Hey folks, I wanted to get your feedback on how badly I got hosed by my local econolube, so in the future I will be a more intelligent consumer.

So, I went to my local econo-lube for a routine oil change. I knew my brake pads were in need of replacement, so I asked them to inspect them as well (since their inspection costs nothing). FYI, I hadn't replaced anything to do with my brakes at all up to this point and my odometer read 51K. I left them my keys and went about my day, expecting a phone call from them after they inspected the brakes to solicit my vocal authorization to perform any additional work related to my brakes. They called, listed out the prices, and partly because I was busy doing something, I granted authorization to perform the additional work.

In case you don't want to open the attached .jpg, the work I had done included: synthetic oil change, ceramic brake pad replacement (front and rear), replaced power steering fluid, replaced both OEM air filters, and replaced the OEM cabin air filter. Add in labor, tax, etc., and the total was $908. They felt bad about making me wait (their customer service was a whole other issue that I am intentionally leaving out of the story/situation because I want this to be strictly about how much I shelled out), so they threw in "two free oil changes", which based on this invoice is worth approx $120 before tax.

So, bottom line: how badly did I get hosed??? I regard the cost of the synthetic oil change to be pretty competitive, given that I had a vendor perform it, as opposed to a DIY-job. However, I was doing a few quick google searches of what I think are our OEM ceramic brake pads, air filters, etc, and I feel like it could've been closer to a total cost of approx $600. Thoughts? How can I become a more intelligent consumer the next time around? Buy my own parts online and look for a vendor to perform the labor/installation?

 

Doesn't sound that bad................................Could have been a LOT worse but yes you might have got it done cheaper if you shopped it around, bought your own parts etc etc. So then you get into just how much do you value your time? You could have gone picked up the car, shopped around pricing, went and bought parts etc then took it over to another shop wasted at least a 1/2 day if not a whole day......................Would it have been worth it to you to save $200 to $300?

 

Replacing the power steering fluid was unnecessary

the brake pads you got were pretty expensive. I purchased my hawk ceremic F+R off amazon.com for 100 buxs total. shops make their money off the product mark up anyways. labor rate usually just covers their overheads.

the labor you were charged was by the book (although you can easily do all four corners yourself in half an hour).

 

I say you definitely got robbed. The brake pads they use probably cost 50 bucks at most. Changing brake pads without replacing or resurfacing the rotors is not the right way to service brakes. Swapping out pads alone takes about 10 minutes per wheel. So they charged you 282 dollars for 40 minutes of work.

In addition, rear brake pads should be cheaper than the front, but they charged you the same price. This proves that they are charging you not by retail price, but a bullsh*t price that they came up with. I say you overpaid by at least 500 bucks.

 

Modme, for what it's worth, i know and agree with your assessment that the fact they charged the same for front and rear pads is a clear indicator they did not list the actual prices, but the price they "backed into" (if that makes sense). They've done that with me before when I took my car to them for my 30K mile service. I told them a competitor's quote, and they beat it, so they used the new/lower price that won them my business and "backed into" the itemized costs that built up to the sum.

Something they did (or at they said they did because it was what constituted most of the waiting time), but did not list on the invoice was "turning the rotors". i'm not sure if that is the same as "re-surfacing" them, but they claimed they had to turn each of the four rotors very slowly in order to prevent uneven upkeep that'd result in the further damage.

 

overpaying is relative.. if you compare it to DIY, yes you got raped. the OEM brakes for the sport are ceramic and cost about 150 for front and rear. If you compare to dealer then you are probably on par with what they would charge.

 

If they turned the rotors, which is the same as resurfacing, then the labor is a little more justified. But you were still overcharged for the brake pads. Hawk performance brake pads, cost 150 for the front and 110 for the rears. 207 is too much to pay for regular pads.

The other problem with these shops is that you dont really know what they did. Unless you were watching them perform the work, you dont know if they really turned the rotors.

I'm a DIY kind of guy. Every time I relied on a shop to work on my car, I come out with problems. I've gone through 6-7 wheel alignments in the last year due to various errors made by shops. Sometimes the machine is not calibrated, other times they didnt bother aligning the front and rear. Another time, they forgot to torque down the bolts after the alignment.

 

Ack, sorry, partly due to my omission of all relevant facts and the way the shop listed parts/work on the invoice, but, yes, they replaced the pads (at least they said they did) with ceramic brake pads, and not regular pads. Although, I recognize that $415 is still steep for how much I saw hawk's ceramic pads online for.

I'm going to assume they actually did use ceramic brake pads like they charged for because I'd have to think that a shop would have to be pretty bold to say they used (and charged for) ceramic brake pads when in reality they used run-of-the-mill brake pads. Because in the off-chance that I actually pulled off my wheels AND knew how to verify my pads and discovered their scam, it'd be a bad day with the better business bureau.

 

resurfacing or replacing rotors is unnecessary unless they are warped or worn beyond the minimum thickness specified by the manufacturer

woojoo, no worries. shop has to make its money on something or the other. next time, you should try to tackle the pads yourself. There are plenty of guides online and its not too difficult even for novices.

 

Neal376, would you mind expanding on your comment about the power fluid replacement being unnecessary? i have no knowledge on that, so i was hoping you could tell me why that is the case. The shop said the power steering was "pretty much burnt out". Also, do you happen to remember or have the amazon.com link for the hawk ceramics you bought? when i searched amazon, i didn't see any way to let me know which ones fit the '09 G37S. Thanks!

 

You did get hosed .. They are there to make a profit and that is exactly what they did . Next time do some shopping around and it never hurts to do a little homework ...

 

You paid dealership prices at an Econolube (which by the way I have had too many bad experiences at those types of shops, I steer clear of them)

If you are not comfortable doing the work yourself, I would find a reputable Infiniti/Asian specialist shop in your area, would probably have paid less because the right specialist shop cares about building repeat business and word of mouth referrals.

Econo-Jiffy places are more "coupon" culture one and done type of service.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Resurfacing (turning, cutting, etc...) rotors should be done ANYTIME new pads are installed. During the bed in process, pad material gets transferred the rotor for optimal braking. This material best gets transferred when the rotors are rough. Such is not the case if they're smooth and not turned. New pads on glazed rotors = customer return.

With regard to the power steering fluid, I suspect all they did was probably top off a few oz and charge you for a full bottle, if they even did that.

What they SHOULD have done was flush/bleed your brake fluid along with the brake job. That would help in firming up your pedal and extend the life of your hydraulic brake components. If your car is a 6mt, the clutch fluid should be refreshed periodically too.

Edit: With regard to brake pads, i'm not a big fan of hawkhps pads. I ran them on my camaro in years past and didn't think too highly of 'em. They didn't seem to stop any better than stock, nor was pedal feel improved. They might be suitable if you're an aggressive braker. That is, they may work better at higher temps. Under normal/light braking however, I felt no improvement what so ever. When it comes time to do pads on the G, i'm going to give stoptech a try. https://www.myg37.com/forums/brakes-...rake-pads.html

 

You sir have no clue what you're talking about. Rotors and pads wear as one unit. Just like a clutch, you don't just replace the disc without also replacing the pressure plate and resurfacing the flywheel, no matter if both friction surfaces look "good".

 

When mechanics see you pull in with a $40,000, they know you have money to spend. To make things worse, your pulling in for services thats looked at as very-simple.

you had the odds stacked against you from the beginning.