I got my car serviced recently, and right after leaving, a warning light came on. I went back, and the mechanic said the fuel filter was completely clogged. He fixed it without charging extra, which I guess makes sense since it should have been part of the service anyway. Then, before I left, he mentioned my brakes were in bad shape and the calipers needed work.
This whole thing has me wondering… shouldn’t the clogged filter have been caught during the service? And why didn’t they check my brakes earlier? If I hadn’t gone back for the filter issue, I wouldn’t have even known about the brakes. I’ve booked the brake repair with the same garage but now I’m not sure if I should go back. Should I look for a different mechanic? Appreciate any advice.
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Ali said:
Fuel filters aren’t always something you can spot as clogged by just looking. Most mechanics only catch it if there’s already a problem.
What exactly was the issue with the brakes? Was the pedal soft, or was it vibrating? Jumping straight to saying the calipers need work is unusual unless there’s more to it.
@Ali
Also, most of us don’t test drive a car after something simple like an oil change. If they noticed the brake issue while test driving after fixing the fuel filter, that’s different, but this sounds odd. You might want to consider switching mechanics—I’d probably let you know and move on without much hassle in this situation.
@Ali
Why not test drive? I always take cars for a quick drive after working on them, even for small fixes like a window switch. It helps protect me if a customer comes back later claiming something unrelated is wrong, like saying ‘ever since you worked on my window, my check engine light came on.’