maximan1983

Is it me or is Firestone Auto Care just way more expensive than they should be?

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

It's you. Reasons to follow, I'm sure...

JvG

I do not know. I do almost all the work myself. That way I do not have to get ripped off by the repair places.

This forum covers just about anything you will need to maintain your car.

Welcome to the forum.

Now what was the issue with Firestone?

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

If you think a place is charging too much, all you have to do is call/visit another shop and see what they charge.

JvG

Maximan1983

Please tell us about your experience with Firestone. Inquiring minds (like mine) want to know.

Did they tell you scary stuff like your car will blow up, today, if it is not fixed, right now, by Firestone?

What did they tell you is wrong with your car?

maximan1983

I think $605 is too much for installing 2 rear calipers. No rotors or pads.

cgilley

I would say very high. Of course, you have to buy their specially sanctioned calipers that will be way over priced. I cannot believe there would be much labor.

maximan1983

Who makes the calipers Firestone uses?

JvG

Are you willing and capable of doing this work yourself?

This website will have the instructions you need, as well as great pictures.

If you go to you-tube and search for Nissan Maxima rear brakes, you will be able to watch videos.

I usually get my parts from Amazon.com. I just looked up the cost for you. You are looking at 230 dollars for just the calipers. Some additional parts make the bill 250.00.

So they are charging labor and profit of 350.00. That is also the amount you could save.

A much cheaper option is to buy the rubber parts to rebuild the calipers. the cost is 12 dollars.

So, by doing the work yourself, rebuilding the actual calipers yourself, and other small parts, your total bill would be about 50 dollars.

The instructions for rebuilding calipers are available on the net, or on you-tube.

You have little to loose, and 550 dollars to save......

Bigo Serge

The price they quoted you is high to the guy that knows how to work on cars, but my guess is those calipers are loaded with new pads. It's normal business 101, a shop has to put a mark up on parts ordered in to stay in business and pay their mechanics. I worked as a service writer in the pass, but I agree with doing the work yourself and saving your money. People that spend $600 on a brake service are typically people that don't want or know how to fix their car. Follow the directions from this site and get your mm tools out........you'll be okay.

JvG

Bigo Serge,

Agreed. I pointed out that the rebuilt calipers cost quite a bit, there is other hardware involved, I did not mention the pads, but should have.

A shop also needs to pay the mechanic, overhead fees for keeping the shop itself going, taxes, and a fair profit for the operator of the shop.

This is one example why this website is so valuable to someone who is willing to learn about cars and actually perform the work themselves. If I went as far as rebulding the calipers myself by using the cheap brake kits I could do this work for less than 100 dollars. This would include new pads. To be fair though, this work could take most of an afternoon.

I have been working on my own cars for many years. I have the tools and a garage to do the work. Most people could not do this work. So the 605 dollars they want to charge is not that outragious.

BobMax

Actually, it is outrageous. Rear calipers are like $60 from RockAuto, so they won't be paying any more than that for them. Throw in $10 for fluid. That leaves $540 in labor costs. This job isn't that long, especially for an experienced guy, even with rust.

Sure, they have overhead, a business to run, etc, but that's a BS price. They pay the mechanic $25-$60/hour at most. It takes him two hours max. That's not a reasonable profit in any business except auto repair or plumbing.

Mr. Ryte

Outrageous or not-as long as there are potential customers that are willing to pay then they'll keep charging those prices (at least till enough people complain about it to corporate....)

BobMax

Corporate probably set the prices.