Re: IML: Am I getting screwed?

["Frederick Joslin" <fljoslin@xxxxxxxx>]

Meg:

Assuming that you do not know how old the brake cylinders were, you probably did need new ones, especially if you plan to keep the car. Dito for the master cylinder.

This is not really money wasted. I purchased a 66 Newport 13 years ago and did need to replace all wheel cylinders and the master cylinder. Replace the hoses while you are at it.

 

This does not mean that you are not getting screwed.

 

Rock Auto lists the wheel cylinders for $31-32 each and a master cylinder with core charge for $41. Hoses go for $16 for each of the two front ones and $13 for the rear one. Shoes usually run $20-30 per set. For a total outlay of less than $300 you can get all new brake components except for the steel lines and the distribution block.   

 

I would be more concerned about the competance (or lack there of) of the Midas employees. I would guess that the brakes have not been adjusted properly or bled properly and/or that one of the new connections to the wheel cylinders (assuming they installed them) is leaking. I am pretty sure that the master cylinder does not have any valves in it which would affet bleeding the system. Also, the brakes on old cars like this are interesting. I would actually be surprised that they could change the rear wheel cylinders without messing up the rear metal brake lines since they tend to rust solid. Even if you do not trash the rear lines, getting a good seal to the new wheel cylinder is tough. There are similar issues with the front cylinders.   

 

I would not give Midas any more money. It looks like you have over $600 in labor which at $60-80 / hr is 7.5-10 hours of labor! It should not take that long. Can you find a shop which says they know how to work on cars like this?  Take the vehicle to them (tow if necessary) and have them evaluate what is going on.  Better yet learn to do it yourself. None of this stuff is rocket science. You do need a small initial investment to work on cars. However, you would have already covered that with the payment to Midas.  

 

On the bright side, once you do get these brakes fixed, you will probably never have to worry about them again except for minor adjustments so get it done right and enjoy the car.  

 

Good luck.

----- Original Message -----
From: "*MEG*"
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: Am I getting screwed?
Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 16:36:01 GMT


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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