I Inadvertently Saved a Ton of Money
By Jim Bauer
@porwest (98579)
United States
February 27, 2025 6:32am CST
I forgot to mention that on Tuesday I took my truck for a much-needed oil change, and a few days earlier, I noticed the engine light came on and it was running a bit rough. Nothing major, but noticeable enough to decide I'd be taking the truck in very soon to have it looked at.
In my mind, I was setting aside at least $1500 for a repair job. Can anyone ever take their vehicle in for repairs anymore and NOT walk away with at least a $1000 bill?
As they always do at the drive-in oil change locations, they brought me filters and suggested this upgrade or another. I let them change the wipers, which was needed, since it was only $24 installed. It seemed reasonable even if I can do it myself.
When the tech brought me the air filter, I told him I could just pick one up and install it myself, or worst case scenario, I said, I have to get the truck into the shop since the engine light had come on and I could check their price.
"Do you want me to hook up my code reader and see what codes come up for the light?"
I hesitated a bit.
"It's free."
Those were the words I wanted to hear. "Sure, let's do it," I told him.
He hooked up his reader and it turns out I have about three or four cylinders misfiring, which means, it's time for a tune-up.
In that moment a $1500 set aside went down to about $250, and so right there I saved a ton of money. And who knows? It's not to say mechanics are liars, but sometimes I do wonder, and if I don't know what's wrong, I have no choice but to take them at their word when they tell me what's wrong and how much it will cost to fix it.
Now I can just go in and say, "Give me a tune-up, please."
11 people like this
10 responses
@dgobucks226 (36369)
•
11 Mar
Those code readers can come in very handy. Saves on a lot of guess work. Kind of like going to the doctor and having him give you the once over with a stethoscope. 
Happy savings, well sort of... 
Happy savings, well sort of... 1 person likes this
@dgobucks226 (36369)
•
12 Mar
@porwest My brother was a mechanic and says they are not a bad investment.
1 person likes this
@porwest (98579)
• United States
13 Mar
@dgobucks226 I can definitely see where it is helpful to be a bit more "in the know" before you are forced to take a mechanic at his or her word. They're not all crooks, but at the same time, can you always trust them?
1 person likes this
@kareng (71515)
• United States
2 Mar
@porwest Here, most of the dealerships have inmates on work release working in the shop. Yes, there are a couple mechanics "certified" and leaders and of course the supervisor, but you never know what you will get in terms of "service." My husband quit bringing his truck in for the free oil changes due to them stripping screw and there was something else too. I know one repair under warranty that should have been simple took 3 trips to finally get it done. Had to take in so they could figure out what was wrong/needed. Ordered part. They called and told him to bring it back in. He went. Wrong part. So another wasted trip.
1 person likes this
@porwest (98579)
• United States
2 Mar
I have to admit, it would be an interesting test of their integrity that would help in making future repair decisions at the dealership. There's a guy who's a friend of mine who owns a repair shop down the street from me, and he's EXTREMELY good and trustworthy. But it's impossible to get anything done because he always has a large backload, so if you want something done quickly, he's not the place to go. Even with my connection, I get no special service, so I generally just go to the dealership. But you still have to trust their word, and sometimes I am suspicious whether or not they are always being upfront with me.
I know money and business. Cars are another matter. I know the basics, but it's just not my area of expertise.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (144745)
• United States
27 Feb
Sometimes soon I'll need to call and get our car in for some work, too. I'm almost positive we need a new alternator. The brand new battery we had installed at Christmas isn't holding a charge and we need an oil change, too. I'm sure we're looking at less than $700 total for this...
It annoys me when I have to take the mechanic's word for something. I KNOW some of them lie just to pump up the price...
I hope you have a great day.
1 person likes this
@porwest (98579)
• United States
28 Feb
Car repairs are always annoying because they are rarely cheap. But of course, we have to get around and so it's also necessary. $700 is painful, but not awful.
But yeah, you really don't have much of a choice when it comes to mechanics but to take their word for things. What alternative is there, really?
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (144745)
• United States
28 Feb
@porwest $700 is a small fortune to us... But I still have to be able to reach doctors 70 miles away.
1 person likes this
@porwest (98579)
• United States
2 Mar
@DaddyEvil I won't say $700 is nothing, that's for sure, even if it's not an amount that would break me. But of course, I fight old ladies in Aldi parking lots to make sure I get my quarters if they want to take my cart. lol
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (45802)
• Staten Island, New York
27 Feb
You saved a lot of money there. Awesome!
1 person likes this
@porwest (98579)
• United States
2 Mar
@lovebuglena It really is, because they could have told me anything and I'd have no way to prove them wrong.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (63825)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
1 Mar
When we took our truck in for tires, they found a few things they had to fix in order to align the new tires. What we had thought would be 500 ish, endup up being $1500.
But its cheaper than a new vehicle.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (84155)
• United States
27 Feb
That was a lucky break to know that when you bring your truck in it will only need a tune-up. I have to agree that it's rare for any repair to be less than $1000 these days.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (123368)
• Gainesville, Florida
2 Mar
Given that I've had my truck for over 15 years now, and almost always know what's wrong with it based on the sound or "feel" of how it's driving, I can almost always take it into the shop and tell them what's wrong or what specifically they need to look at. And their response is always, "Well, we have to run a diagnostic test on it first to see exactly what the problem is. The diagnostic test costs $69." And 90% of the time, I'm right on my assessment.
@trbr22 (81)
• United States
28 Feb
It's even harder on us women, a mechanic will lie to us every time because they think we don't know squat about the vehicle. I was working on cars when I was a teen, so I know a little bit. Things have certainly changed, but I have kept up with some of the terms and meanings, so they can't just walk all over me. I need an oil change too, the truck is past due, but I don't go to town but a about 3 times a month, and I keep it as brief as possible. We will be looking to trade it off soon too. It is a large truck that I'm not real comfortable driving, Ford F150, 4door, 4X4 with the biggest mirrors on the sides, man those mirrors get me every time! I want an SUV. We bought the truck with the belief that my husband would be driving it most of the time, but his days of driving are over. Except for the "back seat" kind. Ha!
I'm so glad you saved the money though. Knowing me, I'd have to test the dealership for honesty and just see how trustworthy they are. You decision though. Good luck to you and congratulations on keeping it cheap!
