Different recommendations for the same car

I drove into Tire Kingdom to replace a blown out tire. They said that my vw gti golf needed tie rods, wheel alignment an air filter and a fuel induction service. I am glad to know the latter is a bogus cost. Without doing the latter, this would cost me $447.99. I went to another garage that said I did not need tie rod or wheel alignment. The second garage explained that I need front pads and rotors for $3.49 and lo. cont. ara. bush @ $329. The are no symptoms, except for tire wear. The guy who drove the car said the car shakes when I have to stop the car quickly. I took it to a third garage and was told to get front struts and rear shocks to eliminate tires showing signs of cupping. My car is a vw golf gti with a l4-1800cc 1.8 L engine . It has 106425 on the odometer. I am frustrated at a high dollar amount and totally different recommendations.



P.S. I posted an earlier post and did not mean to put all this gobbledy gook. It does not show on the page I pasted in the box. Sorry - I know it was annoying and not what I meant to do. I am humbled but do need some advice. I hope I have all the info down now.

You must look and act very gullible. If you have a blown tire, you fix or replace the tire. PERIOD!! If anyone makes additional scary recommendations, write it down, take the guy’s name and phone number and ask for the name of his boss, and tell him you will check back later.

Then go to a mechanic you can trust (not a chain or tire shop) and get a proper evaluation of what you really need. At 106,000 miles you will likely need SOMETHING unless you have religiously maintained the car. From your description I can’t tell exactly what you need, but if YOU feel the shaking when applying the brakes, then you could have a front brake problem, or a front suspension problem, such as very loose ball joints.

The fact you got different opinions means these guys are guessing and don’t deserve your business.

You can start by telling us how long you have had the car and exactly what repairs, and maintenance it has had and at what mileage. The same kind of thing your doctor will ask you when you go in for a diagnosis.

If upon inspection, you really need these things, the prices are not out of line. Maintaining an aging car, especially a VW, costs money, and you need to budget at least $1200 per year from now on to be realistic.