this pisses me off !!!

[skm]

Here is another reason I think we need more regulations and certifications for being a Mechanic.. A lady comes into my shop with a broken brake line on the right front of her car, she states that a few months ago she had one replaced at another shop for a lot more money and it was in the back of the car. So I decided to take a look and she showed me the receipt. 240.00 labor and 88.00 for parts. I charged her about 150.00 to run a new line from the right front to the M/C .. I was shocked with what I found, they had replaced about 3 inches of brake line at the right rear wheel, they had also used and illegal compression union to join that line to a rusted piece of line , and the connection was still leaking take a look at the photos below.

[Jay Huh]

Yea when I first started and if it was something I didn't know or felt comfortable with, I told the customer and recommended a shop for them. I sent away a lot of customers......

[xrac]

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[rpllib]

I am not known for being kind when it comes to this kind of stuff. The first guys are crooks and it goes without saying, they belong in prison. Real honest to goodness prison.  If it was at my shop, i would call the BAR and in no uncertain terms demand immediate action and i would not let it go. If you have a bar, turn them in. If you let it out of your store without fixing, and/or left other brake lines on the vehicle that look just like the two that were leaking, I will turn You in, if there is such thing as a BAR in your state. 

Ladies and gentlemen, this insanity has to stop. Are we really replacing one rusty brake line at a time and putting these cars back on the same road my wife, children and grandchildren travel on. Are we really??? Really?? is that insane or what. Do we actually believe that the other brake lines are not at least worth a surge test in an attempt to verify their integrity, really?? Some one put one on a month ago, your putting one on today and we are going to continue this practice until someone gets killed or seriously injured. What a poor example we are setting.

Not to worry though, it appears three months home confinement is what you get for taking taking a life due to incompetence and negligence. What a poor reflection that decision was on the great state of Vermont. Imagine being the family of the individual killed by this mechanic. Maybe it would be different if it was your mother. This lady died as a result of a rusted brake line failure.

BARRE, Vt. -

A Vermont mechanic originally charged with manslaughter for a faulty motor vehicle inspection has pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Steven Jalbert of Barre was arrested last August in connection with a 2014 crash that killed Elizabeth Ibey, 82. Prosecutors say the accident resulted from rusted out brake lines, despite the fact the car had recently passed a state inspection, performed by Jalbert.

Last week, Jalbert accepted a plea deal for reckless endangerment and was sentenced to three months of home confinement.

The attorney general's office says this was the first criminal prosecution in Vermont arising from a faulty motor vehicle inspection.

 

We turn down at least one rusted and leaking brake line job a month because the customer believes they are better equipped to decide what needs to be replaced to insure safe brakes. Fix it right or don't fix it at all, period.

Surge tests are a recognized form of brake line integrity test approved by many states with mandatory inspections. (Vehicle idling, your biggest gorilla technician jumping down on the brake pedal as if YOUR child just ran out from between parked cars)

We can do better as an industry, I have no doubt

 

 

 

 

[alfredauto]

why don't the auto manufacturers step up and put better lines in at the factory? Uncoated steel lines last about 5 years here in NY. When one blows I recommend replacing all of them. It's not $100 it turns into $800-$1200 if we do it right. Most people want a temporary fix because there going to trade it in next week. Sure. Until they slam on hhr brakes for another deer and once again it's trade in time next week. We flunk cars for inspection with compression fittings on brake lines.