Money

My wife took me out to eat yesterday in my first trip out of the house since the doctor found me too sick to go to work.  Ah, miserable week!  Though my coughing had died down a bit, I was still dizzy.  Yet, I had to get out of this house else I'd go crazy, too.

We decided on TGI Fridays.  Not our favorite place, but we hadn't been there in a while, and Michelle found a coupon to use-- 20% off.

We arrived at noon, on the dot, and got our table.  I got the burger, she got a "2 for $10" deal... which was a burger as well.

Our waitress turned out to be one of the dimmer bulbs in the restaurant.  Despite very slow service, forgetting half of our order, and an overall lack of "waitressing" on our table, we also ended up with someone's 50 bill.  I can see how this could happen in a crowded restaurant, but there were only 3 tables with people, and only 1 of those tables with enough people and food on it to qualify for $50.

We pointed it out to her and she gave us the correct bill... $21.  Michelle handed her the 20% off coupon, but when she got back with the adjusted bill, the price had increased from $21 to $23.

Pointing out to her, again, the obvious-- that a coupon generally means the bill goes down, not up-- she left again to correct it.  She came back with the bad news-- that the 20% only qualified for part of the meal (my burger), not the "2 for $10" thing.

We paid and, upon leaving, noticed that TGIs had a photo of a nude woman on the wall, down near the floor, as part of a photo collage of random things.  Yeah, totally nude.  Not leaving a chance unmet, Michelle told the door host, "You know, its inappropriate to have a picture of a naked lady when this is supposed to be a family restaurant".  The door host was a tattoo-covered, heavily pierced guy that only looked and smiled at Michelle, telling us "thanks for coming in" as his only response.

I'm generally concerned when simple matters of money get so easily confused with some people.  The restaurant was the second stop that day... the car mechanic (specifically, the state inspector) was first.

I've voiced my general dislike for this place and the profession in general in previous posts.  Without exception, whenever we take a car in for our yearly inspections, something is inevitably found that puts the inspection in jeopardy.  Last year, it was the brakes on my truck, and after the initial estimate of NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS, I was able to convince the guy that all I needed was a set of new brakes for the front wheels (which cut the bill in half), and I did not need the lifetime warrantied ceramic heavy duty brakes either... that the cheaper ones would work just fine (else, why are they selling them if they are so bad?).  The bill ended up around $200.

This year, the van went in first.  Picture this: a Toyota, only 60K miles, hardly a scratch on it.  Sure enough, they found something that kept them from passing inspection.

What is it this time, I wondered?  Blinker fluid?  A cracked Johnson Rod?  Leaking muffler bearings?  The flux capacitor?  What load of BULL CRAP are they going to dump on me this time?

The culprit: brakes, again.  AGAIN.  So, the estimates start... "we recommend servicing..."... "the best brakes are..." ... "...the manufacturer recommends...".  In the end, we were told that the cabin filter needed changed, some other filter needed changed, brakes needed replaced, etc.  Total price: $500.

In case you are keeping track, the initial estimates for 2 cars taken back to back to the inspector for a safety check totaled $1,400.

Of course, I cut through the bull (actually, Michelle did) and got that $500 down to $185.

Proof of my suspicion came when another customer-- from Ohio-- showed up.  The manager's response: "Ka-ching!  People from Ohio don't have the safety inspections that we have, so they always need something fixed to pass."  Uh-huh.

My truck's appointment was cancelled.  I'm now on the look-out for someone out there-- someone honest.  Honest mechanic... it might be hard, but I'm convinced there is someone out there with some integrity still intact.

I'm also convinced that even a brand new car wouldn't pass too many inspectors around here.  After all, how else will they recover from the hour-long inspection that should only cost something like $15?  What a scam.

Car Inspections

A couple weeks ago, both the van and the truck were due for their annual state inspection. In Butler County, where we live, this does not include an emissions test, thank goodness. So our cost and inconvenience isn't as bad as it could be.

But, not to be outdone by its neighboring counties, Monro Brake and Muffler-- the chosen vendor for our services-- is probably scamming their clients in excess of what we might save without the emissions test, anyway.

I'm always suspicious of people that cannot spell your name or spell certain car parts on a receipt, yet they seem to know all the nuances of your car to the detail. You know what I mean? "'Brake'... we can't spell, but we sure know how long you have till yours die on you. How about we get new ones on for ya?"

The van, which was our first victim, actually went in and out without a hitch. The reason was most likely due to it being a 2007... hard to find something on it where a mechanic can fool the owner of being "old" and in need of repair or replacement.

Then the truck went in. It, being a 2002, was going to be less likely to escape unscathed. I had it scheduled for 10AM, and the inspection takes about 1.5 hours. They knew I worked at Westinghouse, so figured I could just pick it up after work.


Sign you have hired a bad mechanic.

That was my mistake... I said, "Sure".

Anyhow, at 5:15PM, I arrived to pick up the truck, only to find out that they just started the inspection. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, the manager asked me to come back with him to see something... yep, sure enough, they found something to charge me for, something that HAD to be replaced before they would pass my inspection. Surprised? I wasn't.

My brakes on the front wheels were shot. Actually, they were in bad shape, I'll admit. They didn't have enough on the shoes to pass the inspection, so in order to pass, I needed new ones.

And, of course, if my front ones were shot, the back ones were shot, too, or so they tried to convince me.

I'm certain that if I had looked like someone that didn't know beans about cars (and, in reality, I'm fairly close to that), they would have told me that the blinker fluid needed flushed, or the Kuhneutson valve needed replaced, or the radiator needed insulating, or the muffler bearings needed greased, or the Johnson rod needed torqued, or the piston return springs needed adjustment... something, and I wouldn't have known the difference.  "Oh, the Kuhneutson valve...  yeah, sure... gotta have one of those, " I would say, and off they'd go with some stupid scam repair.

Back to the front of the store, where the manager went to work finding the most expensive and time consuming brakes on the market to install on the truck. After 5 minutes of number crunching, the results were in: new brakes on the front, new brakes on the back, labor, and inspection-- $750!

I actually laughed out loud on that one. Had I been inhaling instead of exhaling when I saw the bid, I probably would have choked instead.

My first question was, "What kind of brakes are you trying to sell me?" Manager: "Oh, these are ceramic brakes, best on the market." Me: "Have you seen my truck? Do you know how many miles are on it? I don't need the best." Manager: "Yeah, but these have a lifetime warranty." Me: "Again, look at my truck. It won't last a lifetime. With any luck, I'll get another 100,000 miles out of it. What other less-expensive brakes do you have?" Manager: "We have metallic ones, but they are inferior, and your brakes might squeak." Me: "If they are inferior, why are you selling them? What other inferior things are you doing? And, I can put up with a squeak here and there because half of the truck squeaks anyway."

With that, and without a logical comeback, he agreed to put on the metallic brakes. And, after finding out the real story, I realized I didn't need the back brakes done at all to pass inspection. But, I was warned, "You only have 2 weeks on the back brakes, so get it back in here as quickly as possible."

Funny, when I had the truck in there last March, I only had 2 weeks left on the brakes then, too.

Slowly, my bill dwindled from $750 to $125. And, again, not to be outdone by someone else, they then informed me that the van with 35,000 miles is due for a radiator and power steering system flush at a cost of $250. Factory recommended.

Had I been a bobble head, I would have paid him about $1000 that day, all for the purposes of driving the dumb things.

Which got me thinking. If I were Pennsylvania Amish, would I have to get my horse and buggy inspected?

"Yep, Mr. Jensen, your horse's shoes are worn out, it's missing a tooth, and it's 'emissions' are above state limits. Plus, the buggy squeaks, your knuckles are cracked, and I don't like your pants."