The mechanic called me at home after getting my van up on the rack. He informed me that the job was going to be more expensive than he thought. I am thinking, Oh No! Apparently the brake pads were completely wore off. I asked him how that could be possible since they were the ones who replaced them last year. He told me how rusted the metal was that held the pad material on. He also, informed me about a bad idler arm. He told me $317.00 to fix it all. I was upset to say the least having to replace not only brake pads, but also calipers and both router plates and now an idler arm.

My van’s steering has seemed fine to me with the only exception of when I had pressed on the brake it did pull very slightly to the right.

Not being able to do this kind of job on my van and the snowy conditions and no place to perform the work, I told the mechanic to go ahead and do the work. When he was done, he called me and told me what the final cost was with the tax. The bill is now up to $338.72 with $22.16 of it being state sales tax and $15 shop fee to dispose of the parts per State regulation. It sure is expensive to get a vehicle repaired when you can’t do it yourself. He did show me all the parts that were removed from my van. The salt that is put on the roads in the winter months sure do bad things to a vehicle.

Being disabled and at the mercy of a mechanic is hard for me financially, but is a necessity. I was able to go pick up my daughter’s boyfriend from work tonight, because he has been experiencing seizures again and is not allowed to drive. It is snowing again and the roads are slick, I am so glad my brakes are fixed plus the new idler arm.