On 3/3/05 7:30 am took in my 2001 toyota camry to A & T Auto in Des Plaines (3 blocks away from my job) for a routine brake inspection. I had no problems with the brakes, just thought it was due because of 45000 miles.
Talk to a man names "Johnny" and he said no problem and one of the mechanics lifted my car immidiatly for inspection.
I was in a hurry so i left my number and went to work.
15 minutes later, he called me up and told me my brakes are very low, just like I thought. Also he told me that my right front brake pads were worn out more than the left ones and i have a sticky caliper, my front rotors had too much of a rust lip and needed replacing, and my rear rotors were the "solid" type and were too thin to be resufaced, so they had to be replaced also at the cost of $600 tax with ceramic oe pads.
I left work and went back to the shop to see what was needed.
Showed me all the suppositly bad rotors, calipers ect. And I was fishy about it. He stated that he was a "Certified Toyota Tech" and these problems are very common for my particlar type of vehicle. Also he said he word not add on any tax or fees if I paid him in cash. I didn't have time to check his credentials and I really needed my car for work and did not have time to shop around or get a second opinion. So I said the hell with it, go ahead fix and give it an oil change, and told him save the old parts in the trunk. He told be he can give everything back but the calipers because of a core charge. Car was ready in about 3 hours.
I paid johnny in cash took my car and headed on to the tollway to meet a client in chicago. When I applied my brakes at high speeds the steering wheel and brake pedal vibrated a lot. I exited and returned back to shop to inform johnny about this. I knew the rotors he installed were warped. Ii explaind this to him and instead of istalling new rotors he resufaced them them that rotors sometimes warp when they are on the self for long periods of time. I had no time to argue so told him do what has to get done. I was late.
Brakes were ok after that for about 5 days. Noticed a slight squeek after that that progressed into a louder squeek than a grindind after the brakes became hot.
Returned car to him on 3/9 and told him about the problem. He said he would take care of it and to return in one hour. When I picked up the johnny said it is perfect and I should not have any problems. Got into my car and it smelled like somone was smoking in it. I am a non smoker so this really irritated me. Told johnny about it and he asked his employee paul if he smoked in the car. Paul did not deny it and apologized and offered to pay fo my next oil change. "ok then thank you for your honesty and dont worry about it" I told him so I left.
3 days later same squeek and grind. Returned the next morningtold johnny. He said "thats imposible" it must be the way I drive. I told him if i was rough on my brakes, the would have worn out a lot sooner than 45000 miles.
Well he resufaced the rotors again and sent me on my way
7 days later same problem. I went to Schamberg Toyota this time to get an answer.
They inspected my car and asked me what kind of brakes were installed. I told them I did not know but I have the old parts still in the trunk.
They told me everthing was made in china!
I rushed over to the dealer to see this the following brands
DASH 4 MD476S PREMIUM PADS MADE IN CHINA
DASH 4 MD325S PREMIUM PADS MADE IN CHINA
2 MAXIM ROTORS BR3291 MADE IN CHINA
2 MAXIM ROTORS BR31075 MADE IN CHINA!
The sevice writer told me this is the problem I have and tops the are generic parts that cost all together about $60.
I asked then to check the calipers that A & T replaced take them apart I'll pay for labor and I returned to work.
2 hours later robert (service writer toyota) called me and told me all they did is sand blast the original calipers and replaced the bleeder screw. The tech took the whole caliper apart and found the beads inside the caliper bore which they used to blast my calipers with and still had the old seals and the old dust boots. Also they had told me that calpers rarely go bad on a toyota with the amount of miles i have. Also the rotors were in spec and were very resurfisable.
I asked rob for an estimate to repair my car properly and let them fix the problems properly. The resufaced the old rotors (no problem) told him to save the parts and the calipers and they also charged me for cores.
Went the next day to A & T automotive with old the old parts and demanded from johnny my $600 back plus the 320 for the calipers I had to buy from toyota that johnny suppositly replaced and screwed up with sand blasting beads.
He refused, told me I have a warranty with him and it was my choice for taking it to toyata so im "SH* OUT OF LUCk". Those were his exact words.
I told him I was going to file a law suit against him and he replied "go ahead I win, and I have always won court cases like this. I have no proof that I didn't fix the car, I fixed it, you have a problem by proving that I didnt so again, your SOL."
I left cause I had a meeting and this problem took to much time and I'm out of energy.
I am not persuing legal action cause I'm tired of this whole situation. I'm just glad my car is fixed with no problems now.
This was just a very expensive lesson I learned.
If the person and/or the shop look shaddy, than guess what, it is.
I found out the hard way.
A & t automotive is a ripp off stay away!
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