I took my 92 Civic in for a brake pad replacement, and got a call that the mechanic had broken the caliper bolt and need about $200 more work to replace the caliper and bolt.

I have a couple of questions about this for you do-it-yourselfers:

1) He claimed that Hondas do this a lot, maybe 10% of the time. Is this true? Or is he making that up?

2) He claimed he tried "all day" to extract the bolt but had no luck and that I had to pay for the extra work. Is the possible? Is it that hard to extract?

3) If I get this towed home, how hard is it to extrac the bolt on my own? The car isn't much worth the $200 bucks for a new caliper and labor. I'd rather spend the money on my own tools and do it myself. Is this a hard thing to do?