Camry Worse After Reputable Shop "Fixed" it

It all started with a minor accident. 

October 4. Mom was sitting at a red light. The light turned green and she started to go. Just then, a pickup ran the red light and she contacted the side of the pickup as it passed her and it ripped off most of her bumper cover and the styrofoam. (Yes, there's styrofoam underneath that bumper cover.)

She thought maybe she would get a new car. But the insurance said they would fix it, so she thought maybe she'd sell it after it got fixed. So she had me inspect it and find everything wrong with it, not including the damage from the accident. I used my inspection form and created a list of everything I could find that could be a negative when someone does a pre-purchase inspection. 

Here's what I came up with.

I later found out that the steering wheel had to be turned 135 degrees before the steering wheel locked. So that part was ok and didn't need any repair. 

I replaced the rack and pinion since that would be the most devaluing item on the list. I told mom to bring it back so I could do the CV axle later. [Watch my stuck CV axle video to see how I fixed it]. That was the number one priority item on the list. I wasn't sure how long she could drive with that split boot before the joint totally failed. I was worried because if it separated while driving, it could cause more damage.

After a number of weeks went by, on November 15th, I sent her an email saying "We need to get the passenger side CV axle changed out soon." Finally she texted me back on Nov. 29th asking if I had a minute to chat. I called her and she said she was having problems with the steering on her car. The power steering belt was slipping and squealing and the power steering was jerking.

I was confused at why she was having these problems because it was running fine after I finished the rack and pinion replacement.

She said "I have to tell you that I took it to [Redacted repair shop]." 

"Why did you take it there?" I asked.

"Well, I didn't want to bother you with your time", she replied.

I said "Mom, I'm unemployed right now! I have all the time you need. So what did they do to the car?" At this point, she couldn't remember exactly what they did. She said she handed them my list and told them to do the most important items first.

"Oh no!" I gasped.

She got the invoice and read it off to me. 

Mom: "Power steering pump replacement."

Me: "Why did they do that? It wasn't even on the list! What else did they do?"

Mom: "Belts and upper radiator hose."

Me: "Why did they do the upper radiator hose? That wasn't on the list either! Anything else?"

Mom: "That's it."

Me: "How much did they charge you?"

Mom: "I'm embarrassed to say."

Me: "Was it over $500?" (I guessed what I thought was outrageously high.)

Mom: "Yes."

So here's what I've been able to find out. She took the car to Redacted and handed them the list and said she had a budget of $700 and to do the most needed repair items. It just so happened that the bill ended up subtotaling $699. It sounded to me like they wanted to get her $700 rather than fixing her real problems.

I asked Mom and the Redacted garage why they replaced the power steering pump. Mom didn't know. I emailed Redacted garage twice, but they avoided answering the question both times. Their response was "We do Not perform unneeded repairs. 

Side note - actually, good mechanics do unneeded repairs all the time. For example, even if the output shaft seal isn't leaking, they replace it when replacing a CV shaft. It's better to spend the $10 now than find out next month that the seal is leaking and you have to basically do the entire job over again.  

Checking Their Work

Mom brought the car over to my house so I could see what was going on and also replace the CV axle. The first thing I noticed was the puddle of power steering fluid on the driveway right under the power steering pump. The power steering reservoir was nearly empty and the pressure hose was leaking pretty badly. It wasn't leaking like that a month ago when I replaced the rack and pinion.

They replaced the belts, but the power steering belt was super loose. The alternator belt tension was ok. 

If I had done work this poorly, I'd be embarrassed even if I did it for free. 

It appeared that they didn't even replace the upper radiator hose, yet they charged her for it.

Then they charged her an outrageous amount for labor.

Why would they degrease the old power steering pump when they're replacing it? That doesn't make sense. As expected, the parts prices are marked up. Here's what they cost at O'Reilly: 

These prices aren't what the shop pays. They get a discount off these prices. Then they mark them up well above what you can get them for. They probably got that $14 belt for maybe $12 and sold it for $22

The most needed repair was the CV axle. That separated boot was staring them in the face as they did the power steering pump. It appeared to me that they certainly didn't do any "most needed repairs".

Axle Job

I replaced the CV axle, along with the output shaft seal and the rear engine mount bushing. I also did a transmission fluid and filter change. Parts were about $225. I didn't charge her for labor, but she paid me anyway. She gets the Mom discount.

As tempting as it was to just fix the shop's mistakes, I left them alone so I could show them what they did wrong. 

A Visit to the Garage

So we went down to Redacted and talked with the person in charge. She said she remembers every car that comes to her shop, and that my mom said she had a budget of $1000 (I thought it was $700). They wanted to figure out what was most important so that she didn't spend $4000 to fix the entire list. [That's what I was worried about.] 

They said that when the car came in that the power steering fluid was overflowing and the pump was making noise. So I imagine that what happened was that the power steering pump started leaking badly and that when the reservoir got empty, it started sucking air. The pump will then compress the air and send it to the rack and pinion. Then when the fluid returns to the reservoir, it'll force out more fluid and air bubbles into the reservoir and make it overflow. Ok, so I guess that was an ok service. But I could have saved Mom hundreds of dollars if she brought the car to me. 

It turns out it's standard practice for this shop to remove the labels from all new hoses . . . and exhaust pipes. Well, I can totally understand removing everything flammable from exhaust pipes, but I'd rather they left the labels on the hoses so you could tell they were replaced. I mean, the cars from the factory have labels on the hoses. 

I remembered specifically checking the radiator hoses for bulging and it didn't look like it needed to be replaced, but the garage decided it was one of the most important repairs. Ok, so maybe they really did replace the hose.

I really didn't have time to hang out all day while they fixed the leak and loose belt. So I said I'd fix them if they'd give her some money back. They offered $150 and that seemed ok. 

I asked how much they charge per hour for labor. She said $110. In shock, I exclaimed "that's more than Car Wizard charges!" I remembered many years ago being shocked at finding out that labor was $65/hour.

Found More Problems

I tightened the pressure hose on the power steering pump. It needs new copper washers because the joint still has a small leak, but it's not dripping anymore. I'm prepared now because I ordered an assortment of copper washers. I'll never go through all of them in my lifetime, but I'll probably eventually need more than just these two washers.

I set the power steering belt tension. I wasn't done yet because I found that the intake manifold was leaking coolant. Every once in a while while I was under the car a drop of coolant would drip on me. 

And the valve covers were leaking oil. So those three items will be the project next time.

Finished?

Sometimes old cars are never finished. But it runs well now. The body shop fixed the damage and it's looking great again.

The rest of the items on this list are not high priority. We'll just keep watch on some of them. 

The Moral of the Story

I guess the important lesson here is to know what you're asking for. Ask up front what it'll cost. If you say you have a budget of X dollars for the project, assume that they will use the entire budget you just offered them.

If you're doing work for someone else, make sure they know up front what you'll be doing and what it'll cost. Get authorization before starting work.