My Subaru Outback has about 25,000 miles on it and 90% of that is stop and go driving for my home health job. We’ve been on a few long trips with it, to Phoenix and San Diego, but overall it’s all city driving. It’s a 2003, bought in Nov. 2002 which means I have owned it for 2 years, 4 months.
It started making a horrible sound, indescribable really, when I put it in reverse and backed up. I only noticed it recently cuz it’s been warm weather and I open up the windows. Otherwise, I couldn’t hear it. But it was like a scab that was waiting to be picked - I started driving with the windows down all the time and was hearing some scary shit. It’s in the garage today, and apparently they have diagnosed it as a brake pad/rotor thing. Which means squat to me, although I am surprised since I have owned 3 other Subarus and never had a problem so early on. So I guess the Subaru dealership told Mr. Beckwall that they could look at it sometime next week and that it might still be covered under the warranty. We took it to our trusty garage today, thinking it might as well have a lube/oil/filter
and have them diagnose it. So they can fix it for about $400, and I won’t have to deal with rental cars all weekend while I work home health.
I hate dealer garage mechanics. I don’t trust them. Call me stupid, but I’m just gonna pay for the convenience of getting the car back tonight. The dealer garage couldn’t tell me when they’d get to it, or even if hypothetically it would be covered.
Doesn’t that sound like dicking us around a bit?
Oh well, I can live with my decision. Other than tax time, April will have to be a quiet month here at the ranch. No money to burn, that’s for sure.
(No offense to all you nice and reliable dealer mechanics )
Have you got another Subaru dealership you can visit? They should take any Subaru for repair work, regardless of which dealership you bought it from. I’d do a bit of shopping to avoid spending 400 bucks.
I used to feel like you do about dealer garages but then I moved away from my trusty hometown mechanics. Every local garage around here uses the same trick. One repair at a reasonable price then when you relax and trust them they jack up the next visit with overpriced unneeded service. When I called one place on it they tried to blame it on a new guy they claim they let go.
The Ford dealerships charge a little more but nothing is done that isn’t needed. If I ask them for something they put it in writing and will tell me up front what it will cost. Trust is important to me and here I’ve only found it with the dealerships.
I’ve had exactly the opposite experience. Every dealer I’ve ever gone to has tried to sell me numerous things the vehicle did not need, and most of them have done shoddy work. The only decent mechanics I’ve ever found were local guys. Of course, not that all local guys are good, I’ve had quite a few of them try and rip me off as well.
Having a bit of car knowledge makes a big difference too. I had a problem with my truck last year, and limped into the closest service station. If I had just said "truck make bad bad noise :eek: " I probably would have been charged an arm and a leg for it. Instead I told the mechanic the transfer case was busted, and explained exactly why I thought it was that and not some other part of the drive train. The first price I was quoted was $1500. I told him that wasn’t acceptable, and how I thought he should repair it. I ended up paying about $300.
To the OP: The brakes on a car work kinda like the brakes on a bicycle in that you have two pads on either side that squeeze. Instead of squeezing the tire rim like a bicycle though, they squeeze a disk attached to the wheel. This disk is called the rotor. $400 seems a little steep, considering that brake pads cost $20 for a set and rotors go for about $50 or $60. Mechanic labor is expensive, so even though it’s less than $100 in parts I’d still expect to pay about $150 to $200, but definately not $400.
Note: he’s talking here about disc brakes, which are becoming increasingly common as standard on most cars. However, on many older cars you’ll find drum brakes, which work differently (and are somewhat more complicated work on.)
I own a Subaru (actually, I’ve owned several) and I’ve changed out pads and rotors a few times, so I speak with some measure of experience here. engineer_comp_geek is right on the money as far as part cost, and it shouldn’t cost more than an hour’s labor on this car to change out the pads. The rotors are floating (they’re held on by the wheel) and the calipers (which hold the pads) are just attached by two bolts. Removing and replacing the pads is a simple matter that you could do in your driveway if you were mechanically inclined.
$400 seems quite out of line (for a pair of brakes, front or rear). Even if you live in an area with high labor costs, I’d be expecting something like $250.
FWIW, Subaru dealer mechanics have always been pretty good to me. They didn’t even make fun of me one day when I brought the car in 'cause it started acting up on the way to work…and it turned out to be a spark plut that worked it’s way loose. :o Subaru used to be really strict about enforcing ethics standards and pursuing consumer complaints about dealers, to the point of actually walking in and shutting down whole dealerships who had too many complaints. (Eff ewe, Dennis Auto Plaza, you loathsome bastards…you got what you deserved.)
IANAM (but I am a Mechanical Engineer :rolleyes: ) and from a first guess it sounds like one of the pads has become unseated and is cocked in the mounting. If it’s been going on a while the pad probably needs to be replaced and the rotor faced (machined back into tolerance). Cost, not including labor, should be $20 for a set of pads and $15 for the machining. If you were local I’d offer to do it for you, gratis (well, except for a sixpack of Hoegaarden).
you wanna hear some of my vehicle problems? around 5 vwhicles in the past few years… and one was a 2000. It was a suzuki and a timing chain slipped and wrecked valves… changed engine… Did the big 3 before that… but next time a more major oriental… probably a toyota. Wouldn’t have went with the subaru… not enough customers to keep the whole thing going.
Your situation illustrates the advantage of keeping a spare car around.
If the Subie doesn’t give you any problems other than “eating brakes” in the next few years, I would keep it rather than trading it in on your next car.
With a spare car available, you can have the luxury of time to seek out 3 or more bids for repairs to your “good” car. And if you won’t have the money to fix the good car until payday, you can wait and avoid interest charges on your credit card.
You can strip your spare car’s insurance coverage down to the minimum required by your State and tell you agent that the car is now just a backup that probably won’t see 3000miles/year. Minimum insurance and license plates for a known-good older car should be cheaper than rental cars and gotta-have-it-now ,no-bid repairs, in the long run.
Well, if you don’t have hydraulic power assist you pretty much have to.
I think some of the GM products (Buick Regal and clones) still have drums, at least on the rear. I personally wouldn’t even consider buying a car with drum brakes, inaccessible oil filter or spark plugs, or other nasty design-for-nonservice features. General Motors, get buggered, you bloody useless load of spoilt Roquefort.
My '94 Accord has over 170,000 miles on it; and had 160,000 on it when I got it last year. I recently changed the plugs and wires and cap on it, and that fixed the biggest problem it had. Now all she needs is a starter and a muffler, and she’ll be more than good enough for me.
From here, I’ve taken her to Biloxi, MS and back. She’s been to California twice, Vegas once. When the engine finally conks out, I’ll drop in a re-built one.
I just haven’t found the good local guys yet. When I walk into a place I don’t tell them I’ve worked on cars before and have a good idea of what’s broke, I describe the symptom and see if we agree. After all, if they’ll take advantage of my ignorance then they’ll certainly rip of my wife or my neighbor if I send them there.
I miss my hometown mechanic although he wasn’t without his problems. He would often refuse to fix my car telling me “You’re perfectly capable of doing that yourself” so he could keep room in his schedule for the people who couldn’t.
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