RE: IML: Am I getting screwed?

["Dick Benjamin" <dickb@xxxxxxxxx>]

I can't be totally direct here without causing trouble or stirring up a
hornet's nest of anecdotal stories.

My advice is to take the car to a locally owned (NOT A FRANCHISED NATIONWIDE
CHAIN STORE) brake shop that is operated by a person with grease under his
fingernails, gray hair, and dirty overalls.  If it is not safe to drive,
have it flat-bedded.   Ask him to straighten out whatever was done to your
car.  Get the old parts back from the Midas place, too, so he can inspect
them.

If you are in the San Diego - Southern California area I can advise you what
shop to take it to, but in other parts of the country, ask around for an
honest brake or front end alignment shop run by a long time local owner - go
by there in another vehicle and ask to inspect his fingernails and overalls
- if they pass, ask if he would be willing to straighten out your car.

Do not let the original shop touch it anymore.

Dick Benjamin (who fits the above description, but has been retired from the
business for 12 years)

-----Original Message-----
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of *MEG*
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 8:36 AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: Am I getting screwed?

If I wrote out all the details and the whole story it would take pages,
so here is the brief summary.  I took my '63 Custom to get new brake
shoes on the front and the rear at Midas. They called me and said that
I also needed 4 new wheel/brake cylinders.  I don't know anything about
brakes really, so when they told me I was leery. I mean, the car was
stopping, granted it sounded like hell, but it was still stopping...if
all of my cylinders had gone out would the car still stop?  Whenever I
went to pick her up last night I felt really uneasy about the whole
situation, they just weren't giving me the comforting feeling that they
knew what they were doing or that something was going on.  They took
her off the lift and had me test drive it because the brakes seemed
mushy to them.  I was scared to death, she wouldn't stop and we almost
wrecked. I took her back and they came up with some crap about while
bleeding the brakes in old cars sometimes the valve in the master
cylinder will go out and that I needed a new master cylinder.  The
master cylinder was fine whenever I took it in there.  That, and I just
payed $846 for new shoes and the 4 wheel cylinders.  I believe I was
already screwed on the price, but I just want the input, advice and
insight any of you may have.  My boss told me that there wasn't a valve
that they are speaking of.  Please help anyway.  I want to be prepared
whenever the guy calls me about Ms. Pearl today.
Megan


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