I HATE unexpected bills >:(

[Fritzo]

I just bought a car out of state and had to pay taxes out of pocket (they weren't included in the loan---OUCH). Then the kids suddenly needed fillings. Then my wife's van needs tires. Then her brake caliper went out, I take it to the dealership under warranty, and the caliper is covered but the new "redesigned" caliper that replaces it doesn't work with the pads/rotors in place, so they have to do a complete rear brake job for $550.

All of this in a 3 week span.

Cliffs- checking account is now 0$ Please donate

 

[vshah]

keep 6 months of expenses on hand in your checking account for situations like this.

also seems shady that the dealership wouldn't cover the pads/rotors given that the caliper itself was covered under warranty. sounds like you got scammed.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Complete rear brake job for $550, on a van?!?! JUST FOR PADS, ROTORS, AND LABOR?!

They're taking you for a ride on that one.

 

[SunnyD]

keep 6 months of expenses on hand in your checking account.

How do you possibly keep 6 months of unplanned expenses in your checking account? Stupid comment is stupid.

 

[vshah]

How do you possibly keep 6 months of unplanned expenses in your checking account? Stupid comment is stupid.

i am referring to the common recommendation to keep 6 months of budgeted expenses on hand. say your monthly spending averages 3k for food/rent/gas/insurance/bills. keep 18k in your checking account.
pretty sure all that fritzo mentioned didn't cost 18k.

 

[TwiceOver]

How do you possibly keep 6 months of unplanned expenses in your checking account? Stupid comment is stupid.

Expenses, not "unplanned" expenses. You basically know what it's going to cost you to live for the next 6 months, you should have that at the ready in case of emergency.

Me, I stay around 3 months, but some of my investments are pretty liquid so "if need be" so to speak.

 

[jaedaliu]

Complete rear brake job for $550, on a van?!?! JUST FOR PADS, ROTORS, AND LABOR?!

They're taking you for a ride on that one.

yup yup! stealership!

They should really just be charging you for the parts. As labor to replace a caliper should 100% overlap with the pads and rotors. I would suggest talking to the service advisor about it, and if he refuses to budge, just let him know you'll talk to corporate about the silly pricing scheme.

And I agree, 18k in the checking account seems like a lot. Quickly liquidable stable funds is the way I go. Index funds, savings account, and CDs. If you have a local branch of an investment firm near you, you might even be able to get the cash same day.

 

[JimmiG]

Expenses, not "unplanned" expenses. You basically know what it's going to cost you to live for the next 6 months, you should have that at the ready in case of emergency.

Me, I stay around 3 months, but some of my investments are pretty liquid so "if need be" so to speak.

I find 3 months works fine too.. of course it depends on what kind of expenses you might risk having. Since I don't own a car, and I rent my apartment (which is fully insured), my expenses are pretty constant and predictable. If your car breaks down and you need it to get to work etc., it can quickly get very expensive.

 

[holden j caufield]

I'd think times are still tough and some people are just trying to stay afloat, it's easy to recommend 6 months but I think that's probably harder to do the last few years. GL

 

[SlitheryDee]

Damn. You're going to have to ditch the family if you ever want to afford those sunglasses.

 

[mrrman]

I just hate bills in general!! Just paying off a CC and cancelling plans for a Bali Indonesia trip

 

[Red Squirrel]

What sucks is customs bills. Order something from the states, get it, pay COD or w/e, figure that covered customs and you're good to go.

6 months later, get a bill for $400+ Fuuuuuuuuuu...

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Redesigned caliper? $550?
Your ignorance of learning basic maintenance has cost you dearly here.

 

[Sonikku]

I take it to the dealership under warranty, and the caliper is covered but the new "redesigned" caliper that replaces it doesn't work with the pads/rotors in place, so they have to do a complete rear brake job for $550.

LOL

of course... of course.

 

[Midwayman]

Damn. You could have rented those tires and saved a little money at least!

 

[dud]

OP, we are glad we could be here for you to bitch and moan to. Welcome to reality ...

 

[Vdubchaos]

Complete rear brake job for $550, on a van?!?! JUST FOR PADS, ROTORS, AND LABOR?!

They're taking you for a ride on that one.

Thats about right and the reason why I do these things myself.

As for unexpected expenses, spent almost $2000 this month ALONE on dentist (me and my wife).

:'(

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Btw why did you pay for any of it? I'll roll over on somethings but $550 is not one of those things.

 

[SparkyJJO]

You got taken for a ride at that stealership.

 

[dualsmp]

This is the new thing now when getting pads replaced, garages always want to change the rotor now too. It used to be just pads and you were good to go, now garages pressure you to do the rotors as well. Some even claim it is not safe if you don't have the rotors done at the same time as pads. It's basically a scam to separate you from your money. Unless your rotors are way out of whack just leave them. I think the "redesigned" explanation is probably BS.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

This is the new thing now when getting pads replaced, garages always want to change the rotor now too. It used to be just pads and you were good to go, now garages pressure you to do the rotors as well. Some even claim it is not safe if you don't have the rotors done at the same time as pads. It's basically a scam to separate you from your money. Unless your rotors are way out of whack just leave them. I think the "redesigned" explanation is probably BS.

This was repairs done "under warranty".

 

[Vdubchaos]

This is the new thing now when getting pads replaced, garages always want to change the rotor now too. It used to be just pads and you were good to go, now garages pressure you to do the rotors as well. Some even claim it is not safe if you don't have the rotors done at the same time as pads. It's basically a scam to separate you from your money. Unless your rotors are way out of whack just leave them. I think the "redesigned" explanation is probably BS.

Depends on the car, more specifically, thickness of the rotors.

On my 99 Passat you do not resurface the rotors as they are too thin. When you change the pads you change the rotors.

I'm sure there is more cars like that....

And I'm MORE than sure plenty of people are ripping off consumer as well. Good mechanics are hard to come by. It's one of MANY reasons I do my own work (even oil changes.....even when they were free when I bought the car).

I've seen dealer do some crazy shit to people's cars.....and mine as well.

 

[Mixolydian]

Cliffs- checking account is now 0$ Please donate

Surely you have a job.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Depends on the car, more specifically, thickness of the rotors.

On my 99 Passat you do not resurface the rotors as they are too thin. When you change the pads you change the rotors.

I'm sure there is more cars like that....

And I'm MORE than sure plenty of people are ripping off consumer as well. Good mechanics are hard to come by. It's one of MANY reasons I do my own work (even oil changes.....even when they were free when I bought the car).

I've seen dealer do some crazy shit to people's cars.....and mine as well.

Those are some pretty crappy rotors.

If under normal circumstances you can't get at least 2 sets of pads worth out of a rotor they're junk IMO. And if that's the design of the brakes then they cheaped out and used too thin of rotors to start with.

 

[dualsmp]

Depends on the car, more specifically, thickness of the rotors.

On my 99 Passat you do not resurface the rotors as they are too thin. When you change the pads you change the rotors.

I'm sure there is more cars like that....

And I'm MORE than sure plenty of people are ripping off consumer as well. Good mechanics are hard to come by. It's one of MANY reasons I do my own work (even oil changes.....even when they were free when I bought the car).

I've seen dealer do some crazy shit to people's cars.....and mine as well.

I'm aware of VW's anal retentive maintenance schedule because I own one. They will tell you change the brake fluid every two years as well (BMW's too). Let just say I don't follow that schedule, however I've had it changed not too long ago though.