About two months ago, my vehicle began to make a noise and it would tremble whenever the brake was applied. I took it in to Grossinger's Auto Service to find out what the problem was. Turns out the front break pads needed to be replaced and according to the service rep, his name was Steve, my rear breaks were ok and only the front needed work.
I gave the ok and on they went to work on my car. Later on that day, I picked up my car, per Steve, and paid around $260 for parts and labor. Before I drove out, one of their technicians brought my car out and mentioned that it was still making the same noise as before. The technician/mechanic stated that he cut the discs several times. I did not know at the time what he was referring to.
Steve then, who seemed eager to go home, stated that I should drive it for a few days and that the noise might be due to the need of breaking in the new break pads and if the problem persisted to call him back.
The problem persisted so I called him back the following week and brought the car in again the following Saturday. Steve called me and stated that according to the technician the problem was due to a layer of rust which had accumulated on the rear rotors and if I wanted to make the noise and trembling stop, they would have to replace the rear rotors and that would run me around $400.
I then asked if there was any other way to fix the problem and he stated that there was none. He then continued by saying that it was not imperative that I do this and that the vehicle was drivable. So I decided to pick up my vehicle instead.
About two months later, today, I took my car in for its 30,000 mile maintenance and also requested to check rear breaks again because the noise and trembling were getting worst and I had a feeling the problem was more than just rust build up. This time the service rep that helped me was Mike. Mike called me later on that day and stated that the problem was that related to my rear breaks and he recommended to get that done.
Per Mike, this would cost me around $390 on top of the overpriced 30,000 maintenance at $450, plus $40 dollars for wiper blade replacements. I then got the feeling that I was getting the short end of the stick. Who would charge $40 for a $15 pair of replacement wiper blades? So I decide to hold back on any further work done on my vehicle. It was too late to stop them from completing the overpriced Maintenance which I later on found out how much cheaper it is at other places, almost less than half of what Grossinger is charging.
To make a long story short I took my car to a recommended mechanic and had them take a look at it. Turns out the rear rotors did have some rust built up and the solution was to cut the top layer of surface and replace the break pads. Then, the front breaks were cut uneven from the previous job at Grossinger and therefore they were not able to cut anymore. Now the front rotors had to be replaced. The entire job completed under $280 and in less than 3 hrs. And I got free wiper blade replacements.
On top of the $260 paid at Grossinger for the poor front break job, I dished out $460 for a maintenance job that would have cost me elsewhere under $160, I almost gave them another $400 for the rear break job which only ran me around $80. WHAT A LUBE JOB, way to go Grossinger!!!
Fernando Del Olmo
chicago, Illinois
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