My mind is blown. My Gf's daughter and son in law had a problem with their F150 Saturday. They had it towed home, and I took a look at it out of the goodness of my heart. I got the lowdown of what happened and checked everything out. I figured it was the thermostat and water pump. I literally pointed out where the thermostat and water pump were. Then I left to spend some time with my family. They decided to take their truck to Pep Boys to have it worked on. When I found out, I cringed at the thought of what they paid. Sure enough, Pep Boys diagnosed it with a bad thermostat and water pump. They had it fixed, along with a "fluid inspection" and an oil change to the tune of $800. WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K!!! I priced out the total of parts, oil change, antifreeze, gaskets, latex gloves, and shop towels at $150.00. The water pump is a simple bolt-on to the front of the engine. In the end, it's not my money, not my problem, but damn...$650 in labor? Wow.
Related, yesterday, while sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Central Expressway, I noticed an older guy in a completely beat to $hit late '60's Dodge Dart. Puke Green, rust completely covering the hood, roof and trunk as well as eating through the rockers and wheel wells, missing hubcaps and every door, fender and bumper dented. Sign in the back window read, "No air conditioning, no cruise control, no payment since the Nixon Administration." Hard to argue.
