In case I didn't already trust mechanics..

[mathnerd]

So, I'm driving home today and realize I have no front brakes. Joy. I nursed the car home, jacked it up and yanked off the tires to make sure all I needed was brake pads and that nothing else was wrong. All seemed good to go, so I grabbed my dad's truck and off I went to the parts store. New brakes in hand, I go to start changing them out. Everything seemed to be going well. Then it wasn't.

The last time I needed new brakes I was living in an apartment in North Dakota and lacked a space and the tools to do my own mechanical work. Until I moved there, I'd always bring my car over to my father's house and use his driveway and tools. I do own some tools, but not everything I needed to do the brakes, most specifically a decent jack and an impact wrench (though I could do without that, it just makes life easier). So, because of that, I had to take my car to a mechanic to have new brakes put on. As it turns out, the idiot cross threaded the lower caliper bolts, completely trashing them. If that weren't bad enough, the damn things are 11 bucks each, and nobody around here carries them. They must be ordered. Crap. And my car is up on jacks with both front tires off, and I can't do a damn thing about it until I can figure out how to get my hands on a set of bolts.

This is why I don't trust anybody but myself and my father with my car.

[It's me]

Yup, I know what you mean. There are a lot of good mechanics out there... but it only takes one to mess up your car.

Question: You can't clean up the threads on the bolt with a die? You'd need to run a tap through the caliper anyway. If it's just the sliders you'd safe doing that, at least a short-term solution, as they aren't under much load.

[mathnerd]

My father got the old bolts rigged and back in place for now. He still warned me not to "go farther than it would be inconvenient for me to rescue you", but I should be okay for bopping around town for a couple of days.

And the threads on the ends of the bolts were completely stripped off. We had to use a combination of prying tools and vice grips to get the damned things out. I'm not sure what he did, but he had the welder and some other interesting looking things out when he was messing with the bolts. My mechanical skills don't go that far. I'm pretty decent by most standards, especially for a woman, but I'm by no means an expert.

[MoonCat]

Did you complain to the mechanic? You should be reimbursed for that, it was their mistake!

[mathnerd]

Mechanic is in a different state. I've moved back to my home state, 1500 miles away since the brakes were last replaced.

[Golden Phoenix]

Have you tried your local wrecker yard? If you're lucky they'll have the right make/model or a compatible one hanging around that you can buy the bolts from, might even work out cheaper.

[mathnerd]

Actually dad and I were just discussing that. I am concerned about a few other things so when the weather clears we were going to head off to the junk yards. This is Miami so there are several of them. I drive a fairly popular car, so even though it's old, I should be able to find the parts I need.