manatee

Yesterday I took my car to a repair shop ... because of some whistling noise from the rear. I'm planning a big camping trip with U-haul trailer next week so I didn't want to mess with it. They proclaimed brake job needed to be done so I paid $450 !!! out of my measley pocket for them to do the job. replaced shoes, and drums, etc. on both sides. But now after I paid that much money, when I drove out, I heard the same whistling noise - and in addition to that, now I hear a clunking noise in the rear driver's side!
So I took the car back to them.
One of the guys drove the car with me, and convinced me (at that time at least) that 1. brake job needed to be done because I am going to pull a trailer 2. whistling noise is nothing to worry about, it's from a tiny hole in exhaust system 3. clunking noise will subside and it's only because the new brake is not yet properly "sealed" and for the first 500 miles after brake job you need to be careful driving and use more transmission (lower gear) going down hills etc.
I'm being very suspicious about on the point #3 - is this true that you should bear with clunking noise for godly 500 miles after replacement? is clunking noise normal after brake repair?
But if that's normal, why don't I hear it from both drivers' side and passenger's side?!
I only get the noise from driver's side.
So what do you think? Do you think the repair shop manager is just trying to be cheap not having to make his men do the job again? (which I am suspecting). He said there absolutely is no safety issue with the clunking noise. Is this really true?

Thanks for your help.

jbpnoman

That shop is taking you for a run. They told you the brake job would fix the whistling, then told you that it's actually coming from the exhaust? If they can do exhaust work, fixing a pin hole shouldn't cost more than $40. They took you for a ride on that one.

No, it doesn't take drums 500 miles to seat. All it takes is two or three foot down solid stops in reverse from 10MPH. Did he even bother taking the brakes apart to look at it? Clunking noises can be caused by any number of things, and some of those things (like loose/incorrectly installed brake hardware kits) can be dangerous, especially if hauling a trailer.

kwijibodavid

my sugestion take it to a rival shop tellem u got em done at the place u took it to ask them about it if they say somthin different have em write an estimit and take it back to the shop and have em fix whats wrong

kwijibodavid

also yea u got hosed on the cost
shoes =16
drums 37 per side =74
hardware =10
total cost for parts = $100
total profit $350

jbpnoman

Oversimplifying financials is never good. You completely left out another major expense - the paycheck for the person(s) who did the work. You also left out all of the other minor/major expenses. Building lease, insurance, power, HVAC, tools, lifts, this stuff all adds up. I used to do the books for a 3-bay mom and pop shop, and in an average month, the average profit-per-job was in the $100/hr range.

For the shop to do the job for the OP, I wouldn't say they got hosed on the cost. They did, however, get hosed on the quality of the work.

kwijibodavid

yea good point

redm3turbo

Id bet it was a crap drum you got. Take it back and complain. I just recently did a drum job (out of pocket I was under 100 with the best drum / and shoe kit you can purchase)

I did it in my driveway and it took me under 30 mins for both sides, hardest part was jacking up the car. I get finished, take it for a ride...hear clunk, clunk, clunk.
Take it apart, dont find anything. It took me a good 3-4 weeks to figure out what was causing it. The rear driver side drum wasn't straight. I returned it to the store I purchased it at, got a new one, installed it....noise went away.

This of course was after I changed the hub, the wheel and tire, brake hardware kit...etc.

Save yourself the money, just complain and get the drum changed. Alot, ALOT of autoparts are defective straight out of the box. When I went to return the part, the kid at the counter said, "sounds about right". And didnt hassle me. I asked him if he saw alot of returns and he honestly said yes. He said he'd guess at least 30% of their parts come back, probably 15% people dont use, and 15% are junk.

redm3turbo

^ every shop Ive ever been to has always had mechanic supplied tools that they are solely responsible for.

And secondly, auto repair is big business. OP definitely paid too much for the job, Its under a 20 minute job (with air tools/lift) if I can do it in my driveway with a jack comfortably in 30.

Brake jobs are the bread and butter at any repair shop. When I worked in the auto industry the best commission for all parties were, brake jobs. Mechanics could do them way under book time, so they loved them, parts sold the brake parts at 200-300% markup, and service writers make them easy sells. (Anyone would go for the brake job.....its not like something you can go without)

Mechanic for hour made $20 tops. *most times B techs take brakes, A tech's wouldn't touch it unless its dead in the shop
Service writer made $8 if he has a great commission schedule.
Parts I bet charged out around $1-140 in parts. Probably 2 cans of brake cleaner for $6. A shim kit for $15...etc
Parts paid 1/3 of that for cost...probably about $40 total.

Now granted, rent, insurance, pay, benefits, yada yada yada...all adds up. However the shop made well over $300 today.

Thats what you get when you dont have the space,time or ability to twist the wrench yourself though.

manatee

Hi, thanks all for your responses. I wasn't so much concerned with the cost of each jobs, but having been lied to that it is safe to pull a trailer for 600 miles after a shoddy job. No apology, no offer to remedy the situation, nothing. Very rude, and very unprofessional.

I went to get a second opinion and the shop told me that there is a particular problem with rear drum brake with my make '98 Honda Civic - that I need authentic Honda drums to get the noise go away. I was suggested to pay $280 for labor and job and I think that was a fair price, except that I feel Midas where I initially took my car to, they should be willing to do this job for me for free (maybe I pay for parts) - but Nooo, they said they will absolutely do not do anything like that, and bitched about the competitor, and got rude, and hanged up a phone for me. I'm done with Midas. I asked the place where I got second opinion from if they guraantee that it's the parts that's causing the noise, and they said 100% positive.

Have any of you heard about the rear drum brake problem with '98 Civics? They said aftermarket drums won't work - won't machine well together, they said. What's your view?

redm3turbo

i have aftermarket on my car.....like I said drums are hit or miss. I doubt that theres anything special about 98 OEM's but then again I dont have a 98 so Im not sure.

I have a 2000 though and it took two sets to get 1 decent one, so I know first hand that there is alot of crap. I can tell you over the internet though that its the problem...and I didnt see the car.

Buy a drum...jack up your car...remove the wheel. Youll see 2 spots on the drum to screw in a 8mm bolt. Do that, itll push the drum off for you....push new drum on....put tire back on, lower car...throw the car in reverse and pump the brakes. go 10 mph...stomp on the brakes. then take for a ride. save yourself the 280 bucks...

OEM drums are 70 bucks.... I could change your drum for you in 5 mins in the parking lot of walmart. its easy as pie.

spend the extra 210 on having fun camping bro.

I used to work in this crap, and we'd see car after car after car come back with warped rotors/drums. It got to the point they'd only sell OEM parts. Guess what even those came back warped a week later. (It wasn't honda) For brakes, got to stick with quality. Brembo makes quality. thats why they are double the price of whatever advance/pepboys sells. Cheap mexico parts dont last...the metal heats up...then rapidly cools down and warps instantly. Got to pay for the good metal. When you go to service joints they want to charge you quality prices and use the cheapest material available. Thats why the majority of us here buy oem, and install ourselves. It aint about the cost savings...its about not cutting corners.

redm3turbo

http://www.thehondapartsstore.com/he...s=&view=normal

#4

redm3turbo

lastly...
http://www.bbb.org/

might want to give them a review of your midas experience, lol.

manatee

Had the drums replaced - noise is gone! Midas' regional manager called me and promised a refund -- Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. They really helped boost my confidence to confront Midas, haha. Have a great day everyone!

jbpnoman

In the future, for simple things like brakes and oil changes, I would seriously recommend buying a factory service manual and learning how to do it yourself. Brakes and oil are the two simplest maintenance things to do to your own car, can save you a lot of money in the long run, and you won't have to worry about anyone else possibly messing up your car

Former User

^I couldn't agree more.

And members here can tell you how to do everything properly.