(Source: Facebook)
She thought she was just in for a routine fix, but when the bill landed, her jaw hit the floor. A Malaysian woman took to Facebook earlier this month to share that getting the anti-lock braking system repaired on her Perodua Axia cost her RM1,420, and she didn’t hold back, she lamented that it cost “more than her son’s school fees”.
If you peek at the receipt, the numbers are broken down like this: RM360 for a brake master pump, RM60 for brake fluid, and – wait for it – RM1,000 for a second-hand ABS pump, which came with a mere 2 week warranty. The workshop owner tried to soften the blow by pointing out that a brand-new ABS pump would set her back around RM1,600.
Once her post made the rounds online, netizens had a field day debating whether she was being fleeced or if this was just the regrettable reality of modern car repairs.
"I went to the brake shop to buy an ABS pump for RM100.”
“Didn’t you ask for the price before sending it for repair? Normally, if you don’t accept the price, the workshop wouldn’t just go ahead and fix it. It’s impossible for them to replace things without informing you first. They would only do it with your consent. If the price doesn’t seem right, you can compare with 3 other workshops. But if you’ve already accepted the price, got it repaired, and then posted on Facebook, what exactly are you trying to gain from that?
(I’m not in the car repair business)”
“It’s really expensive, you got ripped off. Just by looking at the brake oil, you can tell they overcharged you. Brake oil has a market rate."
“A used ABS pump for Axia at RM1,000 is okay. They made about RM200 profit plus RM100 for labor.
The part itself costs around RM700.
The original one is close to RM2000.
As for the brake master pump/DOT 4, they definitely overcharged you.
(I suggest you report it.)
For the ABS pump, I think the price is reasonable.”
At the end of the day, what made her story stand out was how lost she felt in dealing with a technical issue she barely understood. She openly admitted that she had little knowledge about ABS, which may have made her second-guess the cost. It raises an interesting question i.e. would the situation have played out differently if it had been a man who walked into the workshop? Perhaps mechanics might assume men know more about cars and explain the details differently, or maybe the bill would have stayed exactly the same.
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