My mechanic and Kelley Blue Book agree, my car is worth about $1600. We have known for some time that something big was breaking on my 95 Ford Probe. We had avoided doing anything for mainly monetary reasons. More recently, the brakes had become very soft and the car had developed a disturbing shimmy at speeds in excess of 60 MPH. As Jon has mentioned before, our roads here are either parking lots or grand prix racetracks, sometimes both. Bad brakes and the sensation that your car is about to become one of those break-away models do not a good combination make.
My car after 15 minutes of driving south on route 28.
Sunday night found us dropping my poor car off at our favorite mechanic. We waited nervously for the dreaded phonecall on Monday. They treat us right at this shop, but I knew things were not going to be good. Stacy answered the phone, responded with a couple of uh-huhs and yeahs, then said, "Do it." Ugh. It was another four days before the car was done. All told? Take a look for yourself:
| Item | Quantity | Description | Unit Price | Amount |
| Tire | 2 | Kumho 2055515 | $89.41 | $178.82 |
| Mount | 2 | Mount and balance tire | $15.00 | $30.00 |
| Tire Disposal | 2 | This is what it costs us to get rid of your tire. | $3.00 | $6.00 |
| labor/fronts | 1 | Front Brake Service Labor | $136.00 | $136.00 |
| Front pads | 1 | Premium front brake pads | $68.78 | $68.78 |
| Front Rotor | 2 | Front brake rotor | $67.51 | $135.02 |
| Hourly Labor | 4 | Renew driver's side lowere control arm. Replace both drive axles. Replace driver's side sway bar link. | $78.00 | $312.00 |
| Lower control arm | 1 | Lower control arm | $141.32 | $141.32 |
| Drive axle | 2 | Drive axle | $110.61 | $221.22 |
| Axle seal | 1 | Axle shaft seal | $9.85 | $9.85 |
| Transmission fluid | 1 | Transmission fluid | $6.00 | $6.00 |
| Sway bar link | 1 | Sway bar link | $43.03 | $43.03 |
| VA Safety | 1 | Sublet Inspection | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Hourly Labor | 1 | Renew passenger side wheel bearing and hub | $78.00 | $78.00 |
| Hub | 1 | Hub | $153.30 | $153.30 |
| Wheel bearing | 1 | Wheel bearing | $80.62 | $80.62 |
Subtotal | $1,619.96 |
| Tax | $51.90 |
| Total Amount | $1,671.86 |
I knew a couple of my tires were bad. I was hoping they were cupping and that was causing the shimmy. I was wrong. Yes, that was two drive axels! Oh, and let's not forget the brake rotors and shiny new hub! For comparison:
1995 Ford Probe Hatchback 2D
BLUE BOOK PRIVATE PARTY VALUE
Condition
Good: $1,595
Hey, it's paid for. So, in the immortal words of Jim Carrey, "So l'm gonna piss and moanlike an impotent jerk and then bend over and take it up the tailpipe!"
To which my happy mechanic said, "You been here before,haven't ya?"
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