Ripped off

[ErikDC]

To make a long story short, my '89 Grand Am broke down a few years back and I called AAA. Alum Creek Towing showed up and the driver talked me into taking my car to the shop so they could fix it. I'll admit right now that I'm a blithering idiot when it comes to anything mechanical. Anywho, I agreed and it turned out that the left CV boot had gone bad and it would cost about $300 to fix it. Okay, sounds good. About 2 weeks later the right CV boot goes bad and I take it to a local shop and after explaining what happened, the mechanic informed me that when one CV boot goes bad, the other one will eventually go bad as well and that it only costs $150 for BOTH boots instead of $300 for one. Alum Creek Towing is a good sized operation just north of Columbus.

 

[bomar76]

Re: Ripped off

A damaged CV boot is not "broke down". The car would still run and drive fine until the CV joint failed.<br /><br />A bad CV JOINT is "broke down".<br /><br />The boot is just the rubber cover over the CV joint. <br /><br />So exactly what was it that went out... the joint or the boot?<br /><br />BTW.....I wouldn't use Alum Creek Towing in a million years either, but that's besides the point.

 

[all thumbs]

Re: Ripped off

It was probably the cv joint. I had the same problem once. The cost was alot more to fix the cv joints than it was to replace the whole short shaft with joints installed, go figure.

 

[bomar76]

Re: Ripped off

A rebuilt halfshaft runs about $60 to $100 on a 89 Grand Am, a new one about $100-$150.

 

[ErikDC]

Re: Ripped off

Yeah, it was probably the CV joint, like I said, I'm an idiot when it comes mechanics. They kept saying CV boot this and CV joint that and I got the impression that the boot was the problem. Evidently it wasn't. End result, I'm out money for nothing. Maybe I should just ride a bike from now on. Anyone know a Huffy that can tow an 18 footer?

 

[alden135]

Re: Ripped off

I saw a teenager in town about a month ago towing a canoe with his bike. Pretty determined kid. It looked like he made the trailer out of an axle and two of what looked like the front wheels of those old "Big Wheels" we used to have as kids.

 

[ErikDC]

Re: Ripped off

That's cool! That kid will probably have his own custom yacht design shop by the time he's my age!

 

[bomar76]

Re: Ripped off

Money for nothing?<br />They fixed the car, didn't they?<br />And so the other side goes out a few weeks later...the side they fixed was still fine.<br />Sorry, no sympathy from me just because some other shop may charge less for the repair. There may well have been other things that were repaired at the time of the first CV joint job that added to the bill. <br />The first shop should have (and most likely did) look at the other side and reccomend repairs if needed.<br />I see all this as just a case of buyers remorse.

 

[ErikDC]

Re: Ripped off

bomar, they fixed the left CV joint and charged me twice of what it would cost to fix BOTH CV joints, which is what they should have done in the first place. Since they didn't, I had to go somewhere else and have the whole f*** up fixed again for a grand total of $450. If they had been honest, it would have only cost me $150. Ya get it?

 

[Homerr]

Re: Ripped off

WOW... did they offer vaseline before or after the bill?<br /><br /> <br /><br />H.

 

[davemaxi1970]

Re: Ripped off

Originally posted by Homerr:<br /> WOW... did they offer vaseline before or after the bill?<br /><br /> <br /><br />H.

not enough vasaline by the sound of it

 

[BassMan283]

Re: Ripped off

Well, you might get 2 BOOTS for $150, but new CV joints are going to run about $300 a side.

 

[CJY]

Re: Ripped off

WOW... did they offer vaseline before or after the bill?<br />

Axel grease may have been more appropriate. <br /><br />Water under the bridge noe EricDC. Everytime you drive it, just appreciate its smooth ride and the piece of mind you get from having it repaired.<br /><br />Thats why I prefer a boat, no axels, cv joints/boots. Just all the other expensive stuff. Stay out of the rocks with a $300 prop.<br /><br />happy driving, boating,<br /><br />John

 

[nothreat]

Re: Ripped off

You may never have to repair the CV joint again, but just so you can be looking - a CV joint will generally fail slowly and make losts of clicking noise (especially when turning) anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand miles before it fails hard. I have had them noisy for 5000 miles before I fixed them. It depends on how dirty your driving environment is. Look at it this way, the garage owner probably has a boat payment and you helped him out.

 

[Reel Poor]

Re: Ripped off

Eric <br /><br />IMHO I really dont think you got "Riped Off". I will say that if you got only, a remaned axle assembly installed on one side, you did pay a premium price.<br /><br />With that being said, Ill add, if you drove that car till the axle shaft failed/broke, to the point of having to be towed, it very well could have required more parts, ie. (but not limited to) tranny output shaft seal, inner wheel bearing seal, tranny fluid, and a little extra labor. Granted, these are relatively inexpensive add-ons but the fact is they will add to the price of a repair.<br /><br />Estimated retail cost of repair;<br />Remaned axle assembly only, installed, 175.00-200.00 not out of the question.<br />New axle assembly, installed, 225.00-275.00.<br />Due to failer and possiable additional parts 300.00 is not a "Rip-Off.<br /><br />BTW if they replaced the joints and boots on the shaft, and did not replace the axle assembly, the higher price you paid is very acceptable, as this is the most expensive way to repair axle failure.<br />You can buy a remaned assembly waaaaay cheaper than paying a repair shop to rebuild it.<br /><br />Just my 0.02 cents worth.

 

[BrettNC]

Re: Ripped off

$450 total for both sides is about right.

 

[ErikDC]

Re: Ripped off

Huh. Well, it looks like I misunderstood a variety of facts. Either that or I'm just plain dumb. (most likely the latter!) Anywho, I apologize for being rude to ya, bomar, and thanks to the rest of y'all for setting me straight.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Ripped off

I have done my own CV's on several occasions. IMHO, $300 is maybe on the high side of the scale, but not what I would call a "rip-off". On some cars they are down right nasty to pull. On others, it's a breeze.

 

[bomar76]

Re: Ripped off

Originally posted by ErikDC:<br /> Huh. Well, it looks like I misunderstood a variety of facts. Either that or I'm just plain dumb. (most likely the latter!) Anywho, I apologize for being rude to ya, bomar, and thanks to the rest of y'all for setting me straight.

No harm, no foul.<br />Just wanted to point out that it wasn't a ripoff at all.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Ripped off

I'm not sure I get this.. Was this a couple of years ago and we're still upset about it??<br /><br />If that all that I got to worry about in a few years, I'm a happy camper..