pads and rotors

February 8, 2003 &bull uncategorized

Heidi picked me up after work last Thursday as we were leaving for our long weekend in Las Vegas. We came to our first stop and I noticed a loud grumbling coming from the front of our Jeep. Our brakes had been “squeaking” for a while, but the Jeep service technician we talked to on the phone said squeaky brakes were pretty common. (Um, OK.) This, however, was definitely more than squeaky brakes. But, we had commitments and needed to get on the road; I figured we would just have the brakes looked at when we got back from out trip. I mean, we had only put 14,000 miles on the vehicle since we bought it and it had undergone Bob Baker Jeep’s rigorous “100+ point inspection” before the sale. How could the brake pads be worn out?

Well, they were worn out and as a result the rotors were damaged. We were informed by Jeep that the $415.00 repairs were not covered by our warranty. I understand that brake pads aren’t covered by a warranty, but I don’t understand how they can go bad after 30,000 miles, especially since we mainly use the Jeep for long trips and highway driving. Anyway, we freaked out and ended up calling the general manager of the dealership. We told him about the bad tire and messed up rear end (both of which were fixed a couple weeks after purchase) that their “rigorous” inspection had missed. We told him that we felt the brakes were either in poor condition when we bought the Jeep (their 100+ point inspection didn’t have a good track record with us) or they were simply malfunctioning. We also told him that we weren’t going to do any more business with his dealership. But, he and the service manager, whom I also talked to, didn’t seem to think that was a big enough deal to warrant any type of “elevated” customer service, aside from a measly 10% discount.

Since we couldn’t get rotors from a Napa Autocare Center (I guess they don’t carry them yet due to the lack of demand. Hmm….) we swallowed our pride and had Bob Baker perform the repairs. It’s a bit depressing when there’s nothing you can do to make your point with someone that’s basically taking advantage of you. And, that’s really the worst thing about stuff like this. Don’t get me wrong, the $400.00 will hurt — we’re facing a big tax bill, closing costs, moving costs, appliance costs, furniture costs, landscaping costs etc. But, it’s not about the money. It’s about that helpless feeling — where nothing you do or say really makes a difference. Sure, we’ll tell our friends that Bob Baker sucks. We’ll hop up on soapboxes at parties and describe the evils of doing business at Bob Baker. We’ll cry out to our friends, “And get this, they told us they replaced the cupped tire, but we just discovered that what they REALLY did was just swap it out with the spare! Bastards!” But in the end it really won’t matter. They’ll still be in business, making money hand over fist, and we’ll still be wincing every time we see “another satisfied Bob Baker customer” pass us on the freeway.

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