Thieves

Have you ever noticed how much a mechanic's coveralls look a lot like a prison jump suit? I'm beginning to think that they mean the same thing. After doing some research into my car's problem(s), I've discovered that Hare is making an attempt to seriously gouge me. My car does have a problem. It is bleeding power steering fluid all over my garage. I have to put a quart of fluid in every week to keep it from running dry. When I took my care to Hare, they said that my power steering gear had blown all of the seals, and that I would need a new steering gear and hoses. They quoted me $1430. After recovering from my heart attack, I started looking into this more.

After consulting with my mechanicly inclined coworker, he concluded that I needed a Rack & Pinion. I took a look at Advanced Auto Parts and NAPA, and both had rack & pinion units for under $300 for my car. The parts portion of the Hare quote was $1000, so this was a huge savings. So I called Hare, and they said that they would do the install for me for $550. That's not bad, I'd cut my costs in half.

Then I started wondering if I could get a better deal on the labor. I gave PepBoys a call. They said that they could perform the install for $232, and would charge me a $75 fee to return the core. Awesome! My costs have ben halved yet again. So then I asked what the cost would be to get my part from PepBoys. The rep told me that they did not carry the rack for my car, but they used a local company to refurbish them. The rep said that, if I could afford to lose my car overnight, they could have the rack refurbished for $130, bringing my total cost of repair to $362.

So with a little research, I went from a breath taking, Touretts inducing $1430 repair charge, to a much more manageable $360 repair charge. I'm so glad I didn't just give Hare the nod to fix my car. It is really sad that I have to work this hard to get a fair deal for fixing my car.