My Daughter, out in the Ohio area, has a second car, which she is loaning to her Daughter. Problem is, the radiator has a hole in it and it has sat still for five or six months and now one of the wheels seems to be frozen.
So, Midas has given her an estimate of $1850 to put it back on the road with a new battery, two new tires, a new serpentine belt, a new radiator and new brakes all around. That sure seemed like a lot, especially with the battery being $103.99 right off the top.
So, I went comparison shopping. The first place I stopped was CAP Discount Auto Parts, on the VFW Highway, by Bridge Street. There I was assisted by Clive Reid, Jr, who was very helpful. He took my list and looked up all the items and wrote down all the prices for me. I was the only customer in the store at the time—someone walked in as I left—but still, it was good service.
I also drove up to Advance Auto Parts, 1190 Bridge Street, where Carlos was very helpful. One of the things that Carlos pointed out was that there were a number of auto parts stores in Lowell and that has an good impact on prices from a customer's point of view. He also said that with the recession he is getting a lot of calls for parts from repair shops. Looks like people are keeping cars that break down, rather than trading them in for a newer model.
Thanks for your help, folks.
Regards — Cliff
The motivation to seek a profit prompts auto repair shops to build a significant margin into the two categories of your bill, which are the parts and the labor. It certainly doesn't cost them $80 an hour (common in these parts, though likely far less in Ohio) for their mechanic, just the same way that it doesn't cost them $130 for that Interstate battery that they swear will last you five or six years, but we all know will be struggling about three or four January's from now. So, first of all, you can't compare the prices at CAP or any other retail parts shop with what you pay on your mechanic's bill, unless you are considering doing it yourself. (Think buying a beer at a bar vs. out of the cooler at the package store).
ReplyDeleteLong ago, I used to fix my cars myself, courtesy of the ADAP in Brighton, MA. I had a '73 Valiant that was getting to be about 50% handmade by the time I passed it along to my sister-in-law's sister, and I learned a lot in the process. One of the most important lessons I learned is that a good mechanic is worth just about anything you can pay them, whereas a mediocre one is just about the same as tossing $20's out your car window as you drive. Midas shops being franchises, there is no way to predict which kind your granddaughter is facing.
The other thing that I learned is that it's often far more expensive than you think when you do it yourself. Batteries, thankfully, are pretty straightforward, and can be replaced easily at home. (Something to be considered in your granddaughters case if she knows what she's doing). Things related to radiators and brakes are a bit more tricky.
At one point I had to rebuild the brake cylinders on the Valiant, and saved a decent amount at ADAP for the parts compared with having it done at a shop. I worked for a couple of days on a job that would have taken an experienced mechanic, or me if I had to do it a second time, only a few hours, but, proudly, I got 'er done. About three or four miles down the road, the brakes suddenly started failing again, and I pulled over to crawl under the car to see what might have happened. Well, I had failed to replace one little retaining clip on the brake line, which had wedged itself against the springs and then quickly worn itself a hole, spraying brake fluid (i.e. very effective lubricant) all over my brake drum.
The parts to replace the brake line were also not very expensive, and it was another day of crawling under the beast until I had that things all sorted out again. Final cost: Three full days labor, and about the same amount in parts as if I paid for just the brake cylinders at the repair shop and had it done right in one afternoon.
For years I've been driving my car to Fitchburg to Tom's Automotive, because Tom is hands-down the best mechanic I've ever been pleased to pay to work on my car. My older ride has over 120K miles on it, and the remark at the local shop that recently detailed it was that they were amazed at the excellence of its condition. Those extra bucks I've been paying Tom are worth every reliable start, and continuing mile that car gives me, and every extra hour it takes to do the round trip to drop it off and pick it up, as well as the $60 I pay Enterprise to rent me something to get around in the mean time.
The key is figuring out whether or not you can trust the mechanic. $1800 could be a bargain, or it could be a collossal waste. If Tom told me it was $1800, I'd know it was money well spent. If the local Goodyear outfit said so, I'd take it to Tom to find out the truth. (Something I did recently with a Goodyear-reported drive shaft issue relayed during a routine tire rotation that turned out to be nothing remotely like that, nor expensive at all for Tom to fix).
Good luck sorting out the best choice to get her on the road. Too bad she's not near Fitchburg...