JACKING UP THE PRICE, AT ALL COSTS

 

There has been a noise in the front end of my car for a while now. It always intensifies when I tap the brakes. Recently though there was a shimmy and shake added to the sound. The vibration got so bad that it made stopping difficult. Usually my husband handles these things but with the new job he can't.  So we made an appointment at the car dealership and yours truly took the car in. I arrived  promptly at 1pm with my Kindle in hand. We had been given an estimate of the potential work ahead of time. It would be about $200 to replace the brakes and about $80 more to put in new rotors. And the job would take about an hour and a half. I pulled up a chair and settled in. That's when the fun began. Lady from automotive came out to the waiting room and told me the front brakes were fine, but that the back brakes and rotors needed replacing. AND, here's the BIG... AND... it would NOW cost $340. That is $60 more than they originally quoted. No explanation given as to why the price went up. That's just the way it is. Unfortunately I am a captive audience, need the car repaired and gave them the go ahead, despite the new price. AND she tells me it will now take two and a half hours.  So I hunker down and wait. Time slips away and before you know it, she's back. I think she's going to tell me the car is ready. She doesn't. Instead she asks me if the front end has been shaking. I tell her that's why we brought it in. Then she says, looks like the front rotors are the problem. We can try to machine and turn them, she tells me. That will cost you $130 extra. But most likely they will need to be replaced too, so you're looking at an additional $220. Which would bring the total cost of the job up to $560 which I realize is DOUBLE the original estimate of $280. I called my husband who was about to go into an important meeting. I'm upset. He's upset. But we agree it needs to be done. So we approve. Off she goes. I wait and wait and wait. At 4:45pm she comes to get me. It's done. I breath a sigh of relief. They were able to turn the front rotors, instead of replacing them. That saved us $90. She hands me the bill. And I surprise her by handing her a coupon for 15% off services rendered.

 

 

Her feathers are ruffled and she then tells me they CAN NOT honor it. It doesn't apply to repair work. I ask her to read the coupon. Nowhere does it state that and I suggest that they better honor it or bring the owner in. They refuse to give me the 15% but do knock $60 off the bill. I'm tired. It's been a long day. I can see the name of this game is to take advantage of the customer at all costs. So I pay it. The noise is still there when I tap the brakes. The shaking is gone. But now, two days later, the engine doesn't want to turn over, without a struggle. It's back to the dealership tomorrow. I have a theory. The battery is in the wheel well where they were working to fix the brakes. Maybe a cable accidently came loose. You think they planned this to make more money or is it a fluke?