‘He brought it in for…’
An old Chevy Suburban headed for a long summer road trip nearly became a roadside breakdown waiting to happen. Instead, a Minnesota mechanic’s inspection uncovered a chain of suspension and steering problems and likely saved the owner lots of money and grief before they ever left town.
The repair shop hero of the clip is Jake Miller, owner of Life Rides in Wyoming, Minnesota, who takes us through the job that started as a look at some squeaky brakes on the 2007 Suburban. Once Miller started inspecting the SUV, he discovered worn suspension and steering components, a damaged CV axle, and several other issues that needed attention before the vehicle would be truly road-trip ready.
“He’s taking a trip. He wants me to check out the tires, check the brakes, the suspension, everything. Make sure it’s safe before she hits the road,” he explained in the clip that’s been viewed more than 10,000 times.
Miller detailed in the video that the Suburban needed both upper control arms replaced, a driver’s-side CV axle, an outer tie rod, and even a seized control arm bolt that had to be dealt with during the repair process. The owner had originally only brought the SUV in because of grinding rear brakes before a planned trip to Montana.
“He brought it in just for brakes because he was hearing some grinding,” Miller told Motor1 in a follow-up interview. “He’s like, ‘I just wanna make sure it’s gonna make it there and back.’”
The sizable repair list wasn’t what grabbed viewers’ attention most. Instead, many commenters focused on Miller’s explanation of how he handled the labor charges once he realized several of the repairs overlapped.
“With the outer tie rod, I’m just gonna throw it on there. I’m not gonna charge you any labor because I’m already gonna have the wheels off,” Miller explained in the clip. “I’m already gonna have the control arm out. I’m already replacing the axle on there too.”
Rather than billing the customer separately for every overlapping repair operation, Miller said he bundled the work together because much of the suspension was already disassembled.
“It doesn’t make sense to me to charge you full labor for all three things individually when I’m already into the truck that far,” he said.
That part of the clip sparked a wave of reactions from viewers who were surprised to learn how labor pricing often works at repair shops.
“Hang on, they charge labor per job? Not for the total time that it actually took?” one commenter asked.
“Unfortunately they do, I see it all the time and it is so frustrating!!” Miller replied.
In his interview with Motor1, Miller said the Suburban owner’s final bill came out to roughly $1,700 total, including the suspension repairs, alignment, replacement key fobs, rear brake work, mud flaps, and a repair to the rear glass button.
“I’m a fair guy,” Miller said. “I’d rather have people have me be an honest, upfront guy.”
For Miller, the Suburban repair served as a reminder for potential customers that many drivers underestimate how much stress long summer trips can put on aging vehicles, especially ones that spend most of the year handling shorter local drives.
He recommends having vehicles inspected at least yearly, and especially before major road trips, with shops checking suspension components, steering systems, tires, brakes, and fluid leaks before drivers put hundreds or thousands of highway miles on the vehicle. Industry groups like AAA and the Car Care Council similarly recommend pre-trip inspections to help drivers avoid breakdowns and expensive emergency repairs far from home.
“If you’re out 1,000 miles from where you’re trying to go and [get] stranded, you’ve gotta find a shop somewhere in the middle of nowhere,” Miller said. “And it’s gonna cost you way more in the long run.”
He said not every inspection turns into a major repair bill. In another recent case, a neighbor brought him a truck that had developed a vibration at highway speeds before a planned trip. After checking the vehicle over, Miller determined the issue was simply worn tires while the rest of the truck checked out fine.
The Suburban clip resonated with viewers less because of the repairs themselves and more because viewers saw the transparency that many feel is increasingly rare in the repair business.
“This is an honest mechanic and that’s all we want as customers,” one viewer commented.
Others said they wished Miller’s shop was closer to where they lived, with one commenter writing, “I wish you were in Ohio I could use your service.”
“I’m just being transparent with people, and that seems to be a rarity these days,” Miller told Motor1.
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– The Motor1.com Team