Tuesday, January 18, 2011

So much for saving money this month.

Since we have had several months of spending like we had money. Well, we did have it...I just didn't want to spend it. I think that makes me a Scrooge, but I don't care. I overcame myself and did spend it.

So, this monthy, I wanted us to be on a money diet and only spend what was necessary. There was no real plan, just not to spend like crazy.

Well, Hubby went camping 2 weekends. Admittedly, he spent "his" money. Money earned from selling on ebay. Really, all our money is "our" money, but he opened an account to do ebay and it is for him to play with with my blessing.

For a couple of month's Hubby's brakes have been squeaking. Not squealing, not terribly loud. But it bothers me. It doesn't bother him...he just turns up the radio. But I hate it, since it makes us sound like people that cannot maintain their cars. Or worse, people that don't care if they maintain their cares. So, we made an appointment and took it in this morning.

We go to Brake Check. We LOVE our Brake Check. They take great care of our vehicles and their prices are very reasonable in our area. We had a major brake overhaul a couple of years ago, I think. It was all "lifetime warrantied", so I knew it would not cost us a fortune this time.

We took it in and left it and I got a call a couple of hours later with the verdict. $438. Ugh! But for that amount, we are getting:
1 new rear drum (apparently Hubby went through a pothole or something and it dented the drum.)
1 rear drum resurfaced
2 front brakes resurfaced
1 brake flush
1 serpentine belt
4 spark plugs (mighty pricey ones at that, but we HAVE replaced them before and they are pricey)
Spark plug wires.

The brake part isn't that bad, but since the car has almost 97,000 miles on it, they recommended new spark plugs and wires. We have never replaced the wires, so it was time. We also needed a new drive belt since the current one is cracked. Since we had bought one for a different car several years ago I knew that they were not cheap, but it is only costing $57. Hmm....maybe the other one was not cheap because it was done somewhere else. There is also labor on the warranty work. But at least we don't have to pay for parts. I was really not too upset at the cost. We have had nothing, except oil changes, done to this car for the last year and a half, so I won't complain at all.

But I can whine a little that my money diet was sidetracked this month. I guess we will have to try harder the rest of the month and let it carry over to next month.

10 comments:

Sonya Ann said...

"Since we have had several months of spending like we had money."-Tis the season! I keep saying that we are cutting back but then we get hit with something.
That is an amazing deal!!! Really, for all that I would bring my car there and Den is a car guy. You aren't paying much in labor. Den did a complete tune up for the Kia and it was over a $100(maybe a bit more) just for the parts!

Frances said...

Hi, SonyaAnn! Our Brake Check really are the cheapest around as far as labor goes. Their charge is $65/hour. The norm in the area is $85/hour. (I have checked.)

Plus, they are so willing to give discounts. You get a discount for scheduling an appointment on line and I have even gotten additional discounts just for asking.

After I wrote this post, they called that our power steering belt was dry rotted and would need to be replaced soon. I asked how much THAT was. Yes, emphasized like that. He said $14.xx. I asked, "Can't you just give it to me?" He said "I'll work something out."

When I went to pick it up, my total bill was $423.00. How cool is THAT? We got an extra belt and it ended up being cheaper than the estimate. WooHoo!

Oh, and the car drives like it is brand new again.

Unknown said...

We are about to need some work done on both of our cars. Not looking forward to it. Never seem to be able to save up the money to pay to maintain cars.
Blessings
Diane

Frances said...

Hi, Diane. Sorry you will have to have work on both cars. I know I whine about spending money, but we had the money to repair the car and always really have the money we need for most anything we want to buy. I just really, really hate to spend it. LOL!

McVal said...

Wow! What a deal! I've never heard of Brake Check before. I'll have to see if they have one in Iowa.

Frances said...

Hi, McVal. I really love Brake Check. Ours does great work and the rates are great. You can go to BrakeCheck.com and put in your zipcode to locate the nearest one.

I might go online and look for reviews for one I had never been to before. But that is just me.

Sonya Ann said...

That is awesome! Who does that in this day and age? They should get an award. It's a shame what some of the places do. Den can fix almost anything but there have been some times when he has to bring it in and we were robbed. He was so pissed! Think back to the Ford!

Frances said...

Hi, SonyaAnn. I really, really love our Brake Check. I cannot sing their praises enough.

American Dreamer said...

I think you got an awesome deal on your car repairs. Safety is always worth the money but it is nice when you can get a good deal doing it.

Frances said...

Thanks for coming to see me, Precious. We were pleased with the repair cost and the car drives like a dream!