About a month ago I put on the “Solid Steel” steering stabilizer ,track bar kit and new track bar to fix the wobble. Took care of the problem. I took my truck in for inspection the me dealership last Saturday expecting tires not to pass and asked for a price on lubing the diffs and changing transmission oil.

I get a call saying it wouldn’t pass because of 4 rear tires (I expected that), right front hub bearing, center link tie rod and they quoted me over $250 for the transmission and over $200 for the diffs.

Not real happy with that I take it to a truck service shop for a second opinion on the bearing. They come back and say they couldn’t find anything wrong with the hub bearing or tie rod just 4 new tires. Also they flush the transmission for $120 and $50 per diff.

Here’s my dilemma I thought my dealership were stand up guys (stop laughing). My neighbor owns the place. So should I rip into him or just walk away?

 

Tell him what you think !! Thanks Steve

 

I guess my reason for posting is how can one guy say I need bearings and another say they’re fine?

 

Good question. I'd probably ask for some justification for needing the new bearings. What did they do to find this out. Did the just look at the odometer? Something sounds out of place.

 

I agree. It's easy to check the bearings yourself though. Jack up the tire and spin it. If you hear any grinding or if you can grab the top of the tire and shake it back and forth then it's bad. That's how I found out mine was bad. But then again, I've got almost 95k on my truck.

 

I say in this case ask for their reasoning on needing new bearings...

Normally i would say rip the guy, but he is a neighbor, so try to keep the peace, if you can...

 

I agree with displacedtexan, talk to him. Maybe not when your mad but he needs to know about htis stuff or he isnt going to be able to make it better in the future.

Keep us informed will ya?


Dan

 

THAT is the reason I'm no longer in the Wrench Turning business.
I saw too many "mechanics" that would condemn any part that looked over three days old.

My experience:
My BIL took my mother's '86 Dodge Aries with 25,000 miles for a State safety inspection.
"Inspector" said the motor mount was bad. Put a rejection sticker on the car. and told him it would cost $200 to fix it, and to get it fixed quickly, the car was unsafe to drive. He brought the car home, and my mother called me.
I checked it, found absolutely nothing wrong with it.
I took the car back to the station, and asked for the owner.
I asked him to show me what was "Bad" about the motor mount.
"Mechanic-Inspector" put the car on a lift, started the car, put it in reverse, stepped on the brake, then reved the engine.
OF COURSE the motor jumped against the limits of the mounts, but there was no separation.
I sugested the manager had two choices.
Either put a PASS sticker on the car, or I would call the Virgina State Police who monitors the inspection program and yank his license to inspect.
I got a sticker.

 

I would jack up the truck and wiggle the tires first and see if the bearings are ok if so ..Rip the neighbor about his shop

 

On Ripping your neighbor, STOP think How many projects do you have parked in the yard? If any and you PO the neighbor will he call the county about the collection? I have 8 JEEPs in my yard and lots of other stuff.
If he is a friend tell him what happened and he should look into dishonest mechanics in his shop. This only causes him to loose business because word of mouth and forums travel fast. He might feel generous and cut you a big break.
If not and he calls the county go do some donuts in his yard, he'll love you even more.

 

I’ve been meaning to update this. I decided to not say anything and just forgo my “free” inspections over there. I’ll just get my work done elsewhere.

 

I believe you can have a good relationship and still tell your neighbor what you found. "Hey Bob, I went to your service center and they gave me a quote on my truck. I ended up getting the work done at a different service station. I was disappointed I was not able to get the work done in your shop." Then you can talk detail if you want. Keep it light. You can have a big influence.


Or we can all just keep quiet. Then the parts people and car companies will start laying off people because they have not learned what it takes to have return customers. Na, that won’t happen.. Wait, GM and their parts supplier has already announced laying off 10's of thousands of employees. Too late...