Back in 2007 I took my 2005 Chevy pickup to Just Brakes in Kingwood. That store is no longer there. I went in for the $99 pads/shoes deal. They told me then my calipers and pistons needed work. At the time they were still covered under factory warranty so I told them just do the pads and shoes and I'll have the dealer take care of the caliper issue. The receipt they gave me listed the work/parts I had refused and the cost of the parts. $205.00.
The dealer inspected everything and said there was absolutely nothing wrong with my calipers or pistons. As an added note for all you that are saying the dealer just didn't want to do warranty work, the dealer did find something I was not aware of and fixed it at no cost to me. They discoved I had a bad tie rod end.
Now jump forward 4 years. My front pads were down to nothing and the one rotor that Kingwood milled down to minimun thickness was in bad shape. The Humble shop said the pads and shoes were on the house but now I needed a rotor (agreed... It was shot), both rear drums (said they were too thin), springs and other hardware, calipers (2) again, and pistons (4) again and some other odds and ends. Bottom line was going to be $936.00. My refused parts list cost this time was $630.00
There was a lady in the lobby when I showed up. Her car was on the lift and I asked if they had consulted her yet. They had not. I bet her they'd come back and say she needed caliper work. Sure enough they said all four calipers needed replacement along with the pistons and they'd do it for about $450.00.
We both had them put everything back together and we left. I went straight to the auto parts store and bought 2 new rotors and new pads all with lifetime warranties. Total cost, $122.00. I asked for a price check on complete caliper sets with all the hardware, pistons, etc. $46.95 each with lifetime warranty.
I have talked to no fewer than a dozen people that have gone to various Just Brakes shops and they all were told they needed caliper and piston work. Mind blowing.
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