Am I being overcharged for brake work?

Question

I have a 91 acclaim and I was having brake problems with the light going on when I braked and my wheel locking at certain times. When I called the mechanic he stated it might be a problem with a cable but ended up being the rear cylinders. I was charged for 2 cylinders rear brake shoe set, hardware kit, brake fluid and cleaner, 2 rear wheel seals, Torch gas? $9.95 and 2 hours labour
total $320. They also rotated my wheels at no charge but I am wondering about this Torch gas as I have never seen this on an invoice and suspect it is something they added on later.
In the past I have had really bad experiences with mechanics and being on a very very limited income I just want to know if I can really trust this one. They also stated there is no gaurantees with this repair but I should have no trouble. Thanks for any info I receive.

Answer 1

I've been working as mechanic my whole life.

that's is a really low price.considering they has remove some rusted metal ( that You call rear cylinders) with oxyacetylene torch

oxyacetylene gas is really expensive and the labor for a welder man is hi-up.

I know all the trades involved in the process. but, not all the shop has it. and they have to relay some jobs to external technicians.specially when explosive gases need to be use.

the price for the job in Your car is $675.00. NORMALLY.

when,someone ask in this site something like You asking and they has been rip I say it straight there.

You just call by phone any shop in Your area and tell them they have to remove the rear brakes cylinder with torch and request price You will see!!

Answer 2

Ok the torch gas thats a rip off!!!! You need to say something to them or just file a complaint with BBB. You most likely wont get you money back but doesn't hurt to try. The price is bad at all. A friend of mine had to get his rear brakes down on his blazer and between all the crap he had done ( which is about all the same stuff you had replaced ) it cost him like $500. The torch gas makes me think they had a hard time removing a certain part but they shouldn't charge you for the gas. Just ask. But I believe the price isn't all that bad, specially only 2 hrs of labor, some shops would have charged you for around 4 or 5 hrs. I hope this helped.


Just to inform you there is alot more then $75 worth of parts needed to do the job. Wheel cylinders are usually expensive. Plus shoes, hardware kit, seals, cleaners and to get your drums turn, you would have paid around $150 to $200 yourself. If you have doubt go to a parts store and price everything they carry that got replaced on your car and you will see the truth. Then you have to add the LABOR which is anywhere from $50 to $100 and hr. So if you were to break it down you would see that it wasn'y a bad price.

Answer 3

ok let me tell you, i think you just got totally ripped off!!!!!!!!!!!
for one some of those charges should have been the shops responsibility, such as, the cleaner and torch gas, and possibly the hardware kit and brake fluid. but first let me tell you if they needed torch gas to fix your brakes you might want to ask them what they broke that they needed to weld together. and it might have only taken at the most an hour to do all of that unless they just stood around scratching their butts! and anytime you don't get a quarantee with a repair, yea sorry, but you got shafted. i would keep a close watch on your brakes listen to any noise you hear if you have any questions take it back. reguardless if you had a guarantee or not i would demand they fix it if it brakes, you just paid them for a job they didn't do if it is still having problems.
you should definitely not go back to that shop. next time ask lots of questions, get a manual of your car so you can learn about some of the possible problems and what things are, that way you can be aware of any bullcrap lies they try to feed you. plus it always helps to ask a few people who they use and ask people about the place you went. they can give you helpful info on just whos who in the mechanic business.
good luck with the brakes!

Answer 4

I am a chassis tech and yes, you got over charged. Just to give you an idea, if you could have done this your self it probably would have cost about $75 at the most. I have no idea what they would have used a torch for. I have never seen that done in my life. I hope this helped a little.

Answer 5

I don't know where you took your car, but sounds a bit shady to me. Last time I had brake work I brought my car to Meinke (spelling?). I think it ran about $250 or so... I just needed new roters (spelling?) and pads though. I also got a guarantee on the work. I was really happy with the job they did and how they stayed open an extra hour to help me.
I would suggest sticking with a chain repair shop next time. It also helps to learn a little about how cars are repaired. My shop teacher told me to never trust a repairman who wanted to change your blinker fluid.

Answer 6

It seems as a fair charge for this job.

Answer 7

torch gas? ..you got burned.... next it will be for the oxygen they breath