R e z i n

Within the last month, I had two different TPMS sensors go out on my work truck. The cost and reality of getting this addressed at two different vendors was night and day different. I’m sharing this information so that somebody else can avoid losing time and money to being ripped off by a corporate scam.

Most of my company’s vehicles are on leases and are covered by a corporate maintenance plan. We will typically take them to the local Midas for just about anything. It happens that my truck is actually owned by the company so I have to do individual expenses for services. I took the truck to Midas for a wheel sensor and oil change. I was incredulous when the bill was almost $300. When I looked over the bill, I noticed that they charged $69.99 for the sensor and an hour of labor at $130 to put it in. That seemed pretty crazy to me. I also had to leave the truck there for the entire day. When I needed another one, I decided to try another option.

When it came time for the next sensor, I contacted the local Discount Tire that I had had a good experience with when I did the tires on my van. Although they wouldn’t install the tires that I had wanted according to the person on the phone, I talked to the shop manager and he told me that it wouldn’t have been a problem and that would’ve been absolutely fine for him. He explained that a lot of times the call center people are not very well informed and are just instructed to upsell. He actually told me the tires that I got are exactly what he would recommend for my van. My wheel sensor was replaced in about 15 to 20 minutes while I stood there. The total bill was $49. My company saved $140 by me taking the truck to a different vendor.

It’s very important to shop around for your vehicle services. It really is the Wild West out there, and certain companies revolve their business model of around taking advantage of corporate contracts. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t know any better and every time I’ve ever been inside of Midas, I’ve seen people that are just regular folks trying to get basic services done that they are paying too much for. In some cases, there aren’t other local options that are trustworthy and that may be the only outfit around. In another scenario, I knew of a Firestone that had the best mechanics in the area and it was worth paying whatever they charged you because the job was gonna get done right.

The most important point is being an informed consumer. You can’t know that you’re being taken advantage of if you don’t have an idea of what things are supposed to cost. It’s very easy to look up the basic cost of things to at least get an idea if a place is trying to rip you off or not before you get there. For something as basic as a wheel sensor, they should be able to easily give you a price over the phone. I hope this information helps somebody not get taken advantage of. For more tips and tricks check out https://rezin.party and learn how to earn free money and save what you have!