I have a 2002 Kia Rio Cinco with 148,000 miles on it. I took it into a shop yesterday and was told I needed front brakes and was given a verbal quote of $350 out the door. I explained I don’t really want to put money into this car given the high mileage, but since I was told it was a safety issue I approved the work. When the parts arrived and the car was on the lift I was then told I also needed calipers. One was seized and the mechanic showed me that. I was told I should do the other as well and I agreed. I went home while the calipers were being ordered. I was expecting that the total bill would increase, but I was thinking it would still be less than $600. When I didn’t hear anything from the shop and it was approaching closing time I was told the car would have to stay another day because the wrong calipers were shipped twice. Oh, and the bill was now over $1,100. I tried to get him to cancel the work and offered to pay for the work that was done to this point. I was told that it was too late and everything was done except bleeding the brakes. My argument with the shop owner is that when the price tripled I should have received a phone call asking if I wanted to proceed with the work. The owner claims there was no going back at that point since the brakes couldn’t be reassembled without new calipers. I would have just junked the car and had it towed from his shop. He says he wouldn’t have been able to get the car off the lift without damaging his lift. Is it true that the car couldn’t have been taken off the lift without damaging the lift so it could be towed away?
Well, I’ve learned at least one lesson here. I will never have any work done on my car for more than $100 without a written estimate.
The law varies from state to state. In my state you are entitled to, upon request, a written estimate for any repair over $150. Once you approve the work I can exceed that estimate by 10% without your approval. Once you approve my original estimate I may proceed with repairs and you are bound to pay or I keep your car until you do.
Having said that, you and the shop owner are in the same boat, as he has no written approval just like you have no written estimate. He has no legal leg to stand on, neither do you. It’s your word against his. As for the prices, for $350-$400 you should have gotten calipers, pads, rotors in the first place. For $1100, I could have done a complete front and rear brake rebuild and had some left over.
He could easily have made your car moveable, if not driveable, without replacing the calipers.
If he handed me a bill for $1100 without my approval I would have offered to let him keep the car.
He could easily have gotten the car off of the lift by simply bolting the wheels back onto the hub. He wouldn’t have even needed to re-install the calipers if you were going to have it towed. He was lying about that, so I’d have a tough time believing anything else. Ask to see HIS invoice for the parts he bought. I agree with Keith. A quick check with Rockauto for your car shows one pair of loaded (with brake pads) calipers for $165. I’m guessing if you ask for his cost paperwork, it will have mysteriously “disappeared.”
Any shop should stop work immediately and contact the customer if there is anything that can lead to an excessive overage with the estimate.
The problem that you have here is that you authorized the calipers and you state that you were “thinking it would be less than 600 dollars”. This is the point where paper is valuable.
Legally, I don’t think that you have a leg to stand on unless the state you live in has some statutes about estimates.
Assuming those calipers are not from a Kia dealer, the price seems high to me, the shop should have kept you informed up front of any price abnormalities, and the part about ruining his service lift does not reflect well on the shop.