Well, the saga continues. It so happens that I took the car in last Friday to give this guy one more chance. I figured at this point, I really had nothing to lose. The brakes weren’t working properly, and if he didn’t fix them, I have to bite the bullet and take the car to a dealership.
I told him that I really needed to get this resolved. I have spent over $900 on the brakes and they are working as bad as they did when I took the car in. He promised me that he would “personally work on the car” and get the problem resolved. They would re-adjust my rear shoes, check the calipers, re-bleed the system, and see what they can do.
I get a phone call on Friday afternoon. He said that I have a brake pedal again, but he found air near the front right caliper and that he was going to replace it. He ordered it, but he didn’t think he would have it in time. So I had to bring the car back on Monday. <sigh>
I go pick up the car, and the brakes are fine. Car stops, the pedal is firm, and I’m happy… (well, sort of… more to come). I drive the car around all weekend, and things seem to be working… the pedal isn’t losing any firmness, and the brakes are working the way I would expect.
I then do the thing that set me off… While looking at my “new” calipers through my wheels, I notice that they don’t exactly look new. So I jack up the car, pull off the tire, and the letters “REMFG” are stamped on the caliper clear as day. This bastard told me he never uses remanufactured parts on repairs! AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! I’m livid. I checked the other one as well, and sure enough… the same thing.
So now I’m pissed. I’ve felt all along that this guy has been jerking me off, and now I KNOW it. I took the car back in today, and since the brakes were working fine, we both decided that he wouldn’t mess with it right now. I’ll drive it for a couple of days and see how it’s going. If the pedal goes bad again, he’ll replace the caliper. “OK”, I said… and “oh yeah, you ARE putting on new calipers, right? These aren’t remanufactured ones, correct?” He stares right at me and says, “oh, yes, absolutely. They are brand new calipers.”
Amazing. I walked out without saying a word. I’m now in touch with a lawyer, the Consumer Protection Agency, the BBB, and my credit card company. I don’t know what (if anything) I’ll get out of this, but that lying, thieving sombitch isn’t going to touch my car again… and if I can help it, he won’t do this to anyone I know, either.
Expensive lesson? You bet. When I talked to my lawyer, he said…“you know, I don’t know anything about cars… I would have never pulled the wheel. And my guess is most people wouldn’t.”