Out of nowhere the unexpected hits you like a giant pothole in the road. Well, in this case, that is exactly what it was - a giant, truck-killing pothole.
Those of you who know me and this blog know I can be cheap frugal, but I will get things if I can reasonably afford them (life is stressful enough without incurring debt). The past few months have been sort of level, so I figured I was OK to replace my 7 yr old computer. Poor thing was straining under the demands of new programs and large storage needs. It cost a bit more than expected, especially when you throw in the extra software I "needed" to have :-), but with no major expenses coming up I decided I could swing it.
Then the pothole. D's truck is a massive Ford F-250. That thing has gone over some harsh roadways with no trouble, but he hit that pothole just right and busted a leaf spring in the front end (when I tweeted about that, I called it a lead spring. Hey, I don't do cars and "leaf spring" makes no sense) He took it to Brakemasters since they had most recently worked on it and he thought they might be reasonable. Hah!
Brakemasters diagnosis claimed the broken spring had caused the bushings (?) to break, which required replacing everything because you "can't just replace the bushings", they also claimed his shocks were shot and needed immediate replacement. There were a couple of other things in there, as well, to the tune of nearly $2,400. Ouch. Instant stress about where that money will come from & "why didn't I wait to buy the computer?".
He has a friend with a body shop, and though body work is his bread and butter he is a certified mechanic (so he can rebuild those totaled cars that come in) He told D that based on the Brakemasters diagnosis, and without seeing the truck, he thought he could do it for around $900-$1,000, but he is busy. He couldn't get to it till Monday.
One more place to try: Glendale Spring. When D first bought his truck he took it to them to get it set up for his preferences (they are suspension specialists, I guess). He thought they might be able to at least sell him the spring direct, even if he took it to his buddy to do the work. Turns out they were willing, able & available to take care of the whole fix. And this is where it gets REALLY irritating.
We dropped off the truck Thursday evening, they had it finished well before lunch on Friday. All it needed was the springs; the shocks were perfect, he said, surprisingly so for a truck with 180,000 miles. The bushings had not been damaged, though if they had been, he said they are easily replaced for around $20. No other problems. In and out in less than a day for under $400 total.
It would appear Brakemasters was attempting a huge, expensive scam - no wonder people don't trust mechanics.
As for me, though I wasn't planning on spending that $400 last week, I keep looking at it as $2,000 that D saved by shopping around. That's money in the bank, Baby :-)
Dropping off and picking up the truck involved playing musical cars. That meant on Friday, the most efficient way to get everything back where it belonged meant driving the Corvette to Glendale Spring and one of us driving each vehicle over to D's house. I don't feel comfortable with the idea of driving either; we had a Camaro way back in the 80's and that big front end always threw me (but ya' gotta love the pick up) besides the fact that he loves that car (what if I wrecked it), the truck is just SO big I was sure I'd overlook some little hybrid and crush it . It's been ages since I drove a stick, though, so I opted for the truck. Almost all straight-away, no issues - but glad I didn't have to park it. Yes, I can be a seriously wussy girl sometimes ;-)
Posted by Vox at July 11, 2009 12:58 PM | peeves