My story seems to be similar to others who have experienced the rip-off techniques of Just Brakes. I had a little grinding sound in the front left wheel. After getting the $99 price on the phone, I rushed over. There were no other customers when I arrived. (I can guess why now.)
A couple of guys started working on my car while I read a book in the waiting area. (If you insist on going to Just Brakes after reading this, at least don't let the vehicle out of your sight.) The guy who was running the shop (a veritable genius wearing a white shirt to distinguish himself from the crew who wore navy shirts) was in the service area for a long while and then came in to tell me that he needed to show me something. (Please note: He had to know what that something was already wrong or he would not have come to get me in the first place.) He leads me over to my car where the head mechanic proceeds to tell me all the problems with my brakes.
The car only has 38,000 miles on it. It hasn't been abused. Each time the mechanic would point out something else that needed replacing, the white shirt would make that "tsk, tsk, tsk" sound with his tongue with an occasional "oh, no!" thrown in for good measure. It was an Academy Award-winning performance. Remember, this guy already knew what was wrong. And yet, the profound level of his empathy for me, his customer (translate that as HUGE SUCKER) led him to suffer through the entire report on the sorry state of my brakes. I was set up!
Well, I controlled my anger and asked how much it would cost to repair the problems they described. White shirt said he could figure it out quickly because he just happened to have all the necessary part numbers already written down.in no time at all, he cheerfully told me that the $99 job was now only $653 and change.
I told him I wouldn't pay it and that he had two choices: Either give me my vehicle back as it was when I came in or do the $99 job. They said that they were worried about my safety and didn't want me to drive away with so many problems. Therefore, they would not repair anything. They did find a way however, miraculously, in a few minutes to make me safe for just $282. I refused.
About this time, the Big Boss arrives. These places must be franchises. This guy got angry at first trying to use scare tactics to convince me that I should pay for the big job. I told him I would not. He asked why and I simply stated that I was still looking for an auto mechanic that I could trust.
That cooled him off. He then tried to buddy up to me. He asked what kind of business I worked for, if I was married, did I like Italian food, oh, well, there's this great Italian place on Post Oak Blvd. You should go to with a piano bar, yadda, yadda, yadda. I told him to give me my car back.
Then he said he didn't want me to leave angry so he gave me a card stating he would change my brake fluid for free anytime. Finally, he offered to change my front pads for free. If I weren't such a stubborn fool, I would have taken him up on the offer to even the score between the rip-off-ers and the rip-offees. I refused however, stating that I didn't expect anybody to work for me for nothing.
I reminded him of the two options I gave them. Either fix it according to the $99 agreement or do nothing. He said that he could do the $99 job. Knowing that I'm very likely to get ripped off going somewhere else, I allowed them to repair my brakes. I did not want to sink more time and emotion into another unpleasant experience.
Doug
Houston, Texas
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