Having associated with a lot of "alleged" crooks over the past 2 years, I have found that they can generally be lumped into 2 groups: 1) the kind that steal and you know they're stealing, and 2) the kind that steal and you don't realize it for a long time. I have decided that the second group is far worse primarily because the amount of scheming and deception is greater.There is one group of "alleged" businessmen who, I always fear, are robbing me so well that I don't know it--mechanics.
About a week ago I heard a humming noise coming from the back of my car. It has 112,000 miles, so I figured some bearing must have gone out. I took it to the dealer. They kept the car over the weekend, did a "thorough" check, then told me what they found--both rear wheel bearings were bad ($95 x 2), both front spindles were bad ($425 x 2), and the alternator was bad ($250). They said the rear wheels would need 4 hours of labor, the front would need 4 hours of labor, and the alternator would need 2 hours of labor, all at $97/hour. A grand total of $2800 after tax.
I told the man that was too much for now and thanked him for his time. Fearing that they were up-selling me, I took my car to a mechanic/friend from church and told him what the dealer's shop said. He did his own inspection--yes, the rear wheel bearings were shot, but there was nothing wrong with the front spindles or the alternator. Instead of 4 hours for labor, the job could be done in 2.5. The final bill from my friend? $323, including parts and labor.
So, what category of crook does the dealer mechanic fall into?
