This is not working quite like I planned it.
So, I take my car into Firestone yesterday--with a coupon, mind you--for a $190 front and rear brake job. That's front and rear brakes. Brake job and pads. Semi-metallic. First off, the guy tells me that, no, this Mustang has to have ceramic pads. Has to. No two ways about it. Can't use semi-metallic. Can't. Must have ceramic at about $60 more a set.
Obviously this guy does not know me.
Furthermore, this guy does not know that Brian picked me up at the airport Saturday night and we went to Vancouver Ford to get said Mustang out of jail to the tune of over four thousand dollars for one remanufactured long block.
The guy at Firestone--correction--the guys at Firestone now know me. I kindly informed them (okay, at first I was kind until they pulled the "you're a girl and a customer and you don't know shit about cars" crap) that my 1996 3.8L Mustang does not require ceramic pads, thenkyouverymuch. Funny how these mechanics don't know that, you know? I then inform them that ceramic pads were original equipment and that the manufacturer recommends them--but does not require them as replacements for the OE pads--because they generate less brake dust and result in a bit less noise than the semi-metallic (or organic, though I'm not even going there) pads, but I can have whatever pads I damned well please. End of story.
I mean really, now. Unless I'm going to hook up a hose from a securely-fastened face mask to the brake assembly while I drive or, as a cheaper but somewhat more daring alternative, hang my head out the window and snort brake dust while I drive with my feet and watch the road with my third eye, I really don't think I have a lot to worry about.
So the guy shuts up and agrees to the semi-metallic pads. But not after first trying to tell me that the rear pads for the Mustang have to be special ordered and that the semi-metallic Raybestos pads cost $60 more than "normal Raybestos semi-metallic pads" (that, of course, being their cost, which they would not charge me more than. He says he found this out when he actually searched for the part number in the computer and found that they were not a regularly-stocked item and had to be special ordered.
Funny, I say. I wonder where you get your parts.
Why? He asks.
Because they're ripping you off.
Oh? And he gives me this nice try little girl smirk.
I'll tell you why. Because I can go out and get a pair of Raybestos ceramic pads for less than sixty bucks, and that's not the cheap ceramics, either. And they're a stocked part within a mile of here. It'd take about ten minutes to have them in hand for about $30 bucks, and that's retail, sweetie. Now, if you want to talk semi-metallic--and we're still talking Raybestos, mind you, because I do not want you to put some generic K-Mart crap on the drive axle brakes of my Mustang you understand, the price is going to drop to about $17 bucks or so. Not $60 more than "normal Raybestos semi-metallic pads." So, I don't know where you're getting your information, but I have a real hard time believing you could possibly be paying anywhere near what you just quoted me.
Well, I'd like to know where you shop then.
Try partsamerica.com for starters. You order online and it'll be ready for you to pick up at Shuck's. And Shuck's has the Raybestos pads I mentioned in stock right now. That is if you know how to order online.
Well, you could do that and put them on yourself, but then you wouldn't have the lifetime warranty.
Oh? Who said I wanted to put them on myself? Isn't that what I'm paying you for? And most pads, even Raybestos, don't have a lifetime warranty. And if it is, it's limited. And if you read the fine print, it's generally limited to manufacturers' defects and does not apply to normal wear. The warranty I'm interested in is the warranty on labor right here. I'm willing to pay you people to do the work. I just want to make sure you're competent and that you know what you're doing and don't screw up. Human error is the most common cause of premature brake wear, and the Raybestos warranty doesn't cover that, does it?
We'll see if we can get the semi-metallic brake pads at a lower cost.
Good. Thanks. If you can't get a cost as low as I quoted to you, call me and I'll help you. If my car weren't here getting its brakes done, I'd bring you the pads myself.
Anything else?
Yeah. The rotors should be machinable, but if there is any problem with them and any of the rotors can't be turned, call me to discuss it. If you don't have rotors for the 3.8L Mustang in stock and have to have them brought in, they start at just under $30 for the K-Mart models. Just so you have an idea.
and later:
Looks like you're going to need new calipers in the back.
Looks like I what?
New calipers. The old ones were spread so far, I don't think I can get them to fit on the new rotors. It's going to be another $317 for new calipers.
No it's not, because you're not putting them on.
But we may have to.
Not if I don't authorize it.
We could put it all together and then find that the old calipers just don't work right. If that's the case, we'd just have to take the old ones off and replace them.
Then put it back together. I'm already late for an appointment in Vancouver.
But--
Listen. My car was supposed to be done at 2:30. Now you say it'll be 3:30. My appointment was at 3:15. I want my car back. And I will not have new calipers on it. You tell me how long it'll take to finish getting the old calipers adjusted with the new pads and rear rotors and get everything ready to go, and I'll be there to pick it up. I assume you've already been working on it?
Well yes, but--
I can be there in ten minutes.
How about fifteen?
Fine. I'm picking my car up in fifteen minutes. Brake job, semi-metallic pads, new rear rotors and front rotors turned. Right?
Okay, right. We'll see you in fifteen minutes.
Yes, you will.
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