flyboy216

Hi all! Noob here.

Took my 2004 SE in for service (to replace the headlight bulbs and a couple other things), and the guy calls to tell me I need

New brake pads (and turn the rotors): $289
Front wheel bearing(s?) replaced cuz they're super loose: $375
New [alternator] belt: $160

I've got about 40k [edit: 50k] miles after this many years of (hard-ish) driving. Do the above sound reasonable? I don't think I've had any of them done yet, but boy is my memory of such things bad...

Thanks!
A

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

tell him no thank you and you will be visiting a new dealer for your future business.

you can get new pads and rotors for that price on here. i got taken for the belts as well. one of mine was still new. not sure i paid that much though. check them yourself. some think cracks are okay, others change them.

were they going to warranty your bulbs? I know they should up to 36k, but if not you can get them waaaay cheaper than at the dealer.

someone else can chime in about the bearings.

flyboy216

Thanks for the comments!

I bought the bulbs myself. They're charging $75 for labor -- which is much cheaper than they quoted me at first.

The above prices I mentioned of course include labor -- and I'm incredibly useless when it comes to doing the job myself. If I want to get parts and labor done elsewhere, would it be much cheaper?

The other thing is, I have more money than time. If I have to shop around at other dealerships for a slightly better rate, I might as well just get it done while it's already in the shop today.

But these look like things that might need doing after 40k miles, right?

Thanks!

ikalinin

iTrader: (1)

dealer will take you for a ride. Taking a car to the dealer to change light bulbs = I can take advantage of this costumer. No disrespect, but changing light bulbs is a 20min job. Its like taking your car to the dealer so they can properly bolt on your wheel nuts... 50k on a car = very little maintnance required. the alt belt is a 30min job, any moms and pops shop will change both your belts for $40 (+ belt cost)

read up on the forum, lots of how tos.. really simple tasks that you listed... save your $$

NIKV69

Def a snow job. I know many people with the 6th gen and none of them needed front wheel bearings especially at that mileage. The bulbs are a pain but try to do them yourself almost an hour labor is a joke. Belts are prob legit.

flyboy216

Well color me ripped off. Word on the street is that Jerry is a good guy, doesn't mess around. I couldn't wait too long to tell him yes or no (unless I wanted to take my car in again another day -- a major hassle), so I said yes

I had no reason to believe the wheel bearing was bad, but he "assured" me it was. Ah, c'est la vie...

[edit] As for the headlights, well... I'm an impossibly bad handyman, and there was no way I was going to change the bulb myself without breaking something

ABlackSER

Dealer thought I was stupid before too, told me I needed new rotors because I changed my brake pads myself...WTF

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

well if you have them money... i was livid when i agreed to have my belts changed, then saw the labor (thinking the same it would cost me more time wise to do it myself) and when i asked to keep the belts the serpentine was cracked, but the small one looked brand new and they cut it. they gave me a free oil change

so i brought in mobil 1 and told them to fill my bottles with their oil

MadMax07SL

Asking to see the removed bering hubs is probably moot...not really that possible to see if they are causing a problem when they are off the car, it's impossible to put enough force on them since they are not mounted and no leverage of the wheels...If you had a chance to see him do a diagnosis on them, (tilting the wheel top to bottom while off the ground) you'd know if they were in bad shape. The other thing, you'd hear them whining as you drive, typically the faster you go the louder they get...

Yeah, I think you walked in there with the "more money" mentality and he read you like a book...

flyboy216

Well not just cost me more -- if I did it myself, it could only end in blood and tears

If it needs to get done, I'll gladly have them do it. If they really made me get the wheel bearing changed for nothing... well that sucks . I didn't hear any noises, and told him as much. He assured me it was "very loose."

update: apparently the wheel bearing has somehow... crunched the hub(?), and they have to replace that too. No labor, $80 in parts. He was pretty insistent on the phone that they can't just put the old one back on, given how damaged it is. I don't even know how I would insist if I wanted to.

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

man i'm sorry but that sounds very shady. i would even call and tell them a tow truck is on the way to take it to another shop. at least to see their reaction. i mean you did not even notice anything and it keeps getting worse.

flyboy216

Sigh. I suppose if I ask to see the "broken" hub they'll tell me they already discarded it.

On the other hand, I still have some faith that it's all true and I just didn't notice it. I'm not sure it's the kind of thing I would even notice.

Rods03Max619

iTrader: (5)

290 dollars for a brake job damn what kind of pads are those