Adrenaline_Z

In my journey of certifying my 1996 Camaro for private sale, I came
across some very interesting scenarios which I’d like to share.

My initial certification inspection was performed at DM Service Center.
The quote for the certification was $2057.57 which included:

Missing bump stops ($111.80), 3 tires ($405.00 due to wear and/or speed
rating), brake service ($105.00), Ball joints x 2($112.39) and $780.00 labour!

Knowing part prices and the condition of the car, I naturally questioned
some of the items listed. My car had H rated tires (130 MPH) which
were higher speed handling, load handling and tread wear than what
comes standard from GM!

The door sticker calls for T which is a 118 MPH rating. I don't know what
the problem was here, but he wouldn't let it pass.

The bump stops are still in place. I don't understand why they wrote missing on the quote, and when questioned, he said they had fallen
off the car?

I had also replaced pads/shoes and drums/rotors all around the car last season. The quote called for brake service which I knew wasn't an issue.

For my second opinion, I took the Camaro to Busy Corner Garage,
Devitt Street South, Waterloo.

$644.55 parts/labour and taxes included:

One tire ($120), ball joints x 2 ($52) , control arm kit x 2 ($55 bolts seized on),
windshield wipers ($30), wheel studs x 2 ($30.00), Certification Inspection
and labour ($280.00)

Notice the price of ball joints compared to DM Service center and the lack
of items listed such as tires, brakes, and bump stops! Also notice the
difference in labour.

I think it's safe to say, DM Service did not know the Camaro very well. They also likely have amateur mechanics doing inspections as they do not
know the location of bump stops, or facts about speed rating for tires.

I highly recommend Busy Corner Garage for vehicle certification.

SSZ

I do alot of work out of my garage in Caledonia. I see this sort of thing VERY often. Especially with brakes. The first garage was probably pricing you on a Moog ball joint instead of a white box. In your situation the white box are fine as you are certifying the car but the Moog is better. Also, garages will mark up the price of the parts obviously. Some are rediculous though and some are pretty fair. In all fairness to the DM center though, they may have had problems in the past with certifications and may be covering their own asses due to the problems in the past (mostly referring to the tires). I have never known the speed rating to be an issue when your tires are above the speed rating recommended so that guy must be on crack there. I am sure they were trying to make some EXTRA money off of you. I often have people come to me for work and there are often times I have to send them away due to the fact that the work recommended by other shops was unnecessary. ******* drives me nuts when they try to rip people off Makes us techs look like thieves and I can understand why. Mind you I end up reaping the benefits as the customer will come back to me for my honesty and the pricing helps. If I cant compete with another garages prices then I admit it. Even sometimes that will still land me the work. If I cannot fix their problems due to lack of tools or literature (wiring diagrams and such) then I fess up and say "sorry I cant help you with this one but i can recommend so and so".
I believe most people appeciate the honesty and that is what brings them back. Good to hear you found a garage NOT trying to Rape you.

augiedog77

iTrader: (3)

like ssz pointed out there is different makes and qualities of ball joints out there. Comparing the 2 without knowing the brands/lines isn't very honest on your part (you were/are in the business of repairing cars so you would know about the different options).

Tires: you state that they want to replace 3 due to the wear and speed rating. Are all 4 tires the same speed rating? If they aren't then that could create a problem too (different manufactures will produce tires of different heights even though the sidewall size is the same).

Brakes should be serviced at least once a year, the caliper pins will sieze and wear the pads down quicker then they should. This happens even if you do take the time to replace them properly and clean out the caliper pin bores with lots of proper lube

If you ever see a inspection by a MTO officer after a complaint then I'm pretty certain you would understand why they are so ****. 99% of the cars would fail for something.

Adrenaline_Z

I guess it's possible that they quoted me with a quality ball joint, but the rest
remains a little shady.

I replaced the tires about 1.5 years ago and put less than 15,000 KMs
on the tires. The photo shows the 2nd worst tire on the car (the worst
was obvisouly the passenger rear! )

The bump stops are still there as you can see below.

As I said, the other garage didn't see anything missing, or wrong with
the items listed. I literally drove the car directly from one garage to the
next after getting a recommendation that same afternoon.

You can all be the judge. I'm just hoping you can get a sense of frustration
and check the items for your own good when dealing with certain garages.

At the very least, if it looks out of control, get a second opinion. I'm very
glad I did!

I've attached some pictures and links of the car and quotes.







DM Service Quote:
http://gmthunder.com/proauto/ball.jpg
http://gmthunder.com/proauto/ball_lab.jpg
http://gmthunder.com/proauto/bump.jpg
http://gmthunder.com/proauto/bump_lab.jpg
http://gmthunder.com/proauto/brake_tire.jpg
http://gmthunder.com/proauto/brake_lab.jpg

Busy Corner Total
http://gmthunder.com/proauto/busy_cert.jpg

Adrenaline_Z

P.S. The two front tires were T rated, and the two rears were H rated.

It's obvious from the quote they wanted to replace the rear passenger tire
as well as both fronts to make them all H rated.