After taking our car in for front end wheel alignment, the car all of a sudden had a knocking noise under the driver's side front end.
We returned to the place and they proceeded to tell us that the tie rod ends, shocks, and struts were all bad and needed to be replaced at a mere 1000 dollars or so. We left and were referred to another mechanic by a friend.
This mechanic checked the car over and reported to us, that there was nothing wrong with the struts, and that the knocking was from a loose nut on the tie rod end. According to the second mechanic, some places will deliberately leave the driver's side tie rod nut loose so that it knocks right under your feet and so that it seems like a dire emergency that needs immediate attention.
He stated that this was an old mechanic's trick to get more cash out of you. He simply tightened the nut and sent us on our way. We have never had a problem since.
We live in a college town where the kids spend mommy and daddy's money very foolishly and it is easy to take advantage of the students here. Since it was my young wife that brought the car in, perhaps they thought she was a student. I wonder how many students here actually know how often they are being ripped off by this repair shop?
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