Lesson Learned

So today I learned a lot, probably not in the best way I could have learned it. I think the best thing to keep in mind while starting to cut back is that it isn't going to happen overnight and there will be some bumps along the way. There will also ALWAYS be things that come up. Like today, it started out with me taking the car in to get a free alignment and brake check. Our car has not been so smooth while breaking and I was concerned. I figured a free check wouldn't hurt and we have never had it aligned so I was pretty sure that was it. Well, our check engine light was also on and I was getting nervous about that too so I asked if they would be able to check it out while they were at it. They said they could but it would cost. After consulting my husband we decided we had better get the problem solved or it might cost more in repairs later. I really wish I hadn't done it.

So 10 minutes after I left the shop they called to tell me the engine light was on because the gas cap hadn't be put on properly. Nice. They said since they had done the full engine check it would cost the hour labor to do it. Yeah, it took them way less than an hour. Then they said the breaks were really worn and also the roatars needed replaced. I was really skeptical but I had been told a year ago that they were about half way worn (by a very reliable person) so I figured it was about time. They then said it would be 450 to fix. Yikes. So much for a free inspection. They also recommended that I get the wheels balanced and rotated. Add that to the bill. I opted out of the later two options. My husband then called and said he found another place that could do it for 100 less but by the time we called the place back they had already started putting new parts on and would charge us for labor anyways. Then they called again saying the alignment was horrible, which I new at the start but I figured that was the only problem. So to say the least, I poured out an aweful lot of money today to fix a problem that really could have been done so differently.

They did end up waving my fee for screwing my gas cap, took 20 off the parts (out of pitty for me being in tears), and upgraded to premium brakes for free but I still feel like we would have been fine with just an alignment and waited on the breaks for another couple weeks while we shopped around. We did get a good price for the alignment but I really wish we hadn't had the breaks replaced there. It makes me sick just thinking about it.

So shop around. Ask people who know about cars your questions first. Take it to two places to see if the people say the same thing needs done. Check on the internet for answers to your questions. Check out a book about cars from your library. Check online for ratings of auto repair shops. I really pays to know what you are doing before you do it. I hope someone can learn from my lesson. I feel really foolish but the up side is that because we have been saving here and there it made it just a little easier to swallow the total bill.