posted
Some may remember that I had car trouble about, uh, two months ago. I took it in this morning to see what needed to be done.
There's apparently a litany of things that are wrong with it, and after several, several rotten experiences with mechanics, I'm leery of believing that everything needs to be fixed.
What is now being discussed are the brake pads. Apparently I need new brake pads and the rotors turned.
I'm skeptical because I was told two years ago that I needed to replace the <insert brake stuff here>, but when I pressed, the mechanic admitted that it was a good idea but not necessarily something that HAD to be done.
So.
Does anyone know why I need to replace the rotors? Is this in the "your brakes will fail and you will plunge over the overpass" column, or is it in the "it'd be nice. Maybe get new hubcaps to replace the ones stolen, too. You want the spinny kind?" column?
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*sigh* And what's worse is that I DO kind of want the yellow, spinny hubcaps.
posted
Short of double-checking the mechanics diagnosis (are the rotors/pads in rough shape), generally anything dealing with the braking system of a car tends to be an immediate concern, especially if a mechanic 2 years ago mentioned it. Things like brake pads need to be replaced every X miles anyway (they wear down). The pads shouldn't be too expansive.
posted
If your rotors are scratched (have grooves in them), they can often be "turned" (meaning that they grind the surface off nice and flat), but they can only be ground so far before they must be replaced. If you do not have your rotors turned (or replaced) when they need it, your pads will wear unevenly and need to be replaced faster - costing you more money in the long run.
When I did my brakes a couple years ago, I should have turned the rotors, but I was in a hurry and didn't. Because of that, my brakes now "pulse" a little.
$175 sounds good to me (if that includes labor also). New rotors can cost at least $50-75 each (and pads also cost that much, depending on the kind you buy). You can look up the cost of the parts for your car online at napa or checker or autozone or something to get an idea of how much they cost.
posted
If the rotors can still be turned, there is no need to replace them. So, is the $175 all-inclusive for new front brake pads and new rotors or new pads and turning the old rotors?
posted
*sigh* This was my Mechanic I Can Trust. The problem is that my mechanic works in the afternoon and this guy works in the morning, and I took it in in the morning.
I'm thinking about getting it back and going back to see My Mechanic some afternoon. I'm also more than a little suspicious because three different mechanics over four months have told me three different things that are wrong. Either (1) some are making it up, (2) there are lots of things wrong with my car, and they all quit looking as soon as they find one, or (3) they are all making it up.
Specifically, there's a noise that appears when it gets up to high speeds. This guy keeps trying to tell me that the noise is coming from the brakes. Well, no - that's a different noise. What about the first noise? He's sure it's the brakes.
The other thing is that it shakes when it gets up to high speeds, and a guy a month or so ago said I needed to replace two tires to get it to stop. The guy from this morning said that one wheel was slightly out of shape, but they could balance them to fix it.
What puzzles me most is the alignment issue. He wants to do something to the axle that may be covered under the warranty, and said that fixing it would throw off the alignment so I would need to get that done. You mean that in the process of fixing the car, the mechanic creates a situation that I then need to pay to fix? This bothers me.
quote:Specifically, there's a noise that appears when it gets up to high speeds. This guy keeps trying to tell me that the noise is coming from the brakes. Well, no - that's a different noise. What about the first noise? He's sure it's the brakes.
The noise you refer to could be caused by the brakes. Since the brakes need to be fixed anyway, get them fixed and see if that makes the noise go away.
quote:The other thing is that it shakes when it gets up to high speeds, and a guy a month or so ago said I needed to replace two tires to get it to stop. The guy from this morning said that one wheel was slightly out of shape, but they could balance them to fix it.
This can be caused by lots of different things. How fast is "high speeds"? It can simply be the aerodynamics of the car causing it to shimmy a little at high speeds (and I'm thinking 80+ here). Shaking can also be caused by bad alignment or by tire problems (or driving on crappy pavement). I'm not quite sure what he meant by balancing it to fix an "out of shape" wheel. Balancing is attaching weights to the rim to account for slight weight differences across the wheel, it doesn't change the shape any. If your rim has been damaged it will need to be replaced.
quote:What puzzles me most is the alignment issue. He wants to do something to the axle that may be covered under the warranty, and said that fixing it would throw off the alignment so I would need to get that done. You mean that in the process of fixing the car, the mechanic creates a situation that I then need to pay to fix? This bothers me.
When you do any type of axle work, it's common sense to have it realigned. What is this mysterious "axle something" he wants to do? How old is your car?
posted
The shaking is definitely alignment, I've had that happen myself. And yes, especially if you have had a realignment done with balancing the tires/making sure the tires are in decent shape, your real alignment could be off after the wheel fix, thus requiring the alignment to be done after the calibration.
I'm confused as to what the "axle" thing means though...
posted
I echo Bok--fix brake problems NOW. If the rotors are warped (which is likely) they could give out on you when you really need them.
I don't know what to say about finding a reliable mechanic. My current strategy is to go on weekday mornings instead of on weekends. Then at least the older, more experienced guys are there, the ones who might actually give a crap about doing it right. I've found a couple of good mechanics now largely because of doing this.
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posted
You may need to have the tires balanced to 65 mph/75 mph. A lot of places only balance to 55 which would cause shaking if you go faster than that. Definately get the brakes replaced. Do you rotate your tires often? Misalignment can cause uneven wear of the tires which can cause shaking/shimmy-ing at higher speeds.
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