This is why I insist on talking my customers through the whole diagnostic process. Not only am I a tech, my goal is to educate and inform my customers. This allows them to make repair decisions based on facts, and not fears. Great video, and thanks for being one of the " good guys".
You're one of the few good guys left man. Most of the bad guys are service employees/managers just like salesmen. Most mechanics are good people and work hard to do a good job but of course sometimes there might be bad ones who shouldn't be in the trade.
1996 4 runner.do you always use OEM every thing?? If NOT What parts is aftermarket as good or possibly better on 24 year old vehicle? Wondering because a lot of new technologies/ brake pad research & development In 24 years.?.correct or no ?What pads should I use ?also thanks for roter pulling bolt tip.handy for break work & I have 1 broken lug nut. Sad about liars & thieves. Does reflect on entire industry.not just a problem with mechanics.Unfortunately anytime a “professional “knows they can take advantage ,some will just because they can.
God bless you. I went to have my rear pads changed and they told me the same thing, that I needed knew rotors as well. I was quoted over $1100. I said I would keep the rotors, but they still wanted to charge me $600 to replace the pads. My brother is a mechanic but I thought not to bother him with such a simple job since I didn't expect it to cost that much. I said no thanks and left. So I bought a set of break pads for $30 and had my brother change them in like 10 min...what a joke! If they had of quoted me a reasonable price then they might have made some money, but their greed ended up costing them. I do my own break pads now. You are a rare breed dear sir, may Jesus bless you!
About twenty years ago a young female co-worker had an older Volvo and took it to the dealership for brake noise. They said pads, rotor replacement (as allegedly cannot turn that OEM Volvo rotor) and rebuild calipers. Twenty years ago it was about a $1,000! I told her I would look at it, others were damaged, but I took it to a shot to have them turned and afterwards they still had plenty of room. All the calipers looked fine. Replaced pads and had her on the road for about $30. She drove that car another 4 years with no brake issues and then bought a new car.
James Masn To a young person on a budget, a taco may be inexpensive, but not a full set of rotors. A quick check of NAPA puts the fronts at $62 each and the rears at $52, so that's $228 before tax in today's dollars. Not sure how many would throw away $228+, but everyone's finances are different. No good reason to replace these. (Now if she were a street racer or towed a boat, sure!) The rotors had plenty of metal after turning and were well within spec.
@James Masn This was twenty years ago and I think the price was about $8rotor. So for about $32 for turning and whatever the pads were, I put her on the road til she traded in the car. Perfectly safe, within spec and saved her a $100+. If you want to throw money away, I guess that's your call.
@James Masn Totally agree! Pointless to turn them. Plus who has a lathe anymore . Last time I priced out having a company turn them it was $40 per rotor
@@621u3 $40? Where in the heck are you? Depends on location, who is doing the work, the quality of the original rotors, etc. I do my own work and order rotors online, so I don't usually have rotors resurfaced. That being said, if you can't wait for shipping, the local major parts store where I am (TX) charges $15 to resurface a rotor.
Same thing happened to me at Firestone when I took my Expedition in for tires. They said I needed brakes in the front and ball joints. I'm mechanic by trade so i declined and checked the truck at home. The ball joints were still brand new with absolutely zero play and the brakes were around 75%.
Had a customer come in for service, he needed his rear brakes done, soon. Guy went to firestone for something, they told him he needed the front, not the rear. He came back to us and the front were at least 8mm, and the rear were 2 or 3mm. He ended up getting the job done with us.
@@xforce687 A customer come in and ask if we do brake I said yes, he said the dealer say he need brake, I quess he need a second opinion, I put the truck on the lift and he say just the rear, so I remove the both rear tires, the L/R was very low 2mm and R/R was grinding and the inside pad fell out plus the caliper leaking, so the guy want us to pad slap the rear, saying it lease truck don't want to spend alots money we told we unable to do that cause the caliper leaking and the rotor no good and we show him too he never did it we put the wheels back on and give him back his truck plus sign a paper that we told him and he aware it dangerous to drive the truck like that.
Thank you for your honesty as a professional automotive mechanic. I was a professional military helicopter mechanic for nearly 23 years and I did much of my own automotive maintenance too. I would still be working on helicopters or other technical mechanics in the civilian world if I wasn't so disabled. Again, thank you for your honesty, hard work and making your informative videos.
I applaud you and thank you for being an honest mechanic. There are not enough honest genuine mechanics left in the world today and there are less and less as the time goes on due to big cooperations and dealers overtaking the little guys that have small auto shops. You guys aren't little in my book though. I have always tried to do my own maintenance and repairs but when it comes to large repairs that require specific equipment I have to bring to a shop and my master mechanic that I've trusted for years and years retired and no longer has shop so it is hard to find good honest mechanics. Keep up the good work and hopefully it will inspire and encourage more mechanics to be like you. I have subscribed just know and will be sharing your channel and videos. Thanks again!
Interestingly the same shops that advise early pad replacement to prevent rotor damage also advise replacing rotors every time, regardless of condition. Around here, few shops turn their own rotors, and it is hard to find a machine shop to do it. If my rotor thickness is fine, if no pulsations or asymmetry, I do a DIY pad slap every other time. On the other hand, for customers who won't keep an eye on things, a case can be made to fix things early because of the expectation of poor followup.
@keith cunningham You people keep saying parts are cheap. You've no idea what it's like outside of your area. A PCV valve is US$5. Here in my country one auto store chain wants the equivalent of $US38 and the other wants US$40. And these are for some cheap chinese no-name aftermarket part. Part's are not always so dirt cheap they can be replaced and thrown away on a whim.
Maybe they start bringing back auto shop in high schools and teach the basics of auto maintenance again. Having a basic understanding may stop some of the scammers. Praying on peoples ignorance is why these places exist and thrive.
@@oswaldocollazo196 That's not all necessarily true. Obama said, "You'll need a Magic Wand to bring certain jobs back to the United States"........Trump said, "That's a Lie & D.T. was right".......( Smile ) Automotive Professional background Southern California
It's scams like that that give us all a bad name. I've had customers with 3 mm of brake pad left. I recommended replacing the pads but ensured they were aware that they could keep driving and we could schedule it at their convenience. I've caught dragging brakes during an oil change (02 to 15 Camry's and 06 to 12 RAV4 are bad for the driver rear inner pad sticking in the bracket in my area) and saved the customer destroying a rotor, a stuck pad was down to less than 1 mm a couple times. There was certainly no need to replace the rotors on that Highlander, whoever called those should be ashamed.
I'm so glad you took the time to factually prove the tire company wrong and identify their scam! When someone puts a label on me with lies and such ignorance, I will go out of my way to prove them wrong as well. It's a shame companies take advantage of people who don't know any better like this. Good work! Keep up your honest efforts, and your business and relationships will flourish!
This is the reason why I service the brakes on all of my vehicles myself. Just to many scam artists out there. If I could find a mechanic like you, he or she would get all my business. Excellent video, and anyone who does not have the skills to work on their own vehicles, should watch this.
I think encouraging people to work on their own car could be scary..here in Toronto it takes 5 years to be a lisenced mechanic with many hour of apprenticeship and schooling ..then u write ✍ an exam if u pass ur a mechanic.
Anthony Taylor Regular maintenance isn’t difficult for a novice to learn. Now recommending someone rebuild their engine as a novice isn’t ideal, but oil changes, tire rotations, brake part replacements are pretty easy for a novice to perform, and there are plenty of vehicle specific UA-cam videos out there to help.
Thanks to dad's encouragement, I've been working on cars since I was able to hold a wrench. Along with a lifetime of repairing my own vehicles, I was also a diesel mechanic in the Navy. I'm not saying anyone lacking the necessary skills should go ahead and dive into attempting their own repairs, but there are plenty of folks who have a great deal more experience than your average tech school graduate. I've witnessed more than a few "certified" or "licensed" mechanics who don't know their elbow from a crescent wrench, and can't repair a vehicle to save their own life.
You performed an accurate inspection and advised the customer correctly. Being such a sound advisement, the customer was able to make the proper decision to replace the worn parts without disregarding safety. Well done sir, you’re a credit to your trade! 👍🏼
These shops take advantage of the customer's lack of knowledge and employ fear tactics to reduce the customer's capacity to think rationally about what they're being told. I would think a good shop will educate the customer and even show them what the situation is and help them understand why the repair is necessary (yes, I know this takes time and energy, especially when the customer is unwilling to learn), instead of simply hitting them with a massive bill.
Many people are aggressively ignorant, assume everyone is trying to cheat them, but make no attempt to learn anything either. As always, be an informed consumer.
Lol... unfortunately that's how it works. A little knowledge goes a long way with shops trying to cheat the costumer. It's a shame people don't take time to learn even if they don't do their own work. A mechanic is less likely to rip them off if they knew the right questions, and can logically debate the subject in a right manner.
Sadly, greed pays more than honestly. On the other hand, if you're the mechanic, you usually know more than your customer. That's why they came to you. They may want to fix the radio and ignore the worn out tie rod ends and the timing belt that should have been replaced two years ago. So - you have to show them the things that really matter and keep them safe and rolling down the road. This is what a good service manager is SUPPOSED to do and there are quite a few out there who do, but there are also quite a few who get hard stares from the GM who cares only about income.
Anthony, it's a good topic for debate. I believe there are great aftermarket suppliers out there. Been a Toyota technician for 8 years and I've seen cars come in with original rotors at 50k and they're still able to be machined on the brake lathe, and that's living in rust regions. Then I've seen brand new Toyota Corolla's w/ 30k miles come in with a 1/4 inch rust ridge on the edges of the rotors, and pads near metal. It totally all depends, driver input also is a factor when it comes to brake wear in my experience.
The sad thing is that our local Toyota stealership does this same scam. They convinced my neighbor to trade his perfectly fine Rav4 saying it needed a ton of repairs. Next day they put in the sales lot for double what he got. Really helps to have a basic understanding of mechanics.
There is not enough profit and a lot of work in selling and installing tires. Tire shops will look for additional work like brakes or shocks/struts every time. They work on commission and get written up if they don't sell enough.
Thank you so much and God bless you for being honest in your work. We need people like you. I know a lot about cars and I'm tired of mechanics cheating people. Keep up the good work, sir
Good to hear an honest opinion. Thanks for being honest. The guy who lives next to me is a mechanic. I do my own work for the most part but it’s nice to know someone that knows his stuff.
I can relate brother. In the past I had a customer come back to me stating that the other shop said I had not been doing my job. It is the customers problem not yours, brother. If they doubt your abilities, let them go as a customer. Their loss!
Good video, and thanks for the demonstration on the break-in procedure for the brakes that you posted yesterday. Your a hero for this DIY guy right here.
I think it’s typical of tire companies and repair shops. A lot of them are outright liars. Petr, I’m so glad your customer trusted you instead of believing them and thinking you were lying. Nice job 🙂
My local dealer said the rear brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. Pads were 4mm and there were no gouges in the rotors. Approximately 45k miles on my 2018 4Runner. Thank you, your video is very informative and revealing
I remember stories like this from when I was a kid. I'm 61 now and car servicing is still a money grab for far too many. Sadly women are victimized all too frequently. SMH
I don't know that I would call this a scam, the pads did need changing though not urgently. Not all shops have a way to turn drums and rotors, I recall one time I needed to have my rotors turned, found a place to do it but they wanted $25 each. Just for the heck of if I called a parts store and purchased brand new ones for $15 each. If you can't turn rotors and they have a ridge then why put new pads on a surface that has a ridge, especially if a new rotor is cheaper or nearly as cheap as paying for turning?
You Sir are an honest man. Good job. I stop going to mechanics for my car repairs since the year 2000. I do all my car repairs and I'm an electronics technician.
Please always use the back-off bolts when the rotor is frozen on the hub. Will never forget the unmistakable sound of a ball peen hammer being used on my rotors after his mechanic had already stripped two of my lug bolts. He didn't go retrieve the back-off bolts until I went outside the shop to the back of the bay and watched him slinging that hammer from about ten feet behind him. Was getting ready to start video taping the event with my camera when he realized I was watching. And no, I've never returned to that shop.
Same thing happens in Australia. My rule of thumb for pads was when the meat gets down to or below the thickness of the backing plate it’s time to change the pads. Keep on doing what your doing. Education gets knowledge and knowledge is power.
7:02 you do not need an extra tool. Just put two coins, one to each side and then carry out the measurement process, at the end subtract their thickness. You will get a pretty precise measure.
That's for SawMill Mechanics , which are good Mechanics..Real Mechanics/Technicians utilize Micrometers, Dial Indicators, Vernier Calipers on EVERY Brake "Inspection".....The Author of this Video is applying the Right Principle...The right tool for the brake pads is what he's using ( the Green, Yellow, Red thickness gauges ). ( I own that Set )...That crap you use can't be recorded on a customers Invoice. Judge Judy will run you outta the Courtroom with that Foolery. Automotive Professional background Long Beach, CA. ( Southern ) 1/18/2020
@keith cunningham sounds like a little bs you're pushing there. Why the guy doesn't have the proper tool I don't know why. Without it you take your wizzer and knock the edge off the rotor. Takes a hell of a lot less time then doing it your way.
You guys are arguing over two methods that totally work. Even if the coin method measures +/- .1mm the job is still viable, he left the rotors 1mm+ above spec. That's more than enough wiggle room for .1mm. Your dial indicator and his caliper measure will tell you the same thing: that these rotors are usable.
@keith cunningham This is what I do using a cheap plastic vernier then measure the gap with a high quality ruler, half a mm accuracy is plenty for a brake job.
Nice to see a honest and knowledgeable mechanic for a change, I commend your professionalism Sir and I truly do hope all your endeavors are fruitful and have a blessed day.
You have to factor in the cost of surfacing the rotors with what a new rotor costs. Most rotors retail for about 60 dollars, some more some less. Surfacing the rotors will cost about 35 dollars each. Thin rotors can warp very easily. Always give the customer the choice. I wonder why he missed the brakes when he serviced the car.
Like he said in 11:55 the rear brakes don't do much. Two: it's still over minimum spec. Three: It's a Toyota, meaning that the minimum spec is most likely a conservative number (instead of 8mm minimum rotor thickness you could probably go down to 7 or 6mm without a problem). Those rotors at 9mm and 10mm are not warped at all. Factory Toyota rear rotors for 2011 Highlanders are $85/each. A set of rear pads are $67.50 (ones with shims). These are dealer retail prices. They're already off. Labor is paid, unless you want to put on parking brake shoes while you're there. Good aftermarket is 1/2 the price. I've had good luck with this aftermarket brand for heavier (tow) vehicles. For the Highlander a set of ceramic rear pads and vented+cross-drilled rear rotors are $113 www.amazon.com/dp/B07K544LZG/?tag=powsto07-20 A set for the front is over $250. Tells you, again, what's important.
Resurfaced rotors can cost more than a new rotors plus the labor to do it and it warp up for get about it and high end car I don't resurfaced rotors always new, any problem warranty it out.
I love and appreciate your honesty. It is sad that people now days not only don't take pride in what they do, but they are scammers just out there to trick people out of their hard-earned money. There are plenty of cars that need services legitimately and they can earn a living by being honest. They are just scumbags.
The solution to this situation is education. Everybody should be able to find easily the informations about their cars in educative form. There is nothing difficult about the pads or rotors thickness. Maybe the owners are unable to change them by themselves, but definitely should be able to understand the absolute basics. And the videos like this are the perfect example on how to teach them. Great work!
A lot of customers freak out about "repair suggestions"... for the most part, shops actually are trying to do what's best for the customer (saving them the hassle of coming back at a later time in the year). With the car already on the hoist, there's already a cost savings right there. Depending on driving habit / environment (city / highway)... either do front & back at same time, or have the customer come back sometime later in the year for the front (when explained correctly to the customer, there will be no sense of scam). Some customers won't mind going to a repair shop more than once per year. Others don't want to see a repair shop more than once every 2 years. If one tells the customer that the brakes are gonna be fine for another year / X-amount of miles... one better needs to make sure that they won't load up the car to the max and go for a long trip.
You are right. All mechanics should not be lumped together, bad+good. That being said, if a repair is costly all customers should get a second opinion elsewhere.
This is why I perform all maintenance and repairs on my vehicles, no matter how big or small. The only exceptions are tire replacement and alignment, which I have trusted places for. Some of the worst scams are the dealers. They know particular models more intimately, and know how to get you back in for service on a higher mileage car. I had this attempted by my local Ford dealer when I took my vehicle in for an alignment (that's another story). Couple days later when it got cold, I noticed my heater wasn't working right. After some self diagnosis, I found out the technician had unplugged a wire harness for a part related to the heater, bent the pin, and plugged it back in thinking I would bring the vehicle back. This harness was entirely unrelated to any maintenance that had been performed on the car.
I used to work on brakes when they were mostly had drums. Some cars had disc in front and drums in rear. You did it the right way you measured everything and look at the spec and you saw that the rotors could be turned and you saved the customer money but probably made a fair profit on brake pad, and labor. If I lived close to you I would use your services.
I am not into doing emergency maintenance. Auto maintenance should be scheduled to prevent unplanned downtime. Thank you for being honest with your customer's while still keeping them safe.
At the Toyota dealership I worked at, we would have recommended pad replacement and turning the rotors. The customer would be informed that they could still safely drive the vehicle for a short time before replacement would be required. Usually we would see the pads worn down to about what you see in the video at around 60-70k miles. If its a hybrid with the regenerative braking, I have seen a few that had over 100k miles on the original brake pads before replacement was required. OEM Toyota rotors can typically be machined at least two times before needing to be discarded. On my personal car I was able to machine the original rotors one last time and the car had 250k miles on it.
Good ones are hard to find especially those who do state inspection. I use to do all my own work but I am no longer able to do alot. I still do brakes and wheel bearing change oil but that's about it any more. 4 spinal surgeries later slows a person down.
This is how I see it; the vehicle is up on the lift, the wheels have been removed, the customer has invested time & effort = at 3-4mm the recommendation to change the pads NOW will be made. I agree with you on the discs however, the tire shop was trying to make an unnecessary sale / scam.
So while turning the rotor why not go past where the pads ride so the edge of pad doesn't catch. And for the people who are worried about specs most Toyota's are 1mm on pads but I try to do before that so if they are there it's easier than several trips but if they don't want to then they go. If the shop you go to won't take you out to show you why it needs done be worried for anything also have them explain the specs if that's why they are pushing it
Nice work. I recommend to people to be SHOWN what the actual problem is and not just told over the counter. Of course they could lie about the min thickness and these “training” videos are a great help for some people willing to get a bit of knowledge in them.
Just a note from 20 years of experience in this industry, so called mechanics who call other mechanics scammers, and who use words "I don't care" are the ones to stay away from.
Our local toyota dealership can’t be trusted. They told my wife at 44k miles she really needed a brake job at $465. So I pulled all four tires and the pads weren’t even half worn and the rotors were in excellent condition. I’m 72 and there’s no telling how many brake jobs I’ve done so I know the job. I called them and told the manager I was coming out there to see the owner. He started back tracking fast. Didn’t matter I went anyway.
Toyota dealerships are the reason Toyotas are going down the toilet. For a car make that is damn near perfect in all ways their dealerships are some of the worst and most expensive places I've ever been to.
I have a great mechanic and I trust him cause it's me I've been my own mechanic for over 45 yrs no problems yet, this guy is an excellent It is hard to find a good one but a second opinion is the best way to go!!
Seen that too. GF was told Subaru needed brakes. We declined, but I assumed they were honest and I ordered pads. Stock ones were like 75% and rotors were like new.
Coming from the northeast where rust corrosion was a problem I always replaced my rotors. The shop I use now in CA they put the thickness info on the estimate, so I can see what's going on.
When you find a genuinely honest and fairly priced auto repair shop, BE LOYAL TO THEM AND RECOMEND THEM TO OTHERS. Take business away from dishonest and overpriced shops, and give it to the ethical shops. I occasionally drop off a couple dozen tamales, breakfast burritos or donuts to my auto repair shop, a box of chocolates or some cut roses from my garden for my doctor, a bottle of bourbon for my attorney at Christmas, etc. These kinds of gifts need not be extravagant or expensive, but even something inexpensive but nice lets them know you truly appreciate them. To HAVE a friend, you must BE a friend. And stay away from, do not reward bad men OR women..SAVE OTHERS FROM THEM.
What do you charge to resurface rotors? How long does the brake job take to do from start to finish? How much do you charge to do the work? The reason why I as a shop owner would recommend pads and rotors in this situation is because for $310.42 you get new everything, a warranty on the new rotors for 3 years, lifetime on the pads and you are in and out in less than 90 minutes. I see many times people who pay hundreds of dollars to change the pads and resurface the rotors to then have the rotors fail when they wear through to the inner filler metal and they then wonder why their brakes failed prematurely. As a business that's not a good thing especially since everyone loves to talk about it in social media. I've literally taken customers from other shops for this specific reason. I also inform them that paying a little more now will save them in the long run both time and money as well as having less noises and squeaks with s much better warranty. To me the scam is honestly doing what you did in this video. On older cars this was fine but now a days it is not worth doing, especially on vented rotors.
One of the problems that might be (depending upon your labor rate per hour, is exactly that; where I am in the San Francisco Bay Area, labor rates run from $125 to 165 (or more in some cases for Japanese imports--European imports and US labor rates are even higher---the local GM dealer is at $200 hr, just as an example), so even if the rotors require machining, it might be less expensive to replace the rotors rather than machine them. In the last dealership I worked, we stopped machining rotors because the labor costs we charged (1.8 hours for two rotor machining ) exceeded the cost of two new rotors. In the aftermarket, as you know, you can purchase high content carbon iron rotors which match or often exceed the quality of OEM rotors for in many cases, much less money. In this dealership, we offered the customer the option of aftermarket rotors, machining existing rotors or using new factory (OEM) rotors so that the customer could get exactly what they wanted or were prepared to spend.
I should have said that we didn't automatically machine rotors; unless that's what the customer wanted. Also, we always did a runout spec check and many times the rotors are within factory spec. In addition, rotor machining waste has been labeled as hazardous waste in the San Francisco Bay Area and we have to pay to have it collected and keep paperwork as mandated by law. Replaced rotors can be set aside for the metal collectors for free and we don't have to do additional work.
I don't even take my car to tire shops any more. I only bring the loose wheels. Got sick of them stripping lugs, trying to upsell, and general incompetence.
All the chains like Midas etc etc work on commissions, from the manager,the writer, and the mechanic all get paid on what they sell which puts them in the position to recommend repairs that aren’t needed all too often!
Well the issue I have with turning rotors are you are reducing the thermal capacity (though a small bit or large depending how much you take off) of the rotors. 2mm is mighty thin to me for a brake pad. Check the pad condition for cracking ect. Seen it a ton when it gets quiet thin, OEM and aftermarket. If you are pinching pennies sure turn the rotor if they are still in spec, otherwise replace them. They are not that expensive. Worked for VW for 6 years, and in the field for over 17 years. I like your vids, keep it up!
We have a regional tire company that does brakes and alignments as well. When they do brakes they replace everything whether it needs done or not, pads, shoes, calipers, cylinders, drums, rotors, hardware. Every time. They do it to lower their liability. Also pads their numbers.
I do my and my family's breaks, a lot. I would say that having a repair shop turn the rotors out-of-house, the labor cost in total would exceed the new rotor cost. And the car non-drivable for a day or two, where as replacing the rotors is same day. Having said that, a tire place wanted to charge me $1500 to fix mushy breaks (four sets pads and rotors). I bleed the break system and it was fixed. Yep, break scam. Thank you for your excellent video, I subscribed.
Recently had a rattling pebble in my muffler. Pulled into a muffler shop and asked that muffler be removed, so to shake it out. Would happily paid $100 to have this simple task done. When on lift the mechanic stated caliper pistons were bad. Then said it was not a safe car to drive another week and needed new rear rotors + pads immediately as well. He had no interest in addressing the actual issue I brought the car in for. Was strongly pressuring to sign his authorization. Was barely able to get my keys back and get out the door. I just had the rear rotors + pads replaced 2 years ago, so knew right away the con was trying to scare me into dropping nearly $1,000 on totally unnecessary repairs.
I am not a professional car Mechanic but I am an industrial mechanic so I know my way around and done a ton of brake jobs. While he used the caliper all you really have to do is look at the difference from the original metal at the very edge. A shop will have a different standard than a DIYer though so I dont blame them, they have more liability and need to show verification.
Thank you for making this video for general public. I appreciate your honesty and values. I do my own maintenance on my cars and I hate these scammers too.
My wife has 96,000 miles on her Camry with original brake pads. It is a automatic transmission ,my record is 88,000 for OEM brake pads. How often do you see that?
The big scam is all the moron mechanics out there who think they should be using anti-seize instead of grease. Anti-seize is a terrible lubricant and moisture deterrent, and exists purely as something tough that you can put on parts that get hot enough (600°F+) to burn off grease, an actual water-repellent lubricant. It is inferior to grease in every way except heat tolerance. Every time I take a wheel off and find that crusty silver slobbed all over everything, I'm reminded of how apathetic and poorly trained/educated the auto repair industry is.
@@rickylafleur1195 I took no offense. You were responding to a angry/negative comment of mine. Thanks for the compliments on the car. There has been a Corrado shell on jack stands for years in a driveway I pass often. It never seems to rot. Somebody cares about it that much, but it's like it doesn't age. The 'rado is timeless.
@@rickylafleur1195 I understand all that, but there is a difference. They don't mean the same thing. Check this out: carm.org/what-is-the-difference-between-atheists-and-anti-theists
I worked on cars about 8 years for fairly reputable dealerships.There are always a few techs that way over sell brake work.You don't get paid as much per hour as electrical or a/c.But on flat rate you make a lot more money on average than a lot of A rate tickets.Once about every 6 months I would sell a total front and rear brake job.It is quite uncommon for fronts and rears to be entirely replaced at the same time.Fronts wear about 3-8 times faster than the rear.But there are techs that will be selling front and rear complete brake jobs at least 1-3 times a week.So if anyone tells you they both have to be done at the same times.You might want to have some one you trust look at them.
I had to replace my Tundra calipers TWICE in the past 2 years. The second time the mechanic claimed rust and said I needed all new rotors as well. I don't know if it was a scam or not.
The worst part is that there are some shops (I saw a news channel catching one in Canada) where they sell these types of un-needed services and don't even do them.
the biggest way to protect yourself from a scam is to have them show you the bad parts and the specs if they cant do that well there's usually a reason a good shop will have no issues showing you those things.
I had a tire store tell me the same thing..brakes worn to 1mm. Went to store and bought new pads and went home, jacked up car, pulled wheels off, found pads were 4..disks/rotors are good. Tire Shop lies to drum up business. Since I had them off might as well change the pads.
This is why I insist on talking my customers through the whole diagnostic process. Not only am I a tech, my goal is to educate and inform my customers. This allows them to make repair decisions based on facts, and not fears. Great video, and thanks for being one of the " good guys".
Always let them decide what they have you do.
Give them 3 choices.
You're one of the few good guys left man.
Most of the bad guys are service employees/managers just like salesmen. Most mechanics are good people and work hard to do a good job but of course sometimes there might be bad ones who shouldn't be in the trade.
We need more HONEST tech's like you. Thank you for educating us about other's with different motives.
I have a very good and honest mechanic doing my brakes. Me.
Same here. I do brakes for family members as well. Trust is a good thing
Me too. I even machine my own discs as well as I trust myself and am a (good) machinist.
I have a shady mechanic that drinks a lot. Also me! Lol
Haha! Good one 👍
1996 4 runner.do you always use OEM every thing?? If NOT What parts is aftermarket as good or possibly better on 24 year old vehicle? Wondering because a lot of new technologies/ brake pad research & development In 24 years.?.correct or no ?What pads should I use ?also thanks for roter pulling bolt tip.handy for break work & I have 1 broken lug nut. Sad about liars & thieves. Does reflect on entire industry.not just a problem with mechanics.Unfortunately anytime a “professional “knows they can take advantage ,some will just because they can.
God bless you. I went to have my rear pads changed and they told me the same thing, that I needed knew rotors as well. I was quoted over $1100. I said I would keep the rotors, but they still wanted to charge me $600 to replace the pads. My brother is a mechanic but I thought not to bother him with such a simple job since I didn't expect it to cost that much. I said no thanks and left. So I bought a set of break pads for $30 and had my brother change them in like 10 min...what a joke! If they had of quoted me a reasonable price then they might have made some money, but their greed ended up costing them. I do my own break pads now. You are a rare breed dear sir, may Jesus bless you!
So many scams out there and especially when women bring a vehicle into Garage . We need more Mechanics like you
About twenty years ago a young female co-worker had an older Volvo and took it to the dealership for brake noise. They said pads, rotor replacement (as allegedly cannot turn that OEM Volvo rotor) and rebuild calipers. Twenty years ago it was about a $1,000! I told her I would look at it, others were damaged, but I took it to a shot to have them turned and afterwards they still had plenty of room. All the calipers looked fine. Replaced pads and had her on the road for about $30. She drove that car another 4 years with no brake issues and then bought a new car.
James Masn To a young person on a budget, a taco may be inexpensive, but not a full set of rotors. A quick check of NAPA puts the fronts at $62 each and the rears at $52, so that's $228 before tax in today's dollars. Not sure how many would throw away $228+, but everyone's finances are different. No good reason to replace these. (Now if she were a street racer or towed a boat, sure!) The rotors had plenty of metal after turning and were well within spec.
@James Masn This was twenty years ago and I think the price was about $8rotor. So for about $32 for turning and whatever the pads were, I put her on the road til she traded in the car. Perfectly safe, within spec and saved her a $100+. If you want to throw money away, I guess that's your call.
@James Masn Totally agree! Pointless to turn them. Plus who has a lathe anymore . Last time I priced out having a company turn them it was $40 per rotor
@@621u3 $40? Where in the heck are you? Depends on location, who is doing the work, the quality of the original rotors, etc. I do my own work and order rotors online, so I don't usually have rotors resurfaced. That being said, if you can't wait for shipping, the local major parts store where I am (TX) charges $15 to resurface a rotor.
Same thing happened to me at Firestone when I took my Expedition in for tires. They said I needed brakes in the front and ball joints. I'm mechanic by trade so i declined and checked the truck at home. The ball joints were still brand new with absolutely zero play and the brakes were around 75%.
Had a customer come in for service, he needed his rear brakes done, soon. Guy went to firestone for something, they told him he needed the front, not the rear. He came back to us and the front were at least 8mm, and the rear were 2 or 3mm. He ended up getting the job done with us.
@@xforce687 A customer come in and ask if we do brake I said yes, he said the dealer say he need brake, I quess he need a second opinion, I put the truck on the lift and he say just the rear, so I remove the both rear tires, the L/R was very low 2mm and R/R was grinding and the inside pad fell out plus the caliper leaking, so the guy want us to pad slap the rear, saying it lease truck don't want to spend alots money we told we unable to do that cause the caliper leaking and the rotor no good and we show him too he never did it we put the wheels back on and give him back his truck plus sign a paper that we told him and he aware it dangerous to drive the truck like that.
Thank you for your honesty as a professional automotive mechanic. I was a professional military helicopter mechanic for nearly 23 years and I did much of my own automotive maintenance too. I would still be working on helicopters or other technical mechanics in the civilian world if I wasn't so disabled.
Again, thank you for your honesty, hard work and making your informative videos.
Thanks peter for excellent service and repair of brakes , and being honest with people.
I applaud you and thank you for being an honest mechanic. There are not enough honest genuine mechanics left in the world today and there are less and less as the time goes on due to big cooperations and dealers overtaking the little guys that have small auto shops. You guys aren't little in my book though. I have always tried to do my own maintenance and repairs but when it comes to large repairs that require specific equipment I have to bring to a shop and my master mechanic that I've trusted for years and years retired and no longer has shop so it is hard to find good honest mechanics. Keep up the good work and hopefully it will inspire and encourage more mechanics to be like you. I have subscribed just know and will be sharing your channel and videos. Thanks again!
Interestingly the same shops that advise early pad replacement to prevent rotor damage also advise replacing rotors every time, regardless of condition. Around here, few shops turn their own rotors, and it is hard to find a machine shop to do it. If my rotor thickness is fine, if no pulsations or asymmetry, I do a DIY pad slap every other time. On the other hand, for customers who won't keep an eye on things, a case can be made to fix things early because of the expectation of poor followup.
@keith cunningham You people keep saying parts are cheap. You've no idea what it's like outside of your area. A PCV valve is US$5. Here in my country one auto store chain wants the equivalent of $US38 and the other wants US$40. And these are for some cheap chinese no-name aftermarket part. Part's are not always so dirt cheap they can be replaced and thrown away on a whim.
Maybe they start bringing back auto shop in high schools and teach the basics of auto maintenance again. Having a basic understanding may stop some of the scammers. Praying on peoples ignorance is why these places exist and thrive.
I AGREE, BUT THAT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. THE SCHOOLS WOULD HAVE TO BUY SCAN TOOLS AT THE COST OF 5000 USDS. A PIECE.
Our local school did bring it back, kids love the class.
@@oswaldocollazo196
That's not all necessarily true.
Obama said, "You'll need a Magic Wand to bring certain jobs back to the United States"........Trump said, "That's a Lie & D.T. was right".......( Smile )
Automotive Professional background
Southern California
The world needs more honest people like you!
It's scams like that that give us all a bad name. I've had customers with 3 mm of brake pad left. I recommended replacing the pads but ensured they were aware that they could keep driving and we could schedule it at their convenience.
I've caught dragging brakes during an oil change (02 to 15 Camry's and 06 to 12 RAV4 are bad for the driver rear inner pad sticking in the bracket in my area) and saved the customer destroying a rotor, a stuck pad was down to less than 1 mm a couple times.
There was certainly no need to replace the rotors on that Highlander, whoever called those should be ashamed.
I'm so glad you took the time to factually prove the tire company wrong and identify their scam! When someone puts a label on me with lies and such ignorance, I will go out of my way to prove them wrong as well. It's a shame companies take advantage of people who don't know any better like this. Good work! Keep up your honest efforts, and your business and relationships will flourish!
This is the reason why I service the brakes on all of my vehicles myself. Just to many scam artists out there.
If I could find a mechanic like you, he or she would get all my business.
Excellent video, and anyone who does not have the skills to work on their own vehicles, should watch this.
I think encouraging people to work on their own car could be scary..here in Toronto it takes 5 years to be a lisenced mechanic with many hour of apprenticeship and schooling ..then u write ✍ an exam if u pass ur a mechanic.
Anthony Taylor Regular maintenance isn’t difficult for a novice to learn. Now recommending someone rebuild their engine as a novice isn’t ideal, but oil changes, tire rotations, brake part replacements are pretty easy for a novice to perform, and there are plenty of vehicle specific UA-cam videos out there to help.
Thanks to dad's encouragement, I've been working on cars since I was able to hold a wrench. Along with a lifetime of repairing my own vehicles, I was also a diesel mechanic in the Navy. I'm not saying anyone lacking the necessary skills should go ahead and dive into attempting their own repairs, but there are plenty of folks who have a great deal more experience than your average tech school graduate. I've witnessed more than a few "certified" or "licensed" mechanics who don't know their elbow from a crescent wrench, and can't repair a vehicle to save their own life.
You performed an accurate inspection and advised the customer correctly.
Being such a sound advisement, the customer was able to make the proper decision to replace the worn parts without disregarding safety.
Well done sir, you’re a credit to your trade! 👍🏼
These shops take advantage of the customer's lack of knowledge and employ fear tactics to reduce the customer's capacity to think rationally about what they're being told. I would think a good shop will educate the customer and even show them what the situation is and help them understand why the repair is necessary (yes, I know this takes time and energy, especially when the customer is unwilling to learn), instead of simply hitting them with a massive bill.
Ya but people need to learn to read the book that's were I Learned about the brake pads
Many people are aggressively ignorant, assume everyone is trying to cheat them, but make no attempt to learn anything either. As always, be an informed consumer.
@@spinnetti If they don't want to get scammed go buy a workshop manual and fix your own car in the free time instead of on Social Media wasting time.
Lol... unfortunately that's how it works. A little knowledge goes a long way with shops trying to cheat the costumer. It's a shame people don't take time to learn even if they don't do their own work. A mechanic is less likely to rip them off if they knew the right questions, and can logically debate the subject in a right manner.
Sadly, greed pays more than honestly. On the other hand, if you're the mechanic, you usually know more than your customer. That's why they came to you. They may want to fix the radio and ignore the worn out tie rod ends and the timing belt that should have been replaced two years ago. So - you have to show them the things that really matter and keep them safe and rolling down the road. This is what a good service manager is SUPPOSED to do and there are quite a few out there who do, but there are also quite a few who get hard stares from the GM who cares only about income.
If the rotors are original, they're higher quality than what tire shop would sell.
Please check my post...used to think that too, it certainly happens, but many aftermarkets are superior. Thanks
That's actually not true a good quality aftermarket is probably better then oe
@@anthonytaylor8901 Define "Good Quality", and attempt to apply that definition to rotors sold at any big chain tire shop
Anthony, it's a good topic for debate. I believe there are great aftermarket suppliers out there. Been a Toyota technician for 8 years and I've seen cars come in with original rotors at 50k and they're still able to be machined on the brake lathe, and that's living in rust regions. Then I've seen brand new Toyota Corolla's w/ 30k miles come in with a 1/4 inch rust ridge on the edges of the rotors, and pads near metal. It totally all depends, driver input also is a factor when it comes to brake wear in my experience.
Not necessarily so. The point is, you don't need them at all yet. You don't get a new car when your current one runs out of gas do you?
Whenever somebody rushing me to do something that’s a red flag
THIS is a GOOD man and a GREAT MECHANIC.
The sad thing is that our local Toyota stealership does this same scam. They convinced my neighbor to trade his perfectly fine Rav4 saying it needed a ton of repairs. Next day they put in the sales lot for double what he got. Really helps to have a basic understanding of mechanics.
Yes it’s a scam, those tires shops are thieves.
Most of the tires shop are get paid in commission, also who sales the most tires will get the prize.
There is not enough profit and a lot of work in selling and installing tires. Tire shops will look for additional work like brakes or shocks/struts every time. They work on commission and get written up if they don't sell enough.
Thank you so much and God bless you for being honest in your work. We need people like you. I know a lot about cars and I'm tired of mechanics cheating people. Keep up the good work, sir
You are a good honest man, who speaks the truth. I wish all car mechanics were honest like you.
Good to hear an honest opinion. Thanks for being honest. The guy who lives next to me is a mechanic. I do my own work for the most part but it’s nice to know someone that knows his stuff.
I can relate brother. In the past I had a customer come back to me stating that the other shop said I had not been doing my job. It is the customers problem not yours, brother. If they doubt your abilities, let them go as a customer. Their loss!
Good video, and thanks for the demonstration on the break-in procedure for the brakes that you posted yesterday. Your a hero for this DIY guy right here.
I think it’s typical of tire companies and repair shops. A lot of them are outright liars. Petr, I’m so glad your customer trusted you instead of believing them and thinking you were lying. Nice job 🙂
My dad in Midlothian,VA just had a tire shop,Allen Tire replace a knock sensor on his 2005 CRV.Charged him 700.Its a $20-30 part.
Tire shops don't employee mechanics,they are employee parts changers! There's a big difference
My local dealer said the rear brake pads and rotors needed to be replaced. Pads were 4mm and there were no gouges in the rotors. Approximately 45k miles on my 2018 4Runner.
Thank you, your video is very informative and revealing
I remember stories like this from when I was a kid. I'm 61 now and car servicing is still a money grab for far too many. Sadly women are victimized all too frequently. SMH
Thanks for being complete without being overly wordy. Great job - and helpful.
honest tec,s are hard too find for sure !, the dealership’s are the biggest crooks too deal with, great video,ty.
That's why they're also known as "stealerships"! 😉
Lol I was thinking the same thing 😁😁😁😁😁
I don't know that I would call this a scam, the pads did need changing though not urgently. Not all shops have a way to turn drums and rotors, I recall one time I needed to have my rotors turned, found a place to do it but they wanted $25 each. Just for the heck of if I called a parts store and purchased brand new ones for $15 each. If you can't turn rotors and they have a ridge then why put new pads on a surface that has a ridge, especially if a new rotor is cheaper or nearly as cheap as paying for turning?
It would be interesting to see the price difference between him and the tire shop. I'm guessing the tire shop would be more than double.
The oem ones are much heavier and better quality than aftermarket ones. So I’d rather have turned original ones. They don’t warp as easy.
You are a good honest man. Thank you for helping that customer
Always!
You Sir are an honest man. Good job. I stop going to mechanics for my car repairs since the year 2000. I do all my car repairs and I'm an electronics technician.
This is why I learned to do my own brake work. Fear mongering sales tactics point blank.
Why not publicly call out(name) this shop?
...on a side note, I'm glad to see/hear the guy who voiced Gru from "Despicable Me" is doing well...😁
We all KNOW you didn't just misname Steve Carell!
$1100.00. I can fix an entire suspension and do brakes on another car.
I did 1000 brake jobs at least and YOUR RIGHT! replacing the rotors are cheap. Thank You man !
Please always use the back-off bolts when the rotor is frozen on the hub. Will never forget the unmistakable sound of a ball peen hammer being used on my rotors after his mechanic had already stripped two of my lug bolts. He didn't go retrieve the back-off bolts until I went outside the shop to the back of the bay and watched him slinging that hammer from about ten feet behind him. Was getting ready to start video taping the event with my camera when he realized I was watching. And no, I've never returned to that shop.
Same thing happens in Australia. My rule of thumb for pads was when the meat gets down to or below the thickness of the backing plate it’s time to change the pads. Keep on doing what your doing. Education gets knowledge and knowledge is power.
You sir are a gem. Honest and thorough. Where are you located, I'd love to have you as my mechanic. Thanks, Ray
IT IS SO RARE TO SEE THE HONESTY OF A ....VERY GOOD MECHANIC!! THANK YOU ...FOR CARING SO MUCH TO DO YOUR JOB AND FIND TIME TO MAKE YOUR VIDEOS!!
7:02 you do not need an extra tool. Just put two coins, one to each side and then carry out the measurement process, at the end subtract their thickness. You will get a pretty precise measure.
That's for SawMill Mechanics , which are good Mechanics..Real Mechanics/Technicians utilize Micrometers, Dial Indicators, Vernier Calipers on EVERY Brake "Inspection".....The Author of this Video is applying the Right Principle...The right tool for the brake pads is what he's using ( the Green, Yellow, Red thickness gauges ). ( I own that Set )...That crap you use can't be recorded on a customers Invoice. Judge Judy will run you outta the Courtroom with that Foolery.
Automotive Professional background
Long Beach, CA. ( Southern )
1/18/2020
@keith cunningham sounds like a little bs you're pushing there. Why the guy doesn't have the proper tool I don't know why. Without it you take your wizzer and knock the edge off the rotor. Takes a hell of a lot less time then doing it your way.
@keith cunningham Just "zero" the verniers with the washers first, then you'll get the rotor thickness without having to do any subtraction
You guys are arguing over two methods that totally work. Even if the coin method measures +/- .1mm the job is still viable, he left the rotors 1mm+ above spec. That's more than enough wiggle room for .1mm. Your dial indicator and his caliper measure will tell you the same thing: that these rotors are usable.
@keith cunningham This is what I do using a cheap plastic vernier then measure the gap with a high quality ruler, half a mm accuracy is plenty for a brake job.
Nice to see a honest and knowledgeable mechanic for a change, I commend your professionalism Sir and I truly do hope all your endeavors are fruitful and have a blessed day.
You have to factor in the cost of surfacing the rotors with what a new rotor costs. Most rotors retail for about 60 dollars, some more some less. Surfacing the rotors will cost about 35 dollars each. Thin rotors can warp very easily. Always give the customer the choice. I wonder why he missed the brakes when he serviced the car.
Like he said in 11:55 the rear brakes don't do much. Two: it's still over minimum spec. Three: It's a Toyota, meaning that the minimum spec is most likely a conservative number (instead of 8mm minimum rotor thickness you could probably go down to 7 or 6mm without a problem). Those rotors at 9mm and 10mm are not warped at all. Factory Toyota rear rotors for 2011 Highlanders are $85/each. A set of rear pads are $67.50 (ones with shims). These are dealer retail prices. They're already off. Labor is paid, unless you want to put on parking brake shoes while you're there.
Good aftermarket is 1/2 the price. I've had good luck with this aftermarket brand for heavier (tow) vehicles. For the Highlander a set of ceramic rear pads and vented+cross-drilled rear rotors are $113 www.amazon.com/dp/B07K544LZG/?tag=powsto07-20 A set for the front is over $250. Tells you, again, what's important.
Resurfaced rotors can cost more than a new rotors plus the labor to do it and it warp up for get about it and high end car I don't resurfaced rotors always new, any problem warranty it out.
I got a bad back but I still do my own brakes too many scams theses days😔
The best are when mechanics tell you that you need new pads, rotors AND calipers with absolutely no justification.
I love and appreciate your honesty. It is sad that people now days not only don't take pride in what they do, but they are scammers just out there to trick people out of their hard-earned money. There are plenty of cars that need services legitimately and they can earn a living by being honest. They are just scumbags.
The solution to this situation is education. Everybody should be able to find easily the informations about their cars in educative form. There is nothing difficult about the pads or rotors thickness. Maybe the owners are unable to change them by themselves, but definitely should be able to understand the absolute basics. And the videos like this are the perfect example on how to teach them. Great work!
A lot of customers freak out about "repair suggestions"... for the most part, shops actually are trying to do what's best for the customer (saving them the hassle of coming back at a later time in the year). With the car already on the hoist, there's already a cost savings right there. Depending on driving habit / environment (city / highway)... either do front & back at same time, or have the customer come back sometime later in the year for the front (when explained correctly to the customer, there will be no sense of scam). Some customers won't mind going to a repair shop more than once per year. Others don't want to see a repair shop more than once every 2 years. If one tells the customer that the brakes are gonna be fine for another year / X-amount of miles... one better needs to make sure that they won't load up the car to the max and go for a long trip.
Miss your channel.
You are right. All mechanics should not be lumped together, bad+good. That being said, if a repair is costly all customers should get a second opinion elsewhere.
Yep it's usually not mechanics but the dumbass service employees.
This is why I perform all maintenance and repairs on my vehicles, no matter how big or small. The only exceptions are tire replacement and alignment, which I have trusted places for.
Some of the worst scams are the dealers. They know particular models more intimately, and know how to get you back in for service on a higher mileage car. I had this attempted by my local Ford dealer when I took my vehicle in for an alignment (that's another story). Couple days later when it got cold, I noticed my heater wasn't working right. After some self diagnosis, I found out the technician had unplugged a wire harness for a part related to the heater, bent the pin, and plugged it back in thinking I would bring the vehicle back. This harness was entirely unrelated to any maintenance that had been performed on the car.
NOT many honest mechanics anymore. Wish more were like you Keep up the good work. God bless
I used to work on brakes when they were mostly had drums. Some cars had disc in front and drums in rear. You did it the right way you measured everything and look at the spec and you saw that the rotors could be turned and you saved the customer money but probably made a fair profit on brake pad, and labor. If I lived close to you I would use your services.
I am not into doing emergency maintenance. Auto maintenance should be scheduled to prevent unplanned downtime. Thank you for being honest with your customer's while still keeping them safe.
I have this same vehicle, so I appreciate showing me how its done. Thanks again for your honesty. I wish you could service my vehicle.
You are a true mechanic! You are one in a million! Thank you for your kind & good idea.! 🤙
At the Toyota dealership I worked at, we would have recommended pad replacement and turning the rotors. The customer would be informed that they could still safely drive the vehicle for a short time before replacement would be required. Usually we would see the pads worn down to about what you see in the video at around 60-70k miles. If its a hybrid with the regenerative braking, I have seen a few that had over 100k miles on the original brake pads before replacement was required. OEM Toyota rotors can typically be machined at least two times before needing to be discarded. On my personal car I was able to machine the original rotors one last time and the car had 250k miles on it.
When you find a good honest mechanic,,,,, STAY WITH HIM.
Or her.
Good ones are hard to find especially those who do state inspection. I use to do all my own work but I am no longer able to do alot. I still do brakes and wheel bearing change oil but that's about it any more. 4 spinal surgeries later slows a person down.
Just a heads up, use a micrometer for the brake rotors. It’s far more accurate then a set of calipers and it’s really easy to get over that “lip”.
Hey! I just recently subscribed. I love your jolly character, and I love Toyota and Lexus vehicles! Perfect!
This is how I see it; the vehicle is up on the lift, the wheels have been removed, the customer has invested time & effort = at 3-4mm the recommendation to change the pads NOW will be made. I agree with you on the discs however, the tire shop was trying to make an unnecessary sale / scam.
So while turning the rotor why not go past where the pads ride so the edge of pad doesn't catch. And for the people who are worried about specs most Toyota's are 1mm on pads but I try to do before that so if they are there it's easier than several trips but if they don't want to then they go. If the shop you go to won't take you out to show you why it needs done be worried for anything also have them explain the specs if that's why they are pushing it
Love yr accent. Yr very honest. I'm 60 and been Bk yard mechanic since 17. Ty for interesting video.
Yes, i try to understand the accent, maby from Tjeck Republik?
Nice work. I recommend to people to be SHOWN what the actual problem is and not just told over the counter.
Of course they could lie about the min thickness and these “training” videos are a great help for some people willing to get a bit of knowledge in them.
Just a note from 20 years of experience in this industry, so called mechanics who call other mechanics scammers, and who use words "I don't care" are the ones to stay away from.
Our local toyota dealership can’t be trusted. They told my wife at 44k miles she really needed a brake job at $465. So I pulled all four tires and the pads weren’t even half worn and the rotors were in excellent condition. I’m 72 and there’s no telling how many brake jobs I’ve done so I know the job. I called them and told the manager I was coming out there to see the owner. He started back tracking fast. Didn’t matter I went anyway.
Toyota dealerships are the reason Toyotas are going down the toilet. For a car make that is damn near perfect in all ways their dealerships are some of the worst and most expensive places I've ever been to.
I have a great mechanic and I trust him cause it's me I've been my own mechanic for over 45 yrs no problems yet, this guy is an excellent It is hard to find a good one but a second opinion is the best way to go!!
Well done exposing the scammmers ! What a nice honest motor mechanic not too many of them around nowadays I
Seen that too. GF was told Subaru needed brakes. We declined, but I assumed they were honest and I ordered pads. Stock ones were like 75% and rotors were like new.
Thank you for your honesty Mr. mechanic , as always thumb up to you and your honesty highly appreciated. Blesses you and your video.
Some automotive service writers make a commission on repair jobs.
99% service writers and 99.9 % mechanics are on commission base pay. they don't sell they don't eat
A lot of them are on commission. A friend quit because he could not keep screwing the public as he was supposed to do. This was at a dealership.
@@kennethyoung2077 And that's why they are called STEALerships. 😉😂
Not some but all
Coming from the northeast where rust corrosion was a problem I always replaced my rotors. The shop I use now in CA they put the thickness info on the estimate, so I can see what's going on.
When you find a genuinely honest and fairly priced auto repair shop, BE LOYAL TO THEM AND RECOMEND THEM TO OTHERS.
Take business away from dishonest and overpriced shops, and give it to the ethical shops.
I occasionally drop off a couple dozen tamales, breakfast burritos or donuts to my auto repair shop, a box of chocolates or some cut roses from my garden for my doctor, a bottle of bourbon for my attorney at Christmas, etc. These kinds of gifts need not be extravagant or expensive, but even something inexpensive but nice lets them know you truly appreciate them.
To HAVE a friend, you must BE a friend.
And stay away from, do not reward bad men OR women..SAVE OTHERS FROM THEM.
What do you charge to resurface rotors? How long does the brake job take to do from start to finish? How much do you charge to do the work? The reason why I as a shop owner would recommend pads and rotors in this situation is because for $310.42 you get new everything, a warranty on the new rotors for 3 years, lifetime on the pads and you are in and out in less than 90 minutes.
I see many times people who pay hundreds of dollars to change the pads and resurface the rotors to then have the rotors fail when they wear through to the inner filler metal and they then wonder why their brakes failed prematurely.
As a business that's not a good thing especially since everyone loves to talk about it in social media. I've literally taken customers from other shops for this specific reason. I also inform them that paying a little more now will save them in the long run both time and money as well as having less noises and squeaks with s much better warranty.
To me the scam is honestly doing what you did in this video. On older cars this was fine but now a days it is not worth doing, especially on vented rotors.
One of the problems that might be (depending upon your labor rate per hour, is exactly that; where I am in the San Francisco Bay Area, labor rates run from $125 to 165 (or more in some cases for Japanese imports--European imports and US labor rates are even higher---the local GM dealer is at $200 hr, just as an example), so even if the rotors require machining, it might be less expensive to replace the rotors rather than machine them. In the last dealership I worked, we stopped machining rotors because the labor costs we charged (1.8 hours for two rotor machining ) exceeded the cost of two new rotors. In the aftermarket, as you know, you can purchase high content carbon iron rotors which match or often exceed the quality of OEM rotors for in many cases, much less money. In this dealership, we offered the customer the option of aftermarket rotors, machining existing rotors or using new factory (OEM) rotors so that the customer could get exactly what they wanted or were prepared to spend.
I should have said that we didn't automatically machine rotors; unless that's what the customer wanted. Also, we always did a runout spec check and many times the rotors are within factory spec. In addition, rotor machining waste has been labeled as hazardous waste in the San Francisco Bay Area and we have to pay to have it collected and keep paperwork as mandated by law. Replaced rotors can be set aside for the metal collectors for free and we don't have to do additional work.
I don't even take my car to tire shops any more. I only bring the loose wheels. Got sick of them stripping lugs, trying to upsell, and general incompetence.
All the chains like Midas etc etc work on commissions, from the manager,the writer, and the mechanic all get paid on what they sell which puts them in the position to recommend repairs that aren’t needed all too often!
Well the issue I have with turning rotors are you are reducing the thermal capacity (though a small bit or large depending how much you take off) of the rotors. 2mm is mighty thin to me for a brake pad. Check the pad condition for cracking ect. Seen it a ton when it gets quiet thin, OEM and aftermarket.
If you are pinching pennies sure turn the rotor if they are still in spec, otherwise replace them. They are not that expensive. Worked for VW for 6 years, and in the field for over 17 years. I like your vids, keep it up!
We have a regional tire company that does brakes and alignments as well. When they do brakes they replace everything whether it needs done or not, pads, shoes, calipers, cylinders, drums, rotors, hardware. Every time. They do it to lower their liability. Also pads their numbers.
I do my and my family's breaks, a lot. I would say that having a repair shop turn the rotors out-of-house, the labor cost in total would exceed the new rotor cost. And the car non-drivable for a day or two, where as replacing the rotors is same day. Having said that, a tire place wanted to charge me $1500 to fix mushy breaks (four sets pads and rotors). I bleed the break system and it was fixed. Yep, break scam. Thank you for your excellent video, I subscribed.
Recently had a rattling pebble in my muffler. Pulled into a muffler shop and asked that muffler be removed, so to shake it out. Would happily paid $100 to have this simple task done.
When on lift the mechanic stated caliper pistons were bad. Then said it was not a safe car to drive another week and needed new rear rotors + pads immediately as well. He had no interest in addressing the actual issue I brought the car in for. Was strongly pressuring to sign his authorization. Was barely able to get my keys back and get out the door. I just had the rear rotors + pads replaced 2 years ago, so knew right away the con was trying to scare me into dropping nearly $1,000 on totally unnecessary repairs.
It’s the same here in the U.K regards this sort of scams for work that not necessary and they do target people, thank you for the information
Looks like it needs a strut replacement as well. Why not check for run out and if it is within specs, just scuff it up and put new pads on?
I am not a professional car Mechanic but I am an industrial mechanic so I know my way around and done a ton of brake jobs. While he used the caliper all you really have to do is look at the difference from the original metal at the very edge. A shop will have a different standard than a DIYer though so I dont blame them, they have more liability and need to show verification.
Thank you for making this video for general public. I appreciate your honesty and values. I do my own maintenance on my cars and I hate these scammers too.
He should know that.
He worked @ a Toyota Dealership for years.
My wife has 96,000 miles on her Camry with original brake pads. It is a automatic transmission ,my record is 88,000 for OEM brake pads. How often do you see that?
The big scam is all the moron mechanics out there who think they should be using anti-seize instead of grease. Anti-seize is a terrible lubricant and moisture deterrent, and exists purely as something tough that you can put on parts that get hot enough (600°F+) to burn off grease, an actual water-repellent lubricant. It is inferior to grease in every way except heat tolerance. Every time I take a wheel off and find that crusty silver slobbed all over everything, I'm reminded of how apathetic and poorly trained/educated the auto repair industry is.
@@rickylafleur1195 I'm rebuilding the whole car with a balanced/blueprinted 16v.
@@rickylafleur1195 I took no offense. You were responding to a angry/negative comment of mine. Thanks for the compliments on the car.
There has been a Corrado shell on jack stands for years in a driveway I pass often. It never seems to rot. Somebody cares about it that much, but it's like it doesn't age. The 'rado is timeless.
It’s great to find a honest mechanic.
50 years ago I worked in a shop who's owner was a very honest man. We never had an empty bay .
@Bill
Unfortunately, Not todays youth. They apprentice with crooks and get brain washed into believing that's how to be.
After 30 years I am more amazed daily at the prices people pay for simple maintenance.
I never let my disc pads go down to 3mm. I always change them before and I regularly (every 3 years) change the brake fluid.
Anti-theist thats how it should be done sir
@@rickylafleur1195 "Antitheist" does not mean that he believes in God. An antithiest is a person who is opposed to belief in the existence of God.
@@rickylafleur1195 I understand all that, but there is a difference. They don't mean the same thing. Check this out: carm.org/what-is-the-difference-between-atheists-and-anti-theists
I worked on cars about 8 years for fairly reputable dealerships.There are always a few techs that way over sell brake work.You don't get paid as much per hour as electrical or a/c.But on flat rate you make a lot more money on average than a lot of A rate tickets.Once about every 6 months I would sell a total front and rear brake job.It is quite uncommon for fronts and rears to be entirely replaced at the same time.Fronts wear about 3-8 times faster than the rear.But there are techs that will be selling front and rear complete brake jobs at least 1-3 times a week.So if anyone tells you they both have to be done at the same times.You might want to have some one you trust look at them.
I had to replace my Tundra calipers TWICE in the past 2 years. The second time the mechanic claimed rust and said I needed all new rotors as well. I don't know if it was a scam or not.
The worst part is that there are some shops (I saw a news channel catching one in Canada) where they sell these types of un-needed services and don't even do them.
A calm and well presented and to the point.
the biggest way to protect yourself from a scam is to have them show you the bad parts and the specs if they cant do that well there's usually a reason a good shop will have no issues showing you those things.
I had a tire store tell me the same thing..brakes worn to 1mm. Went to store and bought new pads and went home, jacked up car, pulled wheels off, found pads were 4..disks/rotors are good. Tire Shop lies to drum up business. Since I had them off might as well change the pads.