Not So Cozy Coupe
Jul. 7th, 2009 05:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thisnewdayI'd been putting off the rear brake job till I found the money for parts, the time to do it, and a decent repair manual to guide me through it. And yesterday seemed like the day for it. The weather looked too crappy to take the little boy to the beach but not bad enough to keep me from working outside.
My intention was to save some money by not doing some of the stuff that I knew that the dealership, to which I've always taken this vehicle, would insist on doing. Stuff that's arguably more about taking cash out of my pocket and putting it in theirs than it is about safety or functionality. So let me put a point on what follows by stating that said dealership is the only party to have had the rear wheels off of this vehicle including, some 40k miles ago, a very expensive rear brake job.
Anyway, I bought the parts at the dealership - paid 15-20% more to keep "original equipment" on the car - and pulled the left rear wheel. And the first thing I noticed was that an ear on the caliper housing, which holds the guide pin for the brake pads, was broken off. My suspicion, not provable at this late date, is that the mechanic who did the previous brake job broke this piece off when installing the new pads. Which immediately changed the present job from a simple and relatively inexpensive removal and replacement of brake pads to one requiring replacement of a very expensive caliper assembly and the potential complications of removing and replacing a hydraulic system component.
In addition to hearing that the part was gonna cost nearly $350, I was also told that the two seals, necessary to insure the integrity of the brake hydraulic system, were not available. WHY would you stock a $350 brake component and NOT the $3 seals necessary to insure its safe and effective installation? On top of that, a call to the other local dealer for this brand revealed that they had ONE of the two identical seals in stock.
So, I did the only thing I could do besides driving the damn thing off a cliff. I ordered the parts and will now sit on my hands for two days while I wait for them to be shipped. So much for paying the premium to do business with a "reputable" dealership and their certified mechanics...
My intention was to save some money by not doing some of the stuff that I knew that the dealership, to which I've always taken this vehicle, would insist on doing. Stuff that's arguably more about taking cash out of my pocket and putting it in theirs than it is about safety or functionality. So let me put a point on what follows by stating that said dealership is the only party to have had the rear wheels off of this vehicle including, some 40k miles ago, a very expensive rear brake job.
Anyway, I bought the parts at the dealership - paid 15-20% more to keep "original equipment" on the car - and pulled the left rear wheel. And the first thing I noticed was that an ear on the caliper housing, which holds the guide pin for the brake pads, was broken off. My suspicion, not provable at this late date, is that the mechanic who did the previous brake job broke this piece off when installing the new pads. Which immediately changed the present job from a simple and relatively inexpensive removal and replacement of brake pads to one requiring replacement of a very expensive caliper assembly and the potential complications of removing and replacing a hydraulic system component.
In addition to hearing that the part was gonna cost nearly $350, I was also told that the two seals, necessary to insure the integrity of the brake hydraulic system, were not available. WHY would you stock a $350 brake component and NOT the $3 seals necessary to insure its safe and effective installation? On top of that, a call to the other local dealer for this brand revealed that they had ONE of the two identical seals in stock.
So, I did the only thing I could do besides driving the damn thing off a cliff. I ordered the parts and will now sit on my hands for two days while I wait for them to be shipped. So much for paying the premium to do business with a "reputable" dealership and their certified mechanics...
