These Were Your Automotive Low Points of 2022

Photo: Jeep

“I normally do all of my own work on my Jeep. It’s the only way to keep it financially viable. But this time I needed two things done asap and didn’t have the immediate time to put into it. I took it to a shop, they gave me an estimate, and I begrudgingly agreed to it.

“The job was both front axle u-joints and diag/fix small evap leak. They charged me a diag fee for both jobs, didn’t drop them when I agreed to the work, and charged a total of about $1,750 for the u-joints and replacing the evap return line which from what I’ve found since is astronomically high.

“The diag they did for the evap was just eyeballing things because if they had actually smoke tested it they would have found that the return line was fine because I still have an evap leak, and they charged a diag for the u-joints even though I told them that’s what was causing the binding – but they ‘wanted to make sure anyway’.

“I should have just waited to do it myself and spent $100 on parts. Never again.”

That sounds like a right palaver! Once you get to know the ins and outs of your car, looking after it becomes a personal passion project that you’re best not leaving to anyone else.

Suggested by: steveschwinghammer