TheTrustedMechanic

I have always shied away from the menu pricing. I mean think about it, how many oil changes do you sell that are exactly the same price? The car with 4 quarts of oil, the truck with 7, the $2/cost oil filter vs. the euro car with the $8 cost filter, or more. Or a brake job. One car you can buy premium brake pads for $30 then next you can't find anything but bottom of the barrel "used care quality" pads for $40.00. The transmission service with standard Dex/Merc fluid vs Merc V/Dex VI/Euro goo/etc. What do you put on your menu board that doesn't have a dozen disclaimers or disappoint the customer's expectations because of all of the add-ons. I am about providing auto service with the utmost integrity and feel that the disclaimers of disclaimers just offer opportunity for the customer to doubt my honesty. Now this is not to say that menu boards are wrong, I just have never had any amount of content to put on one that I wasn't afraid would lower my credibility in eyes of my customers or even worse, give rise to opportunity for arguments over charges.

It is so easy to say, "I won't give a price over the phone." Which really is saying, "If they won't do as I want them to do then they aren't my kind of customer." We all know that giving a price over the phone is NOT in our or the callers' best interests, but the public is not always interested in their best interests. It is easy to simply answer the caller's question. Of course if they won't listen to you and agree to allow you to have it competently inspected then they likely won't be willing to pay for your competent professional repairs. However I do offer phone quotes, but with many caveats that I repeat multiple times. Meanwhile I get two types of customers, those who are simply looking for the cheapest price and they are not the ones you or I want. But I also get those who don't care what the price is, I'm going to get the work anyway, but they need to know if they can afford the repair they need. What I mean by that is if they need, say a $500 repair but they only have $350 right now but will have the rest in two weeks, there is no reason for them to "bring it in for a look see" until they have the money to pay for the repair, especially if it isn't safe (for them or the vehicle) to drive it in or if it needs to be towed in. I love all the anecdotes about how, "We had a customer...." who didn't need what the other shop said they needed. But you know what? Sometimes the customer doesn't know how else to start the conversation. Yes you need to educate them but you still need to feed them, their psyche, their muse, their ego. I had a customer who....went to the dealer, had an "inspection" performed and was told she needed front brakes, rear brakes, rear wheel cylinders (yes a different FULL RATE labor op) and exhaust manifolds on her Ford van. She called me for a competitive quote. If I had not offered her an estimate over the phone I never would have gotten that $1400 job. She would have paid the $2500 at the dealership and I would not have a loyal customer. Why? Because she "knew" what she needed, the dealership told her. So she wanted to know if I would do the work cheaper because we all know that dealers are sooooo expensive. I inspected her van, I charged her for the inspection too, and I found that she did not need any brake work (at least 50% left, nearly new rotors and drums well within specs. Wheel cylinders were good too) and her exhaust manifolds only needed to be resurfaced and reinstalled with new studs and gaskets. So not only did I honor her, her request but I also saved her money by not doing work that was not needed. I made a good profit on honest work. I blew away her expectations. I gained a loyal customer and a great referral source. How did I do this? BY GIVING HER A PRICE OVER THE PHONE. I am not saying that those who refuse to give quotes over the phone are doing it wrong, what I am saying is they are wrong for telling those of us who do that we are wrong for doing so. Just as those who claim that doctors don’t diagnose over the phone, they do offer prices over the phone. I know this. And not just primary care general practitioners either. Just as we should not diagnose a problem over the phone, or over the counter either but we can quote a price for a certain job. If it needs that job, then our price should be responsible. If it does not need that repair, then your quote should have had that disclaimer too. We can’t diagnose a problem over the phone, just as your doctor won’t diagnose your ailment over the phone either but they will likely tell you what their office visit, x-ray, EKG, procedure charges are. If you push the issue that is. Case in point, I have a hernia. When I was diagnosed over 10 years ago I was all set to have the surgery and then a week before the surgery the surgeon decided he wouldn’t participate with my insurance anymore. They told me in order to continue with the surgery I would have to sign a form agreeing to pay all the charges myself. I asked how much it would be. They didn’t know until the surgery was over. When I pressed the issue they finally admitted that my surgery was pretty routine and if there were no complications then the surgery would be $XXXX.XX. Just as we can quote a water pump. But if there are complications, like a broken bolt, then it will be more due to unforeseeable conditions. And any competent estimate or quote should address that contingency too. Again, I am not saying that those shop owners who won’t offer prices over the phone are wrong but I am saying don’t tell us who do that we are wrong for doing so.

I am toying with the idea of sending a gift basket of sorts to customers who close a R.O. over a certain amount and am looking for ideas of what to send that would make the greatest impact. I know food is popular but during the winter what would be appropriate? I am not impressed by the hunter sausage/cheese/cracker baskets so I don't want to do those, but I guess I'm not important when it comes to what works with "normal people."

I had a hard and fast policy of NO CUSTOMER SUPPLIED PARTS! Then this summer I broke that rule and agreed to install customer supplied A/C compressor, receiver/dryer, expansion valve and belt. Well it seems there were two belts, an early and late design. Guess which one she had? She was told right up front, before ever touching the thing how much it would cost and that there was ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY. Seems her stretch fit belt was a little too long so after a day or so it started to squeal. She brings it back, of course it's my fault because I just "fixed it." You know that story of the charges are directly related to your attitude? Well she was to a *itch what a *itch is to a reasonable person. So she is going to pay me to look at the car, she is going to pay me to replace HER wrong belt and she is going to pay for the belt. When I tell her what is wrong, what it will cost and how long it will take to get the parts she goes ballistic. Where is the part? Why can't she go get the part (the car is on the hoist partially torn apart). Why does she have to pay to fix my mistake? Etc. Etc. Etc.She refuses to agree to pay for the proper belt. She also complains because I will not take her car down off the hoist until she pays me for my inspection. Like I said, it's all related to attitude lady. A couple months later she posts negative reviews on farcebook and Google. Like all good fiction there is a basis in reality but everything else is pure fantasy. I was going to charge her $150 and the dealer installed her belt for $40. Well the belt was $29 plus tax and labor. The dealer would not be installing a stretch-fit belt with a labor time of .6 hour. Oh, and the noisy belt was a "fire hazard." And I "told her it would take only 4 hours and it took 7." The expansion valve alone has a book time of 2.8 hours, plus the receiver dryer (.6) the compressor (.9) evac and recharge, yep, I told her 4 hours alright. Bottom line is I never should have broken my own rule. No matter how many times, how many ways, or how many reminders you give the customer, even notarized documents won't stop the amnesia of NO WARRANTY. "But you just fixed it." Nope, never again, NO CUSTOMER SUPPLIED PARTS! With the exception of special interest/vintage vehicles where there ar every few sources anyway. And even then I will resist. Don't do it guys. Just don't install customer supplied parts. There literally is NOTHING (good) in it for you.

If your supplier screws you on labor reimbursement you can do one of three things, eat it in the event of a parts failure, hopefully not very often, build your own warranty costs into your rates or find a better supplier who will stand behind you better. NAPA stands behind their AutoCare Centers for the full term of the warranty. It is reimbursed at a reduced rate, I think it's 75% but that's better than 0%.

My shop is a NAPA AutoCare Center and NAPA provides a 24 month or 24,000 mile nationwide warranty on most parts. So do I. If the part has a lifetime warranty I extend that to the customer as well and tell them the limited poriton is the part is warranted for the life of their ownership of the vehicle but the labor is covered for months. in the event i lose my sanity and install a used part, 30 day part only, NO LABOR. In the event I go insane and install a customer supplied part, NO WARRANTY WHATOSEVER beyond I did the job right. Starter falls out, I didn't do the job right, starter solenoid stops engaging or the solenoid to starter motor wire corrodes but the starter is mounted tight and the cables are clean and secure, I did the job right no warranty. As an example of course.

You need a competitive advantage, but you also can't reinvent the wheel. There is a reason why we rotate bolts counterclockwise to loosen, because it works. Likewise, there is a reason why other shops do things the way they do them, because it works. But you need to figure out what you can do and say about your business that can't be said about anyone else. Like others said, we can't exactly tell you what to do, we don't know your market as well as you do. But what is the number one thing customers want? How many shops in your market claim to provide that? I suspect "Trust" is either number 1 or at least in the top 3. One thing you can be absolutley sure of, your repeat customers all trust you. Until they don't. And often there will be nothing you can do to prevent it, unless you deliberately cheat and lie, which you certainly sound as if you never intend to do. Unless you plan to compete on amentities that really mean nothing to the process of car repair, you need to find soemthing in your service where you can excel. Another consideration most marketing/management gurus claim is you can have the best techs, the most competent techs and do the absolute best work, but poeple won't care. What they will care about is their experience, namely at the front desk. Sorry, if we knew the answer to your question, we'd all be posting from a vacation spot somewhere sipping cocktails by the ocean. But probablythe smartest move you will ever make, you already did, seek advice and ideas from others. No man/woman is an island. Kudos to you and good luck. Don't be afraid to take a chance or make a mistake. Don't be ashamed to ask for help. Just make the bad decisions/mistakes add up to less than the good ideas/sucesses.

Not everyone is big enough or specialized enough to buy from OE suppliers or wholesale distributors like WorldPac. So that is not a viable solution. As for Oe parts lasting 80,000 miles or more, tell that to the old lady with the Chrysler 300M with 33,000 miles on it and the tie rod ends that I wouldn't drive out of my parting lot with. Both sides, and her car was out of warranty by time. Or the fellow who's PT Loser had loose ball joints just over 40K, his other PT Loser had a bad wheel bearing just under 50K. Or the lady with the Hyundai and with a bad ball joint (left side, not even the curbside)that was bad in 30K. You know you can find all sorts of reasons and all kinds of examples, but OE parts, and it doesn't matter what manufaturer all have problems of one kind or another. Otherwise we wouldn't have successful specialty shops servicing only Toyota/Lexus or Honda/Acura cars. And not all of us are in areas where we can specialize only in one make or manufacturer, we have to expand. Some shops even have to work lawn tractors, boats and jet skis to have enough work. To buy from OE supplies or large wholesalers they just aren't big enough.

I charge a "Shop supplies" charge. I did, then I didn't and now I do again. I used to avoid the topic but now I just tell the customer, here is what is needed on the job, parts, labor, shop supplies and sales tax for a total of... I never have had a complaint regarding shop supplies. And one thing I found out, shop supplies are parts. So if your state is like Michigan and only parts are taxed, not labor, you better be charging tax on the shop supply total. i can see both sides of the coin, if someone is pricing it doesn't matter if you charge $XX for the parts, $YY for the labor and $xy for shop supplies, or if you are charging $XX.y for parts and $YY.x for labor, the total is still $XXYY.xy. Likewise it won't matter if the guy down the street doesn't charge shop supplies and his total quote is $XXYY.y he'll be cheaper than you. I think it is a matter of it makes up feel better to see that charge to pay for half a can of brake cleaner, a couple shots of penetrating oil, some chassis grease and maybe a nut botl and washer. When all the customer sees is my canuter valve replacement cost me 456 scheckles and 75 foibles. If they are scrutinizing the bill, nothing you can do is likely to make them happy, even discounting it, you are always going to be ripping them off. . Now on the topic of the hazardous waste disposal, in Michigan, last I knew, a shop could not charge more than their actual costs for hazardous waste disposal, within reason of course. If a reasonable estimation had you charging $$ on every job that had haz waste and you collected $$$$$$$ but only spent $$$$$$0 you were close enough but had to reevaluate for next year. But if you collected $$$$$ but only spent $$$$ then you should have reevaluated mid-way through the year and you would be in violation. Good luck with that one.

I agree. If I feel there is a viable option I will always present it to the customer and let them make the decision. It gains far more trust I find to not dictate but to educate. Such as with brake pads, we can go with compressed cigarette ash like the $99.95 brake place, but you're going to have shorter life, more noise, more dust and lower braking power, or we can go with a premium pad, restore the factory performance and all that other stuff. When faced with options and reasons why the cheaper option is cheaper, not better or of greater value, the customer has to decide how their ability to pay and the value of their life plays into the decision. . With that said I absolutely hate the good/better/best scenario because if you use economy or inferior grade parts, it doesn't matter if you explain to the customer the short life-expectancy and poor performance they won't remember the discussion 6 months from now when the part fails. You can put in on the work order, video-tape the discussion, have the customer sign the disclaimer and promise you that they are actually selling the car (haven't we all heard that story before?) you just know you're going to see that car 19 months from now, the 12 month warranted part has failed and the customer is complaining, "But you JUST fixed it!" Yeah, well you were selling it too!

Joe, I conditionally agree with your positions on fluid flushing. But inmy opinion if you are pushing the flushing using BG's schedule then YES you are flushing the customer's wallets. I don't have their maintenance interval in front of me but when I told my rep to take his info and get it out of my shop they wanted extended life coolant flushed every 30K miles. They wanted power steering fluid and transmission fluid (including Merc V and Dex VI) flushed every 24-30K without a filter change. Fuel system flushing every 15 K with a can of 44K every 1000 miles or more. Not all of this was in their schedule but was according to my rep. And then you had to start the car on the "maintenance" plan before it's first major manufacturer's mileage interval. You are correct that even a '70's era car isn't the same as an '03 or '07 car. The fluids are much higher refined, better quality and it shows in the life expectancy of the systems those fluids protect. And with the computer controls those fluids can last much longer as well. But I think the problem is in the judgment call. As I explained above, if you are following the flush chemical provider's recommendations you are performing the services way too often. And if taken to the extreme, like a new/used car dealership across town from me, their quick-lube employees' jobs rely on how many unnecessary flushes they can sell. A friend's wife had a Kia Sorento, and this dealership is also the Kia dealer. She rolled through several times between 30-40K and each time she was told her transfer case fluid needed to be changed and her coolant had to be flushed. Her owners manual didn't call for either fluid to be serviced until at least 100k. She kept declining. Well she had a recall and took it into the Kia service department. And guess what they sold her? Yep, t-case, front and rear diff fluids and a coolant flush, all at just over 40K. And just as a sie note, I used to work for an independent garage that did all of the local FedEx truck's maintenance and services. The step delivery vans, the Econoline type vans and the pick-up trucks. They never did transmission fluid & filter changes. I was told they did a nationwide study and found the trucks with no services lasted about as long as the trucks with regular services. I don't know. I didn't see the reports but my boss was probably the most honest guy I have ever met so I believe him completely.

Thank you, I agree 100%. But just today I have read two other threads ranting about government intrusion. Well we as an industry want to whine and cry about how we are not respected, but we don't respect ourselves enough to impose regulations upon ourselves, and we don't want "nanny government" involved. Well guess what, we can't have it both ways. It is not working. Yeah ASE is a great idea, but until we allow ourselves to be "regulated" ASE is only a piece of paper. Maybe it's because I live and own my shop in Michigan and Michigan is one of only a couple states that requires licensing of mechanics I have a different viewpoint. And even at that repair shops whine and cry about taxes and facility licensing fees that could go to investigating and cracking down on "Craigslisters" operating under the radar. We, a collective "we", won't pay to support the government services we want to complain about others not adhering to. Well if we won't police ourselves and demand accountability within our industry, then it falls to government to protect the consumer from the very same crooks we complain about. We have met the enemy, and it is us. As for the ASE certifications, I refuse to renew mine until they stop treating test takers as criminals. Near strip searches before you can enter the testing room. BS is the only way to explain it. Perhaps if I heard more interest from the motoring public regarding ASE certification it would be more incentive to subject myself to ASE's abuses but I don't need it. i cna go to the Secretary of State's office and take my state licensing recert test just fine and simply have a proctor watch me to make sure I don't use my cellphone. I don't need ultra-level security clearance to see the "Technician A says" questions. Sadly until we are willing to agree to live up to the higher standards we want all shops to meet, and we are willing to be held accountable to those standards, and we are willing to pay for enforcement of those standards, there will always be distrust, abuse and crooks in our midst.

Sorry to see you have such a low opinion of the very government that makes your business possible. Sorry too to see that you are nearly as clueless as you claim the government to be. You are wrong on so many fronts but your bigotry and "independent streak" prevents you from seeing how many of the points you complain about came about due to abuses foisted upon innocent, independent and honest citizens. But just for a few, If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for entering and remaining in the country illegally you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots. You have to get caught before you can be arrested or ticketed for hunting or fishing without a license. If you are here illegally and get caught you likely will get tossed from this country. The common thread between the two? You have to get caught. And I know in your blind hatred of that "uppity black man in the WHITE House" you won't acknowledge this, but two facts come to mind on the illegal immigration issue: 1)this administration has deported more illegal immigrants in its first 4 years than baby bush did in 8. 2) If the "nasty, oppressive" government cracked down on employers hiring illegal immigrants then there would be little demand and the supply would dry up. But that would require intrusive burdensome regulations and cost businesses more money (in higher wages for documented workers). If you MUST show your identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor, or check out a library book and rent a video, but not to vote for who runs the government you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots. I don't have to fly on an airplane. I don't have to show my driver license to cash a check, I simply have to supply my account number. But a bank account is also not absolutely nevcessary. By my age I don't ever have to show my ID. If I have to present it, they always scan it anyway, and on top of that, it is not my civic duty to drink beer. My library uses my driver license as my library card, but my 11 year old son has a library card and can check out a book anytime he wants. Do you think he has an ID or a driver licence? My video store asks for my phone number and my password, no license, no ID. If you were honest you would admit that the only reason why the voter ID laws are being pushed is for voter suppression. Pennsylvani admitted there was no reason for them to be pushing their ID law, they admitted there was not problem the law was intending to fix. The Republican Lawyer's Association did a study of voter fraud cases and found 400 nationwide over a 10 year period. That is less than one per year per state. And that was the republicans' own organization that could not find evidence to support the party's whims and whines. "But a fraudulent vote dilutes the legitimate votes" they say while ignoring the very fact that the voter suppression dilutes the legitimate vote far more. Thousands upon thousands being denied the right to vote because they don't have the necessary paperwork, and no a state issued driver license is not always accepted as proper ID in order to stop less than one fraudulent vote per year per state. Shameful, just shameful. Yep, if the republicans get control of the country again you will be right, it will be run by idiots. Dishonest, crooked, self-interested idiots. And like HarrytheCarGeek wrote, "Follow the Money if you can." Both parties are guilty. Both parties are beholden to the big donors. And the republican (IN)Justices on the Supreme Circus guaranteed us a contiuance of that by granting corporations and wealthy citizens (and non-citizens too thought 501 ©(4) anonymous groups) more equal speech. Sadly that level of speech isn't "free" so not everyone has the same abilty to speak. Both parties pander to their donors, and don't think those "anonymous' donors" are really anonymous to the candidates) it's just one throws a bone to The People once in awhile. The other bones The People every chance it gets in favor of the rich and powerful, of which I would suppose you are not. One of the 1% perhaps, but I don't imagine you are part of the the party privileged. And I think you have been around too long to be one of their pay-per-trolls.

Sorry to read you are a bigot who is clueless of what a true Soshuliztic State is.

Knowing how the catalytic converter works and how the catalyst monitor works, why would any shop install a catalytic converter noticeably smaller than the original? That seems like an invitation for problems. I don't replace many converters and when I do I use NAPA converters which are Walker. I have only had one cat code after a replacement but I was never allowed to diagnose it. It was a Toyota Sienna van and the original had fallen out of the pipe due to the studs rotting off so I don't know if the oxygen sensor was faulty or the new converter was at fault. All other replacements were successful after the first direct fit replacement converter. As for government intrusion, like with anything else, if it is done properly and with reason it can be of benefit. If it is a knee-jerk reaction then unintended consequences are too be expected.

I wish Michigan had safety inspections. It amazes me what people will consider, "Do I really have to fix that?" Or, "Can't you just gerry-rig it up?" I agree a great many would be pulled off the road. When I asked my ASA rep about it he said they had pushed the legislation many times but it kept getting turned down because, "It would hurt the poor." Funny how on this topic the politicians care about the poor, but in most other cases all they care about are the rich who will help buy their elections. But I digress. In a potentially arrogant and condescending tone, if this inspetion will hurt the poor because they don't care enough about their own lives to make sure their car is safe, do you think they care about your family's lives? Or insurance? When they plow into you because their tie rod separated or their brakes failed or they couldn't see because their wipers didn't work, who is going to compensate you for your loss? And I'm not just talking about with money either. But I guess it's sort of like the local journalist who wrote an op-ed about texting while driving. He admitted he did it, he checked email and surfed the web frequently, until his daughter was rear ended and driven into on-coming traffic by s guy who admitted he was texting. Thank God his daughter was okay. But it took the issue hitting home to his family before he saw the value in doing what was right, but sadly not just because it was right.

Exactly my thought. And besides that, EVERY used tire is someone else's reject. The key question is why? I don't sell tires but I strongly discourage my customers from seeking rejects.

I know the OP listed mobile guys but I think the reference was to people who work "under the table" but are mobile, not professional, licensed mobile operations. Do you show up to a mobile call in your personal car hauling your tools in a hand carry tool box (or cardboard box)? Or do you have a professional setup and show up in a marked vehicle? The difference here is you are a legitimate competitor. The only difference between you and a brick-and-mortar repair shop as you describe it is you go to the customer. That is your competitive advantage. Nothing to be ashamed of or be derided for. But I see your point, sometimes that differentiation is not made by the brick-and-mortar shops.

Probably the first thing I learned as an ESO is not as prophetic as Joe and certainly not very fun, but here goes, If it is not in writing, it was NEVER said. Sad but if you want to rely on someone's word next month, 3 months or five years from now, get it in writing. Not flashy,not fun, but anytime I fail to live by this advice I come to regret it. Nothing serious (yet) but regret it still.

I may be wrong but I think S3000 is the online version of AllData. Due to internet service provider speeds and connection qualities I am still with DVD. AllData changed the name of ServiceCenter to Manage and at least in AllData DVD format ServiceCenter/Manage is available in two versions, Basic and Elite. I was told Mitchell Manager was far superior to Manage for available information and Customization so that is why I looked into it. But in order to use it on two machines (my office and my toolbox) even though I am a one man shop they wanted to charge me a ridiculous additional charge because they have multiple tiers of installations, 1 machine only, few machines, and many machines. I don't remember the exact numbers but 2 installations was as expensive as 5. To the contrary, with AllData the second installation only costs me $10.00/month for the extra key. Too many negatives for me to swallow to use Mitchell.

I was told it was supposed to powered by Google, but from my experience, I doubt it. I really wanted to like it but I couldn't handicap my business with not having information available. As a qualifier to that, I always research torque specs and tighten all fasteners to them so repair information is important to my repair technique.

Living and working in Michigan I see alot of rusted and seized bolts. I can't imagine how it must be in other parts of the country. I have a torch but I find my favorite is my electro-magnetic induction heater, the MiniDuctor. It's kind of pricey but works wonders. The only complaint I have is the life span of the elements due to the insulating sheath burning through on hot fasteners. It's a great tool, but you may have a better idea. The biggest advantage is no flame to damage nearby parts and it's safe, within reason, to use near the fuel tank for those stuck strap bolts. Or I recently had to heat an exhaust manifold to get broken studs out and the brake line, shift cable and other vulnerable parts were nearby. I had to use the torch so I had to shield the parts with a wet shop towel and hope for the best.

I have AllData and contrary to the Mitchell lovers I find it fairly complete. I tried Mitchell1 for their trial period and told them forget it. Of the first three cars (actually the only three I tried) I looked up, one had info but it was less than 1/3 of what was in AllData, the next only had about half of the info and was VERY difficult to find and the third, a 1988 Ford Ranger 2.9L had zero info for tune-up specs. Zero, nothing, nada, and I spent over 35 minutes looking and trying various search terms. If AllData does not have the info you're looking for you can fax a data request and they will research it and send you the info. With Manage Elite for shop management/invoicing it costs me about $235 a month. I also have Real Time Labor Guide (you can get a free trial version to check it out) and I am a Napa AutoCare Center so I can use ProLink, Too bad AllData doesn't interface with ProLink and based on the extremely poor performance of Mitchell1 I won't use it. I find AllData and Mitchell times to be very similar most of the time but sometimes there is a significant difference and it goes both ways. Real Time Labor Guide is almost always higher so I would be careful using it as my sole labor guide.

I agree that both will be sorry for the repair. Unfortunately you are also correct that you can't fix stupid and the consumer will submit to his/her stupidity again and seek out the cheapest price without regard for quality or integrity. They will not learn from their mistake. Sadly we can't fix that. All we can do is keep our heads up and serve those who allow us to.

I avoid the bargain basement parts stores because I can't trust what's in the box. I refuse to ever use anything from AAP regardless if it's the same brand as the part store across the street but AAP has it and the other store doesn't. Here's why I will NEVER buy anything from AAP. 1) When I first started out I fell into their "Lifetime Warranty" trap. Put an alternator on a Trailblazer. 28 days later it comes back on the hook for a dead battery. Charged the battery and it tested good. The alternator was junk. I called up and they were happy to send me another alternator. But all they were willing to pay me for labor, after a month of arguing with them was $12.50 (1/2 hour @ their approved $25.00/hour). And they refused to pay the tow bill. 2) Same year I had a gal's v-6 Mustang in for four wheel brakes. Pads, rotors and calipers. I used AAP because they were the only store in town with all the parts in stock. The next month she comes back with a horrible squeal. I spent an hour for the test drive, inspection and trying "Disc Brake Quiet" at the request of the store manager. Finally they relented and sent me a new set of brake pads and a new rotor (the noise was caused by a metallic chunk that wore a groove into the rotor, in less than 1000 miles). All I go out of that was $25.00. The following spring the gal brings it back to me because her pedal went to the floor and the next time she hit the pedal it was hard but the brakes were grinding. The inspection revealed that the Right inboard rear brake pad had delaminated and the backing plate was against the rotor. I called the store and was told, "Sorry no warranty. There must be something wrong in the brake system." The rest of the pads, all the way around were at a minimum of 80%. Just one had delaminated, on new calipers with brackets and new rotors. I asked the idiot what he proposed was wrong and all he could say was "No warranty. There has to be something wrong with the rest of the brake system." That was the last time I ever bought anything from AAP. By the way, I ate the cost of real quality brake pads to replace the APP trash so she would be happy. As for your questions, I was never impressed with the wearever brake pads when I knew that was what was on the car. Noisy, poor feel and moderate performance. I use NAPA Adaptive One brake pads on my own stuff and love them. But they are prohibitively expensive in most cases. For my customers I try to use Wagner ThermoQuiet. In over 10 years of use I have had 3 noise complaints, and only one performance issue. Otherwise they perform well, have reasonable life, low dust, low noise and are reasonably priced. When I put brakes on a customer's vehicle I know that vehicle is on the road with my family. Your family may not be valuable enough to you to use top quality brake parts, but my family is too valuable to me to use cheap stuff on your car. Sure the garbage at the DIY stores probably performs well enough 80% of the time, but what about when that 4 year old rides his tricycle out in front of you unexpectedly and FEET matter. Do you want good enough, or do you want the best? The need for premium performance from your brakes may only come once in awhile, but when the difference between stopping in time with your heart pounding and a trip to the hospital is mere feet, I want the best. You can't always control how fast and hard you have to stop, so brakes and tires matter far more than people want to acknowledge. Because if they did, they couldn't by the cheapest thing available. Your car wont' hurt anyone if it doesn't go, but it sure will if it won't WHOA! rant over