So a buddy of mine took his Ford E350 Tioga RV in to a local shop and asked them to check his brakes before he went on a camping trip because it had been sitting for over a year. He drops it off and tells them that he is going to Oakland (1.5 hours away) and to call him if anything needs to be done.

While he is gone the shop calls him and tells him the find the inner passenger wheel needs to be patched because it is flat. So they patch it and check the brakes. They then call him a second time and tell him that his front brakes have been doing the majority of the work and that the backs need to be doing most of the work.:sad: and that the reason is because the master cylinder, both rear wheel cylinders, and brake hardware kits for both sides and the back brakes need to be replaced at a cost of $750 plus parts. They said there was probably water corrosion in the cylinders, lines and MC and that the MC was leaking. Parts were listed at @$195 and they get their parts from O'rilies. Oh and he told my buddy that he needed to replace the "axle nut clips." The guy said they found broken springs on the brakes thats why they told him to purchase the hardware kits.

He called me thinking it was a little high, and asked if I would do the work for $100 plus parts. I agreed and he called the shop back and told them he couldn't afford to have it worked on right now.

When he went in to pick the RV up they told him it would be $75 total. He asked why it cost $75 to patch the tire. They told him $25 to patch the tire and $50 for the brake inspection. He then asked them why the charge for the brake inspection when they said it would be free. The service agent told him that his mechanics had a lot more time into this RV than a regular truck which would have been free. :sad:

After he told me all of this I was concerned:
*They already had one side off to patch the inner tire no more work to check the brakes at this point.
*The dual wheels arent any more work to take off except instead of one wheel you had a second one to actually pull off but no more lugnuts.
*Why was a tire patched at a cost of $25 when most are between $10-$15.
*The lugs were so tight that my 28" 1/2" breaker bar would not break the lugs loose with almost all of my weight on bar.:mad: S I was not able to check anything in the drums.
*I found the outter drivers wheel with no air in it.

There was no signs of leakage around the MC or any signs of brake fluid on the backing plates, since I couldnt get to the brakes. Im going to have to go down tomorrow to a shop and have them break the nuts loose for me so that I can get to the brakes. I plan to take pictures and write down everything I find so that if there is any defrauding on their part there will be evidence in the situation.

I asked him if he felt, heard or knew there was anything wrong with the bakes. He told me he just wanted them checked before he went on a Vacation.

This just frustrates me, first on the cost and free $50 brake inspection, and Im still holding that these guys were just over charging and not lying about the condition of the parts. Once I get past the friggen over tightened lugs Ill judge what they have stated as a need.

Not feeling well on this one.

Take pics too.

There's a reason mechanics typically get lumped in the same group with used car salesmen...

It's sad, but there are a lot of ripoff artists out there preying on an unsuspecting public. With the advent of electronic controls in newer cars, this only gets worse. It's sad.

All you can do is your best to make sure it doesn't happen to you or those you love.

was the "free" brake inspection documented in the form of a signed written quote? if not, verbal means nothing these days.

$25 for a rear inter tire patch. Seems reasonable. Personally, I'd have a Ford dealership do the work since it's their chassis. Alternatively, I'd take it to a shop that specialized in RV repairs. I don't deal with local shops, as they use cheap parts, want to find some way to make you pay more, and have little to no recourse.

I'd caulk this up to "life experience", unless the "free" brake inspection was in writing. It's going to be their word against yours, and all for $50? Take pictures and show them to who? The shop? I doubt they'll give back $50? Show to BBB? They probably won't do anything satisfactory for you. Show to a judge in small claims court? Cost a lot more than $50 in time/money to get to that point. A lot of wasted time and energy IMO over $50. Not being a jerk here, just don't see the importance of trying to stick it to a shop over a $50 charge.

Get the lugs loose. Check the brakes, repair if necessary, and send your buddy on his camping trip.

I used to hate those lugs on the E-350's. They'd get buggered up and you'd end up running them off with an impact, which could still take a minute or two. Changed a lot of them when I did fleet maintenance for a bus company years ago. Some axles you have to remove the axle and the hub to get the drum off too, seen 'em both ways. :yes:

What year? May have had to pull apart the floating axle and bearing assembly to check the rear brakes. This would justify that charge. If there isn't anything wrong with the brakes I would notify your local DMV.

When I worked at Firestone, I saw a little old lady leave with am $800 bill due to a "free" inspection. That's about the time I decided I couldn't be a mechanic for a living.

The scams I saw on a daily basis confirmed for me that all the negative stereotypes are true.

a vec. that sat for a year could have problems, esp untill the seals got some usage-reg brake fluid will get water in it, as opposed to dot 5, and sitting it can get rust
remember the dealer has to warnt. their work, so they tend to prob. do more than the homeowner would do-if his brakes fail, are you willing to accept respon. if you work on them? hardware kits are a good idea, if the springs are weak, they can drag the shoes and wear them down-not defending the repair place, but they have to cover their azz
having said that, there are prob some places that will try and sell work that may not need to be done, i caught a mech. red handed trying to sell my wife a front break job while it had warnt. work done, had another mech. verify brakes were perfect at the same dealership, lol
dont you have a pipe or something that you can add to get more leverage to losen the lugs, i know on the 1 tons i have worked on, some i have used a 4' lever to get them loose, then use a spec torq to tighten them, also using the proper bearing preload on the rear bearings is important-brining in a large RV, ck'ing it out for $50, regardless doesnt seem like a problem to me, not like throwing a small Honda on the rack and looking at it

Hmmmmmm, the part that doesn't add up is that if the lugs are frozen, did they even do the inspection in the first place????? But I agree for 50.00 it really isn't worth it to bother with it...

I ran shops for twenty years---until I trusted the mechanic, I would always look at what they were saying the car needed...a good one they would say is the brakes only got a thousand miles left on them, oh but when I looked at them it was a different story..there are alot of sh-t heads out there, but there are more good guys than the bad..thank god....unless you have something in writting from that shop about needing all that brake work...you dont have a leg to stand on..a good shop dots there eyes and crosses there t's

Maybe the shop was going to "extra mile" because they knew he was going on Vacation with his family in the RV? Or they could have thought to themselves that this guy has "plenty of money" and can afford it?

Good luck.

25 for a tire repair was in the ball park for around here! Here we are paying 20 bucks for a repair on a car or light pickup tire!

Most inspections are free if you decide to have work done there. Otherwise they charge you for the mechanics time. Be sure to ask.

Along time ago my 280z was losing brake fluid. I couldn't figure it out. So I took it to a brake masters and they did this big ole inspection and came out with a list of parts and labor for $600. I needed new rotors, calpiers wheel cylinder rebuilds brake line yadda yadda yadda. AS he was checking it out i stood around and watched and when he pressed the brake pedal I was in front of the car and saw the rubber flex brake line leak as he was pumping them. I said thanks but I don't have $600 and I need to go home and make some calls to come up with that kind of money. Went and bought a new flex line for $12 and problem was solved.

I ran shops for twenty years---until I trusted the mechanic, I would always look at what they were saying the car needed...a good one they would say is the brakes only got a thousand miles left on them, oh but when I looked at them it was a different story..there are alot of sh-t heads out there, but there are more good guys than the bad..thank god....unless you have something in writting from that shop about needing all that brake work...you dont have a leg to stand on..a good shop dots there eyes and crosses there t's

The supposed work to be done is quoted. I had to take it in today to a shop I know the mechanic at and they had to use the 1" impact gun "king kong" they called it to get the damn lugs off for me, the outside drivers tire had to be repaired for flat, and it was ONLY $15 that was to fix the flat, ballance that tire, and loosen and retighten all of them corretly so that I could do the work here. I am now waiting for my wife to get back so I can get going on the work. Ill let you know what I find.

When I was a Service Advisor I would look up the cars history when the techs tried to sell work. I found a few times transmission services being over sold and TBI cleanings. The techs hated when I came over to look at the car myself or questioned an estimate.

The shop that did that to your friend has now lost more than one customer because word of mouth spreads.

I think $50 is reasonable to look at it. There are a lot of tire kickers and price shoppers wasting guys time, the fee guarantees the shop that the customer is serious. The $50 should be refundable if the shop gets to do the work.

However! If they told him they'd look at it for free, then they should get $25 for the tire patch and that's it!

I have a freind who owns his own shop and is honest and does great work. Like others have said, and he explained it to me. He can not or will not do a half baked brake job on any car. Main reason is unlike us shade tree mechanics, if a customer gets into a accident and they have this reciept with his shops name on it, guess who the lawyers are going after? So a wheel cylinder thats a bit damp looking will get replaced, hardware kits, etc. Its a shame, but as a business owner, its not about how much to gouge the customer, its how to protect yourself from lawyers. Jim

Did your friend sign a est. showing a free brake inspection? They should have looked at the vehicle before writing it up and they would clearly see it`s a RV. In CA it`s against state law to work on a vehicle without a signed est. from the owner/customer. At least thats what my manager keeps telling the customers. Still seems like a resonable price to me for inspection but sounds about right that they would try to get a huge bill out of it.

I always kinda thought that the time spent doing those type free inspections was kinda made up in the $80 per hour that they charge people for service. Not saying it's right or wrong, but I've never had anyone charge me for a similar inspection. Heck I figure they'd want to do a ton of free inspections because they always seem to find something (whether it's there or not) to fix. Even if only 1/3 of the people actually get the repairs they recommend, I bet it works out to the shop's advantage.
IMO unless they told your friend that they were gonna charge for the inspection, it was a bit shady of them.

When my current car was newer, any time I went in for brake pads or whatever, they'd always come out with a list of recommended fixes that totaled up to several times the cost of the pads. There were usually things that I knew didn't need fixing. That's about the time I started doing all my own repairs.

I was able to get the drivers side off this evening. The amount of work to take it off was descent, and if they were upfront about the cost, then I could see it along the lines of $50. It has the full floating axle and I had to pull the axle nut and axle to take the drum off. So with that Im ok. However once I got the drum off there were no seaping or wet wheel cylinder, worn/broken/bent/questionable parts. The shoes were over about 3/16" thick, no crakcs, and no uneven wear.

The Master cylinder was still full in both resevoirs and there was no sign of leakage, no rust, no curling paint nothing.

I bled the brakes for him, there wasnt much discoloration to the fluid and I removed 4oz from that side.

Tomorrow I will get to the passenger side first thing in the morning to bleed it and check it. So far I have nothing good to think of this shop. But I am doing the job that should have been done in the first place.

However! If they told him they'd look at it for free, then they should get $25 for the tire patch and that's it!

This is the big question. Did they say it would be a free inspection? With the story about the dealer charging just to put air in a tire. I guess now days, you have to ask about every little thing and if it will cost anything or not, no matter how simple the task may seem.

I have been a tech for 16 years and personally havent seen any shady doings, but I know it goes on. There are tons of cars and trucks on the road nowdays that need work or maintenance done so there is money to be made honestly without this kind of crap.

After getting the passenger side off there was a broken sprint, all other hardware was in great shape. The brakes were replaced 3 years ago, and only have 1000 miles on them. There was no wetness on this wheel cylinder either. I pulled another 3oz of brake fluid while bleeding and adjusted this brake as well.

After doing the work, I told my buddy that the $50 was a fair price and asked him what was exactly said. He told me that this is what he said over the phone after he told him what kind of vehicle he had (paraphrased) "we do free brake inspections" and then over the phone when the shop called him back to tell him there was all the work that needed to be done "we normally do a free inspection but my techs have so much time in this we will settle for $75, 25 for the tire repair and 50 for the inspeaction."

So I told him to take it and just don't go back to that place, it is as simple as that.

This entire rant is specifically about this shop not any other shop and not all techs... ONLY THIS SHOP.

Make sure the rear cylinders are working. They freeze up on those trucks when they sit.

Hey Rod-- Buyer beware! It's a good thing your pal has somebody like you who can do the work, or at least look out for him. $25 for the tire, $50 for the inspection? Oh well. It sucks, but oh well. Folks who don't know cars, don't have somebody to watch out for them or don't have a trusted mechanic? They're screwed and lighter in the wallet.

I have a good friend who works as an asst. manager at one of those quick muffler chain stores: He's the go-to guy at the shop- honest, helpful, etc. He's repeatedly turned down offers to be a manager because he says the shop quotas and such are impossible. (You go in for an oil change and they insist that your car needs a paint job, stuff like that....:p)

There are two local shops here who have done lots of stuff for my chevelle over the years and I send bunches of folks there for their car repair. I make sure they say that I sent them. It's good for me, good for the shop and especially good for the new customer.

Anyway, I hope it's straightened out and your friend has a nice vacation... Let us know what you find out.

Let me add this. For $50, that's a fair price to pull both sides down on the rear drums. The "FREE" inspection probably would've been free if you did the work. Our shop will credit the $50 towards the work IF it needs it.

We charge $25-$30 for a tire patch. The tire has to be broken down, a patch adhered to the inside of the tire, remounted, then re-balanced. It's a much better system than a plug that can get ripped out.

All that said, what you found sounds a little shady. I would expect to find some pretty evident damage from what the shop said. Pull the boots back on the wheel cylinders to make sure they aren't seeping and the dust boots are keeping the fluid in.

FOR THE SHOP THAT DID THE INITIAL INSPECTION: HEY DUMB@$$!!!!! FRONT BRAKES ON ANY VEHICLE DO 70 PERCENT OF THE BRAKING. YOU CAN'T CHEAT PHYSICS JUST BECAUSE IT'S A MOTORHOME!!!!


....sorry, just hate it when honest shops get a bad wrap because of places like this.

Motor home went back today, its heading out for the weekend. I found no damage to any of the brakes, Master cylinders or wheel cylinders. I replaced the ratchet return sprint (the one that pulles the brake adjuster back down after it is applied) and checked the bearings. Everything is well on its way and he and his wife are going to enjoy this last weekend before he and I begin our 3.5 month 6 day a week job as football coaches at the school I teach at.

You're a good man for helping your buddy out Rod. Although the prices charged were fair, I hate it when a shop tries to rake a customer over the coals. IMO a shop would do better for itself if it were honest and didn't try to jack a customer by replacing good parts. I feel sorry for those people who can't separate the truth from the BS. I happens far too often.