aren't
super silent and all that but they last.

Most of my family are from up north in Sweden and I visited my uncle years ago and noticed he had a bunch of Subarus on his farm. I jokingly asked him why he didn't drive a Land Rover or something PROPERLY built for off road and he laughed and said he usually tows the Land Rovers when they broke down.


--- NiKom v2.5.0
* Origin: Delta City (deltacity.se, Vallentuna, Sweden) (21:2/130.0)