Oh my gosh, you guys. The car repair place called me this morning. This is for the exhaust, which the Toyota dealer told me would have to be replaced entirely, from the muffler all the way through the catalytic converter, to the tune of $1,800.
The place I took it last night is a local independent shop that does only exhaust and brakes. It's been around for over 25 years and has gotten a lot of good reviews.
The mechanic told me there's a rusted-out pipe between the muffler and the mid-pipe. They can cut it out and replace it by noon, for $85. I did not leave out a zero.
I almost cried right there on the phone. I *do* have an emergency fund that would have covered an $1,800 repair, but between that and the root canal, it would have been depleted.
$85. I want to bake them cookies or something.
Also, I am going to cease using the dealer for repairs or even maintenance. Fuck them hard.
That's awesome Steph. The Car Talk
(who I listen to religiously even though I don't drive) guys recently recommended to someone to take their car into a muffler place for that exact reason...dealers won't do those patching/welding jobs and will recommend replacing the whole system.
Man, that is just awesome. And Whew!
I am SO giving them a rave review on Angie's List. I may even register for the Car Talk forums to review them on there. (Seriously, the Car Talk forum people really know their shit when it comes to, well, cars. I found this mechanic through a combination of the Car Talk forums, Angie's List, and aimless Googling.)
t edit
Car Talk x-post!
The mechanic told me there's a rusted-out pipe between the muffler and the mid-pipe. They can cut it out and replace it by noon, for $85. I did not leave out a zero.
Yay, for an honest mechanic! That must be a huge relief.
Yay, for an honest mechanic! That must be a huge relief.
I kind of want to write a letter to the dealership telling them exactly how much I've spent there over the past 7 years of owning the Echo (all maintenance, but it adds up) and then telling them why I won't ever be back. Shifty greedy bastards. I would have had WAY more respect for them if they just said, hey, we don't do exhaust work -- we recommend such-and-such place for that. If they said that, I would have kept coming back for regular maintenance. But fuck them.
Last time we had a donut day at work I used it to describe what we had.
I . . . I . . . I don't understand why you would tell people about the donuts? Then other people come and eat them!
We had 8 dozen!
I got first crack at them though.
I would have had WAY more respect for them if they just said, hey, we don't do exhaust work -- we recommend such-and-such place for that. If they said that, I would have kept coming back for regular maintenance. But fuck them.
Exactly! That kind of honesty creates a customer for life, which I would think would be worth more than one job.
