The sensors on the front disc brakes on my Wife's 2006 Chrysler began to chatter and after 2-days, I took it to the Just Brakes location at 8335 Research Blvd.in Austin, Texas for the $89.99 front disc brake job.
As soon as I mentioned replacing the front disc pads and turning the rotors, the guy behind the counter informed me that all four brakes could be serviced for an additional $10.00, which included turning the rotors and drums. As someone who spent several years in the automotive repair business as a service writer, I knew that the front disc brakes normally wear twice as fast as the rear drum brakes, and declined the rear brake job for the additional $10.00.
My first clue that something was wrong, was when I asked the guy behind the counter about upgrading from the cheap asbestos brake pads to a better quality metallic brake pad. The guy looked at me in a bewildered manner and informed me that he didn't know what kind of brake pads came with the job, but they would work fine...
Strike one...
Sorry Dude, if you're a "brake mechanic", you certainly know the difference in a metallic brake pad and a non-metallic brake pad and if you say you don't know; you're either a liar or a fool who has no business working on my brake system...
Against my better judgment, I handed him the keys and let him start the job...
Big mistake...
Before I could stop the guy, he and one of his cohorts had already removed the rear wheels and drums and began tugging at the dust covers for the wheel cylinders... He then motioned me over to the car and pulled back the dust cover to show me some "dampness" and advised me that the rear wheel cylinders needed to be replaced, and the system bled...
Now all of a sudden, the $89.00 front disc brake job we agreed on became a $300.00 brake job...
I politely informed him that "Homey don't play that", and told him to put the brake drums and wheels back on the vehicle...
His Manager came over to me and began showing me a wheel cylinder and the internal seals and advised me that "dampness" indicated a serious leak problem, and that it would be unsafe to drive the car...
After telling the Manager numerous times to reassemble the vehicle, he finally did and I left...
I can't speak for all "Just Brakes" locations, but this particular location is one I would avoid like the plague... I took the vehicle to another company who inspected the wheel cylinders and said they were fine, had them replace the front pads and turn the rotors as I originally intended, and I paid them $125.00 for the service, which included metallic-brake pads...
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