Why do they make it so you can't even fix your own car anymore?
@vera5d (4005)
United States
May 25, 2008 7:45pm CST
My van has been making that "your breaks are shot" noise and sure enough when my hubby looked at the brake pads they were pretty much down to nothing.
But he can't fix it. You need a special tool to get the calipers to turn that only mechanics have. He tried to do it on his own with what he had and of course ended up breaking the caliper!
So now what would have only cost $40 to fix is going to be probably a few hundred dollars just because we don't have the tool. We talked to the auto parts store guy and looked online for it with no luck and the only thing we can do is take it to the shop.
That makes us so mad!
Have you ever had this happen to you?
2 people like this
5 responses
@sabbathandruth (567)
• Canada
26 May 08
its because they love sucking money out of people, if we all had electric ars, we would save alot of money and pollution
1 person likes this
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
17 Jul 08
they sure do! We ended up fixing it though, but it was a lot of work!
@Kaeli72 (1229)
• United States
5 Jun 08
I'm sorry...but there was a line in there that made me smile. "You need a special tool..." When my ex and I were dating, he wooed me with stories and promises of his ability as a mechanic. Oh goodey, I thought. I was certain that would save us so much money. He even had his own repair shop. Guess what...I was wrong. Not only was he not able to find the time, but 8/10 times he didn't have the proper tool to fix said problems.
But, one day while he was driving, the break line busted and he had to deal with it. Better him than me, that's what I said.
The car rental place where we went to got plenty of business from us because of "we don't have the proper tool" line.@vera5d (4005)
• United States
17 Jul 08
It's terrible. My hubby decided it was still cheaper to give us brand new calipers & the brake pads instead of taking it somewhere, so he did finally manage to do it...but not without a lot of headache! Thankfully they didn't think of someone changing their own calipers to change the brake pads, lol. I think as a mechanic though you would have to have those tools or you just wouldn't get too far!
@Rozie37 (15499)
• Turkmenistan
26 May 08
I do not drive. But I would imagine that this helps them to make a lot more money. Maybe they started losing more money because even the women were getting tired of the B.S and started fixing their own cars. So now they fixed it so no one can do it.
Another thing might be that with all the new technology coming out, they have not found a way for you to do such job at home. But please don't listen to me. I do not drive and have no idea about anything you describe. I just wanted to put my two cents in, LOL.
@vera5d (4005)
• United States
17 Jul 08
You two cents is always welcome whether you know anything about the subject or not, you know that! :) (Yes, I am just responding to some "lost" discussions now, lol)
@chrislotz (8137)
• Canada
5 Jun 08
That is a very easy question to answer. Because they want you to bring the car back to the dealership for repairs so they make more money. Nothing is made to last or easy to fix, anymore. It's all a money game and very frustrating for people like us. But the car industry loves it. More money for them.
@thebeaddoodler (4262)
• Lubbock, Texas
26 May 08
Yes, absolutely. They are making cars now days so complex that even the mechanics have to go to school every year just to keep up, and special tools are needed for each repair.
My son-in-law is in his 30's and still has the car he bought second hand when he was in high school because he can work on it. Even paying higher prices for parts that have to be special made for an obsolete car is cheaper than putting a car in the shop.
