For about 10 years I’ve been using a local gas station’s service shop for car maintenance, mainly because they’re within walking distance and I can drop a car off there and get it back with minimum disruption. Somehow it always feels like every time I leave it for routine work like oil change, state inspection and tire rotation, they call me back with something wrong with the car that needs fixing.
Here’s the thing: I don’t drive either of my cars very much, and a lot of the miles I do put on them are NYC city driving (especially on the one car), so all the mileage markers for expected service go right out the window for me. For example, my oldest car now is a Subaru Forester I got new in May of 2003 and which has yet to reach the 32,000 mile mark - this after I put 1,000 break-in miles on it in the first month I owned it on a road trip through Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Today I brought it in for its annual synth oil change, state inspection, new wipers, etc., and got called back with the news that both my brake rotors, front and back, were rusted to a dangerous level and my front struts too. Total cost after tax, about $1,600. For an 8 year old car I have driven less than 2,000 miles in the past year.
Whoa.
I checked my service records, and as recently as 8/17/2009 - only about TWO years ago - they reported to me that I needed the front (but not rear) brake pads and rotors replaced, at 27,233 miles, due to severe rust. So in 2 years and 3,500 miles or so, I now need front AND back brake pads and rotors? WTF?
The mechanic was “surprised” to find that the front rotors had been replaced so recently, and asked if they were cheaper aftermarket ones or OEM, as the OEM ones that “cost more” would have a coating to prevent rust. I told him he should tell me what he put on there, as the receipt only reads “brake pads and rotors”.
I have no savvy to challenge him on this but really, is this reasonable? Sure it’s been a record year for summer rain around these parts, and since 2009 it seems every summer has been a new record for rain, rain, rain… And the car mostly sits in my driveway (not inside a covered garage) doing nothing much. But to rust that much in just 2 years seems unlikely.
On the other hand, since buying it in 2003 I have only spent about $6,500 in parts and maintenance of this car over 8+ years, not including body work and not including this latest round - brake pads and rotors, tires, hoses and belts, oil and filter changes, headlight bulbs, suspension parts like struts and stabilizer links. So I guess it is not outrageously out of line in total dollar cost, it comes to under $85 a month over the lifetime of the vehicle so far.
What do you think (assuming “you” are a Doper with more knowledge/experience with infrequently driven city car maintenance or depreciation/deterioration than I have)?