That's not how that works. The shop has to provide you with an estimated bill that you have to approve before they'll even start working on it.
this post was submitted on 18 Jan 2025
476 points (98.2% liked)
Comic Strips
13423 readers
3507 users here now
Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.
The rules are simple:
- The post can be a single image, an image gallery, or a link to a specific comic hosted on another site (the author's website, for instance).
- The comic must be a complete story.
- If it is an external link, it must be to a specific story, not to the root of the site.
- You may post comics from others or your own.
- If you are posting a comic of your own, a maximum of one per week is allowed (I know, your comics are great, but this rule helps avoid spam).
- The comic can be in any language, but if it's not in English, OP must include an English translation in the post's 'body' field (note: you don't need to select a specific language when posting a comic).
- Politeness.
- Adult content is not allowed. This community aims to be fun for people of all ages.
Web of links
- [email protected]: "I use Arch btw"
- [email protected]: memes (you don't say!)
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Depends on the laws in your state
It's also not uncommon for them to tell you that your car needs all this work because mechanics generally get paid on flatrate, so they're always trying to get more work. A lot of mechanics double dip on labor hours. Replace a brake caliper and get a brake flush. Well, they already had to bleed the brakes when they did the caliper and they're not going to bother bleeding all four, they'll just put clean fluid in the reservoir and you'll never know.
Yep, inspect is normally £20-£40, they give you the cost of repair and it stays at that cost. If they discover yet another problem, they don't force you to undergo the repair.
It is permitted for non-certified (MOT) cars to go to and from a mechanic so you can space out repairs over a month or more if needed.
Source: my friend bought a decades old Volvo so he tends to have LOTS of trouble keeping it in a reasonable state on his general wages.
"Estimate"
The actual solution is to reduce dependence on cars.
Well, the actual solution is to abolish Capitalism...
Exactly. Your car can't break if you never had one.
That's a lot more difficult than investing in alternatives to cars.
Well it's get easier the more guillotines are set up in the town squares...
The moment every car owner dreads.
laughs in DIY
"why do I have all these parts left over?"
Weight reduction
load more comments
(3 replies)
Unfortunately new cars are more difficult to repair than older cars. Community mechanic shops and education need to be more common.
Community mechanic shops and education need to be more common.
Nah, what you need is fewer cars and to not depend on them to stay alive.
Don't let perfection be the enemy of progress. Those mechanic shops can transition to working on trains, bikes, EVs, etc. We can do both.
IMO, I can't see how making progress on car maintainability would be easier than on car dependency.
One depends on local politics, the other on national (or maybe even national to a foreign nation) politics or somehow convincing a global oligopolist to lose a bit of money to help your cause.
But if you want to work on it, good luck and all the power to you. Don't stop just because another problem exists.
Oh, I'm not trying to say either are going to be easy, but they both have their individual benefits and there's some overlap. Having more community-based knowledge of internal combustion engines could still help people switch to motorcycles as a start.
You also never know when someone will make a connection that's never been thought of before, and completely change how we think about transportation, and the more knowledge in more people's hands, the better.
Just trying to say it's a "Yes, and" situation.
Cars will never and should never go away completely, even if they become nothing more than a niche hobbyist thing.
In any case, we very much need and want and should have community mechanic shops and education. A friendly repair cafe is always a good idea.
load more comments
(1 replies)
right to repair needs to come faster, my fucking malibu needs to have the front bumper be partially removed in order to change the headlight. Yea let's risk cracking the bumper to change a headlight. Really nice.
load more comments
(1 replies)
load more comments
(4 replies)
Bill in dollars and you're going Far far away? Lol not without your car
People have been known to cross the Florida Straight on makeshift rafts, I hear Cuba is very nice this time of year.
How would you like to pay?
... I don't 🙃
Also, learn to repair your own car or at least do basic maintenance if you absolutely have to rely on a car. It can save you a lot of money and much of it is surprisingly easy (sometimes this depends on what car you have though). Oil changes on my car cost $70-80 in a shop but if I did it myself it was closer to $40 and the whole thing maybe took 30 minutes.
(Please don't do this. Pour the old oil into the empty container and return it to the store for responsible disposal, or municipal hazardous waste facility, or whatever scheme exists in your location)
Ahh, 1963. Classic PopSci...
load more comments
(1 replies)
This is why I only drive 90s and 2000s Asian cars. Cheap to own, cheap to repair, parts are abundant and easy to work on without needing specialized equipment.
Plus if you enjoy driving like me, you have a huge selection of fun, reliable JDM sports cars to choose from, all under $10K.
Same, I have an old 5 speed Subaru right now and I love it.
Manual 350Z for me
This hits to close to home. Just got a quote to fix my wife's car $3500. Likes it a 2008 Hyundai accent can buy another car for that. Crazy expensive fix we don't have.
How would you like to pay?
I'd like to use all that spare money I have in my bank account, but instead, I guess I'll use my credit card because my livelihood requires that I have a working car. I'm sure I can pay it off in the next few years before I need another crippling repair or other expense.
Average Genius Bar experience
And people ask me why I have no interest in learning to drive...
Me in two weeks time from now
view more: next ›