$332.74 for front brakes. I don't see any vaseline on the invoice but it may be best, they probably would have charged you a grand for that.

I'm glad it is fixed but I think you got boned.

Oh I'm sure of it.....
The Local shop(of ONE that i would even come close to trusting) was $250..
with that close of a price i figured the dealer was the better move. I dont know what resurfacing and pads would cost elsewhere in the country but i am curious as to what someone else would pay.. I did ask if it made any diff because i did the upgrade they said no.. So yeah.. I could've done better..
I mean i did do SOME pricing before i was bent over... and yeah it still hurts.. but either get screwed by the local guy or get more of a reaming from the dealer.. some indie shops are getting close to dealer prices..

Well, don't feel bad. I got reamed at my local dealer when their labor rate was still $150/hour. They raped me charging $1500 for a rear axle seal job and rear brake job. When I realized the mechanic botched the rear axle seal job and I had to return to the dealership and school the mechanic in front of his peers about how he had a poor mating of the axle seal with the inner retainer, I realized that day I'd probably be best doing most of my own work for now on.

I made the assumption that Toyota dealership mechanics would be the best guys for the job because they work on Toyotas all day. But, these guys work on a wide array of model Toyotas so who's to say any of these guys are experts on our 3rd Gens. No doubt there's dealership mechanics that could run circles around me in knowledge and experience wrenching on these rigs. But, by frequenting forums like this and doing a ton of wrenching on 3rd Gens over the last 3+ years, maybe I'm more knowledgeable than most of these guys at the dealerships.

This might not always hold true but it's my belief the best person to be working on your rig is yourself. You're going to do the research and you're going to take your time and make sure the job is done right. A lot of these mechanics work on a Flat Rate System. When a mechanic works fast and gets the job done under the booked time, they make more money. I don't know about you guys, but I Do Not rush through any job on my rig. When I work fast, there's a higher chance I'll make a mistake. Dealership and private shop mechanics make mistakes all the time and you're paying them big money for those mistakes. When I make a mistake, at least it didn't cost me thousands of dollars.

Anyway, my two cents on why it's better to do your own wrenching.

Holy cow...
That's a pretty good reason to do it yourself.. I can imagine the frustration you must have felt when you discovered that the job wasn't completed properly.

The Assumption that you made is the same one I've made since day one. Chevy? go to the Chevy guy... Japanese food? go to a Japanese place(yes some of us can tell). I like to see some gray hair in the work area too.. like when you get on a plane.. you want Sully in the left seat.. The time before last there was a old 3G enthusiast working on my truck.. I believe he's since retired... Now that i think of it.. i should seek him out.

I hope that this will be the next High Dollar repair.. I mean if there is another then so be it.. I hope this will buy me at least 2 years.