Did I Get Screwed?

[DuckRyder]

So what i come up with on O'Reily and Summit

2 seals (PN 472856; National brand) for 81.32; 23.99 EA = 47.98
2 rear wheel bearings (PN 18790; Timken brand) for 81.32; 27.97 EA = 55.94 - 23.99 EA BCA/National
2 bearing races (PN 18720; Timken brand) for 40.64; 16.97 EA = 33.94 - 11.99 EA BCA/National
2 bearing races (PN 25520; Timken brand) for 33.86; 8.97 EA = 17.94 - 9.99 EA BCA/National
2 rear wheel bearings (PN 25592; Timken brand) for 128.24; 29.97 EA = 59.94

[Ohiotinkerer]

Thanks for the input. I certainly understand some markup, but it just seemed really high to me. I was contemplating doing it myself, and I think going forward I will do everything I can or buy the parts and pay labor. Thanks again.

Best thing you could do is get a set of original Ford factory service manuals if you want to do things yourself - ebay item again - I did and between all the fine folks here and those I haven't come acoss anything I couldn't fix myself.......yet.......also find a retired mechanic or someone that does it on the side that you can trust that may have the knowhow and tools to tackle the jobs that you can't do - I have a couple that I use here when I need it and they work a lot cheaper and I know they wont screw me......

[Jacksdad]

I absolutely agree, Busboy - the mantra my son hears from me more than anything is not to be afraid to try, because there is simply no substitute for failing and learning from it.

Just as in any other demographic or profession, there are extremely intelligent mechanics out there, but training doesn't match experience or improve IQs, and an analytical mind is something you either have or don't have. One of my Dad's friends was self taught and worked out of a shed on a piece of land he rented, looked like the most archetypal grease monkey you could imagine, but he could fix anything with an ease that was almost unsettling while engaging you in a conversation about particle physics, philosophy or the meaning of life. Conversely, I had the owner of a very well respected shop argue up and down that there was no point porting a cylinder head without enlarging the valves as the gas would just pile up behind them until it choked the engine. And a young friend who recently graduated from tech school swore that the ticking from a cracked flex plate was actually a CV joint, even when it was pointed out that the car didn't have to be moving to make the noise.

My Dad was honest to a fault, even though he knew it was costing him money, and I remember a young girl coming in to his shop to get the last of three quotes to fix her brakes. Other than saying her mechanic had told her they were dangerous, she couldn't elaborate. My Dad took it for an exhaustive test drive and found nothing wrong, then jacked it up and came to the same conclusion. He told her the brakes were fine, but her response was to ask him again how much it would cost to fix them. Nothing he said would convince her she was being hosed by the other two shops. The end result? She got mad and left to get her third quote somewhere else.

I've seen oil changes that were little more than wiping off the filter, clutch adjustments that were billed as replacements, structural chassis repairs that were actually bondo and undercoat, supposedly rebuilt drum brakes that were thick with rust and spider webs - the list goes on. Do I think all mechanics do that? Absolutely not - that would be unfair to characterize an entire profession like that, but I've seen enough of it to know it happens more than most people realize. On a personal note, I recently had a tire changed while I watched, only to have the mechanic tell me my brake shoes were badly worn - without taking the drum off. What he didn't know was that I'd actually changed them out a few months earlier. And a few years ago, another mechanic told me that if I didn't replace the PCV valve with the right one (he was angling for some work after the car failed smog) the engine could "explode".

I bought a used Jeep for a song a few months back, and it came with a folder full of receipts half an inch thick. Among other things, the previous owner (a young girl) had been charged between $150 and $180 to change the valve cover gasket on three separate occasions in four years (the leak is actually the oil filter adapter). She'd been nickel and dimed on everything by a guy she had absolute trust in, and yet the front end was so shot that every ball joint, tie rod end and bushing has to be replaced. The death wobble when I got it was frightening. Her mechanic had either not noticed, or it was beyond him to fix. Those are just some of the reasons I haven't handed my keys over to anyone else in over thirty years, other than for smog tests.

And I agree that technologies are definitely changing, but a bump will always be a bump

.

[Busboy]

I've seen and heard the same stories or even worse. I am ASE Master certified in 3 different areas with other ASE certifications as well and I'll be the first to say that I wouldn't trust even a fellow ASE certified tech to change a tire on my truck unless I was there watching to ensure it was done correctly. We have a new mechanic (Afghanistan veteran) that couldn't figure out what the balance shaft was on a Ford V-10 engine!

[Jacksdad]

Kind of scary, right?

The last time I took my car to a shop was to redeem a Pennysaver voucher for a $17 transmission service. I was new to town, driving a '65 Buick Electra with a 445 Wildcat motor, no tools to speak of and no off street parking. I figured it'd be okay because I'd know if they were trying to screw me. Went back in the afternoon to find the transmission out of the car and torn down and me over a barrel. Long story short, it got real expensive and unpleasant, and next paycheck saw me buying tools. Never let anyone turn a wrench on my car since.

[Cal2121]

Thanks for all of the replies. It was an expensive lesson and something I won't let happen again. I really appreciate all of the input.

[Jacksdad]

Cal1212 - sorry to hijack your thread there. We've all been there, so don't feel bad.

[tsherry]

>>Cal1212 - sorry to hijack your thread there. We've all been there, so don't feel bad.>>

Yes We Have. (Some of us are slow learners, and have been to that particular well a number of times. One of the reasons that I have bought more tools over the years than anyone in their 'right mind' ought to, but there's not one damned thing that I'm afraid to tear into, with the assistance of Google and some time in my shop.)

[1972hiboy]

Yeah thats full markup, heck, for that kind of money you could have had new brakes, hardware, drums turned and new gear oil if you done it yourself.

[magic bus]

Good advice in this thread. I worked for years as a full time young mechanic. I had formal training at a tech school. My dads education stopped at the 8th grade.

I can't tell you how many times he would grab a hammer, drift, torch or whatever the job dictated and say " Here son let me show you how a man with an 8th grade education does it. "

And sure enough he would get the job done!

Just an FYI. You all know what ASE stands for right?

ASK SOMEBODY ELSE!!!!

[Cal2121]

Thanks again guys for the input. While it tends to reignite the anger I have for the situation, it is partly my fault for not questioning it before I paid. Paying someone else will definitely be a last resort from here on out, and I'll be asking a lot more questions.