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An independent mechanic looks at your car, in your own driveway, and tells you whether that quote is the real job. The scope, expected time and written-findings delivery are agreed before the visit. Available windows show whether they are confirmed or still need acceptance. Mississauga, Oakville, Milton, Brampton and Etobicoke.
The reason people don't get a second opinion isn't that they trust the first one. It's that the second opinion normally means booking another shop, dropping the car off, losing another day, and then wondering whether that guy is straight with you either. This removes all of it: the car doesn't move, the price is published, and Fares is paid for the opinion and may also quote suitable repairs. You remain free to use another repairer.
$100–$250 for the second-opinion visit, with scope, any travel charge and the total agreed before attendance. No hourly meter, no HST line, no "we'll see when we get in there." And if it turns out to be a job Fares does in a driveway, that fee comes off the repair.
Prefer to talk it through? Call or text 647-450-0406.
Send the vehicle, location and estimate. The next screen may show available windows; weekday daytime windows marked as requests need Fares to accept. A submitted request does not confirm the diagnostic scope, price or attendance.
Fares reads the estimate, agrees a practical inspection scope and checks the evidence accessible at a suitable work location. Scan data depends on vehicle and tool support. Brake-lining measurements and joint checks depend on safe access; any wheel removal or dismantling needs prior agreement and suitable conditions. A road test requires permission, a roadworthy car and a safe legal route. Concealed or untested areas are recorded as limitations.
You receive written findings at the agreed delivery time: what the accessible evidence supports, what remains uncertain, and any further workshop or specialist checks needed before a conclusion. Findings get costed against the published GTA ranges, as planning context, not a measured diagnosis or a repair quote for your car.
A second opinion at a second shop requires you to drive there, leave the car, and come back. Most people quietly skip it and just authorise the first quote, which is exactly what a padded estimate counts on. Coming to the car deletes the whole obstacle. That isn't a marketing angle; it's the reason this exists in this form.
This is the part worth reading before you book, because a second opinion that can only ever say "you're being ripped off" is worthless. If Fares walked out of every visit finding a scandal, he'd be exactly the thing you're trying to avoid.
It happens, and it's a real outcome, not a wasted visit. You get it in writing, you go back and authorise the work, and you stop paying interest on the doubt. The findings explain what supports the proposed work and what remains uncertain before you decide.
An illustrative possibility: The rotors genuinely are done; the calipers on the same line are fine. The strut is leaking; the two extra "recommended" arms aren't moving. You go back and approve the part that's real, in writing, with measurements behind it.
The expensive one to miss. A noise blamed on a wheel bearing that's a worn sway-bar link. A misfire blamed on coils that's a plugged injector. Wrong diagnosis means you pay four figures and the car does the same thing next week.
He doesn't get told which answer you're hoping for, and it doesn't change what he writes. Sometimes the result is inconclusive: further testing or workshop access is needed. That limitation belongs in the written findings too.
Second opinions often end with real work, that's the normal outcome on a car old enough to be getting quoted four figures. If that work is one of the jobs Fares does in a driveway, and you book it with him, the second-opinion fee comes off the repair price. You pay for the opinion either way. You just don't pay for it twice, and you don't have to go find a third mechanic to do the follow-up.
The bounds, said plainly so nobody feels moved goalposts later: it comes off one repair, booked with Fares, on the same car he inspected. It isn't cash back, it isn't stackable across jobs, and it doesn't apply if you take the work elsewhere, which you're completely free to do, and plenty do.
These are the jobs it can roll into, at their published bands: brakes $300–$400 per axle on most cars · suspension $350–$1,500 · CV axles $350–$750 · battery, alternator and starter $180–$1,100 · cooling $250–$900 · oil leaks $250–$900 · tune-ups $250–$700 · serpentine belts $150–$650. Every one of those numbers comes from the same published rate card as the diagnostic band itself.
| Worked example, a real title pulled off a GTA forum this summer read "Dealership wants $3,500 for new brakes, rotors, pads and calipers. Does this seem right?" | Example |
| Shop quote you're holding | $3,500 |
| Independent second opinion, at your car | $100–$250 |
| If evidence supports the scope, consider the findings and any remaining limitations before authorising | answered |
| If it's a driveway job and he does it, the fee comes off | $0 net |
That's the whole commercial logic and there's nothing clever hidden in it. On a four-figure quote, paying a fraction of it to find out whether it's real is obvious arithmetic, and it's the same arithmetic whether the answer makes Fares money or not.
Fares does not take timing chains, timing belts, clutches, head gaskets or internal engine work. They need a hoist, a press and a full shop day, and doing them badly at the curb helps nobody. That list is published on the trust page so you can hold him to it.
Those are also the quotes most worth a second opinion, they're the biggest numbers and the easiest to get wrong. So on those he does exactly one thing, and says so before you pay: he assesses the evidence that can be checked within the agreed visit and identifies when concealed work or specialist testing is needed before confirming a diagnosis. He will not be quoting you for the repair itself, and no fee credit applies, because there's no repair of his for it to come off.
Sometimes the honest verdict on a 200,000 km car with a $4,000 quote is that the repair costs more than the car is worth. If you end up shopping for a replacement instead, the useful next step is a pre-purchase inspection on the car you're considering, $149–$399 flat at the seller's location, before you hand anyone a deposit.
Mississauga, Oakville, Milton, Brampton and Etobicoke. That's the free-travel list, and it's the same five cities on every page of this site. Past them he still comes out; the drive just carries a flat fee that's in your quote before you agree to anything.
For serviceable locations, the published bands are $99 near (waived at $600 of work) and $199 far (waived at $1,200). It's quoted up front inside the one flat price, never added afterwards. Past about an hour and a half each way he'll tell you straight that you're better off with someone closer.
What you can still have, free and immediately: paste the written estimate into the quote checker. It reads the estimate line by line against the published GTA ranges, and flags lines to discuss. It is AI-assisted price context, not evidence that a repair is needed or unnecessary. No signup or account. Entered details are processed to generate the read.
Take that read back to your own shop and ask three things: what measurement put this part on the list, what happens if I do the safety-critical half now and the rest in the spring, and can I see the old parts. Those three questions do most of the work of a second opinion, wherever you live.
$100–$250 for the second-opinion visit, with the exact scope and fee agreed before attendance. Any applicable travel charge is included in the agreed total. This is separate from the generic diagnostic service; its entry price does not define the second-opinion scope. No hourly meter, and no HST line: Fares isn't HST-registered at his volume, so the flat price is the price.
Then he says so in writing, and that's the answer you paid for. It's a genuine outcome, not a failure, you go authorise the work and stop second-guessing it. A second opinion that can only find fault isn't a second opinion.
Yes, if the repair is one he does in a driveway and you book it with him, one repair, same car. Full bounds are written out above. If you take the work elsewhere, no credit, no hard feelings.
Agree the expected duration, accessible tests and written-findings delivery before booking. Supported scan data, measurements and any wheel removal depend on the agreed scope and safe access. Road testing is conditional on permission, roadworthiness and a safe legal route. Untested items are not passed.
It helps a lot, type the line items straight into the form and he arrives already knowing what he's checking. If all you've got is "they said the front end needs $2,000 of work", that's still enough to book on.
No. Most shops in the GTA are fine and quote fairly, and a mechanic whose pitch is that everyone else is crooked is telling you something about himself. He reads the car and reports what it shows.
Timing chains, timing belts, clutches, head gaskets and internal engine work are on his published won't-do list. He can assess accessible evidence under an agreed scope and explain what remains unconfirmed or needs specialist testing. He will not quote that repair; this is made clear before booking.
Mississauga, Oakville, Milton, Brampton and Etobicoke have no travel fee. Other serviceable locations follow the published travel bands: near $99, waived at $600 of work; far $199, waived at $1,200. Coverage, any travel fee and the total need agreement before confirmation. Unknown or more distant locations need review.
Cash or e-transfer, at the car, when it's done. No deposit taken online and no card on file. Confirm any other payment method before booking.
Send the quote, pick a real window, and have somebody independent look at the car before you authorise four figures of work.
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